Poe? A Romantic?!

Romanticism was an artistic and literary movement of the late 18th century. It originated in Europe and emphasized on the love of nature and dislike for the urban life (English Romanticism Worksheet). The source of a poem was found not to be located in outer nature, but in the psychology and emotions of the individual poet (The Romantic Period Worksheet). Romanticism was a way of showing that proof wasn’t the only necessity with respect to knowledge. There are various ways to be intellectual. One must be in touch with himself or herself to gain a better understanding of the world. That’s part of knowledge. “The Enlightenment stressed reason as the chief means for discovering truth. Although the Romantics by no means disparaged reasons, they tried to balance its use by stressing the importance of feeling, emotion, and imagination as sources of knowing” (Duiker and Spielvogel, 420). So, in opposition to the books and epics we’ve read so far, romantic poetry is all psychologically influenced, rather than both psychologically and sociologically. Poe wrote in the early mid-19th century, before he died in 1849. His time of writing was only a couple decades after the beginning of romanticism. In nearly all of Poe’s short stories and poems, he expresses his own feelings, and incorporates the influence of nature. In his poem, “Ulalume – A Ballad,” for instance, he starts off by describing the scenery, followed by a depiction of his feelings. Poe’s works are easily understood by all English-speakers, because he uses a relatively simple vocabulary. The usage of comprehendible language is included in the qualities of romanticism.

The works of Poe are classified as dark romanticism, a subgenre of romanticism, due to the transcendental influence on his poetry. Dark romanticism started in the 19th century in America. Though it takes on qualities of Transcendentalism, it is a more pessimistic view on nature, mankind, and divinity. Poe’s poetry and stories being referred to as dark romanticism, which branched off from romanticism, is proof enough that he fits in the romantic category.

It is difficult to discuss whether or not Poe would be considered a Romantic without looking at works aside from The Tell-Tale Heart. Though the story consists of many qualities of romanticism, there is one aspect, unnoticed by many readers. The Tell-Tale Heart expresses thoughts and feelings in an obvious manner, yet the narrator and Poe are not the same person. The narrator is a murderer, that may share similar feelings toward the matter that Poe does, but it should be recognized that the story is fiction, and the feelings expressed are not those of Poe, himself. This in no way, though, changes the fact that Poe is most definitely a romantic.