r/bookclub • u/IraelMrad Marius Hater #1 | 🐉|🥇|🧠💯 • Sep 28 '25
Author Profile - Edgar Allan Poe [Discussion 11/11] (Author Profile) Edgar Allan Poe | Selected stories, poems and essays
CONGRATULATIONS YOU ALL! YOU MADE IT! This is officially the end of our Author Profile project, and with that you can now brag to your friends that you have read The Completed Works of Edgar Allan Poe! (more or less)
How did you find this new format? Did you enjoy it? Any suggestions you have? Tell us in the comments!
Let’s now have a quick review of what the featured works were this week, but before we do that, have some useful links:
🗓 Find our Schedule with the links to the old discussions here!
✒️ Marginalia with some useful links is here!
🐈⬛Featured works
- The Conqueror Worm: a poem published in 1843 about humanity and death
- The Haunted Palace: published in 1839, this ghostly poem was later incorporated into The Fall of the House of Usher
- Scenes From Politian: these are scenes from a play Poe never completed due to the poor reception it received. It tells the story of Castiglione, the son of a Duke, who gets murdered by the Earl Politian. Politian was convinced to do it by Lalage, Castiglione’s father’s ward, who wanted revenge on her former lover after their affair.
- The Cask of Amontillado: this short story follows Montresor seeking revenge on his friend Fortunato for a non-specified offense, which ends with Montresor burying the man alive in the catacombs of his family.
- The Philosophy of Composition: an essay written in 1846 where Poe analyses the components he believes fundamental in good writing, and goes into detail about how his poem The Raven was conceived as an example.
- Eureka: this is adapted from a lecture Poe conducted at the Society Library in New York, and is his last major work. Despite the poor reception at the time, Poe considered this essay his masterpiece. In the essay, Poe tries to explain the way the universe works, by proposing that it is a force in continued expansion after being born from a single, unitary particle that Poe identifies with God. He believes that is why atoms are attracted to each other and that souls are made of the same essence our bodies are made of. If you want a nice extra read, here is an article talking about how Eureka relates to modern-day science.
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u/IraelMrad Marius Hater #1 | 🐉|🥇|🧠💯 Sep 28 '25
- Is there anything else you would like to discuss?
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u/jaymae21 Yearbook Editor-in-Chief Oct 04 '25
I happen to be going to a Poe-themed "speakeasy" next week, with themed cocktails & selected readings. It should be fun especially since I just got all this exposure to his works beyond what are really popular (though I suspect this won't be a deep dive).
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u/124ConchStreet Clang Dong Sep 28 '25
Unpopular opinion but I think Poe is very overrated. I really tried to give the short stories and poems a chance but eventually it was a chore reading because I just didn’t enjoy them and half the time I didn’t no what the purpose of the story was. I ended up enjoying reading about Poe’s life a lot more than reading his works. I feel like part of the hype comes from the mystery of his death, the varying accounts from the budding writer over the years, and also the support he received following Griswold’s slander. I feel like if that hadn’t happened Poe wouldn’t have had so many people batting for him, there would’ve been a lot less public interest, and he wouldn’t have received the same reception he has over the years
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 📚Bookclub Boffin📚 ||🧠🥉 Sep 30 '25
Some of his works just don't hold up. The best ones rose to the top and have staying power.
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u/emygrl99 Froot Loops From a Soup Can Oct 25 '25
I read Poe in high school English class, and one project the teacher gave us was to transform one of Poe's stories from the writing medium to another medium (song, movie, play, etc), and I chose to turn Cask of Amontillado into a graphic novel! I think I still have it somewhere at home, but as I was reading the story for the book club, I could clearly see the illustrations I'd made in my mind, and it gave me such strong nostalgia.
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u/IraelMrad Marius Hater #1 | 🐉|🥇|🧠💯 Oct 26 '25
This is such an interesting idea! I would love to see some of your drawings if you find them and are willing to share!
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u/emygrl99 Froot Loops From a Soup Can Oct 27 '25
Unfortunately it's on the other side of the Atlantic ocean, otherwise I'd love to share!
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u/IraelMrad Marius Hater #1 | 🐉|🥇|🧠💯 Sep 28 '25
- Did you enjoy the Author Profile format? Do you have any suggestions to improve it?
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u/mustardgoeswithitall 📚Bookclub Boffin📚 Sep 28 '25
I found it a touch confusing at times, because of the jumping about.
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u/midasgoldentouch 📚Bookclub Boffin📚 Sep 28 '25
I mean, I enjoyed it, as evidenced by my flair lol. I think it could be a bit overwhelming at times, but we also read an author who almost exclusively wrote poetry and short stories (we skipped his only novel). I’d be interested to see how this goes for an author that writes predominantly long fiction.
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 📚Bookclub Boffin📚 ||🧠🥉 Sep 30 '25 edited Sep 30 '25
I enjoyed it. I didn't love skipping some weeks of the biography just to stretch it to match the author's other content.
I liked how we went fairly chronologically with his short stories and poems. If the biography had been written chronologically, maybe it would have worked a bit better. I liked when the stories we read matched up to the time in his life when he wrote them.
I'm hoping if we do this again, we can do Louisa May Alcott and read some of her lesser known works, or Victor Hugo or Leo Tolstoy. Learning about their lives would probably help me appreciate their works more.
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u/jaymae21 Yearbook Editor-in-Chief Oct 04 '25
I love the idea & I think we should keep doing Author Profiles. I felt this one was a bit drawn out though, and I feel a little burnt out with Poe right now as a consequence. A biography coupled with a standard-sized novel or one accompanying short story & poem would probably have worked a little better.
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u/WatchingTheWheels75 Quote Hoarder Sep 28 '25
I think the profile concept is very good. Based on this experience, it might be helpful for a few of us to get together and offer suggestions for formatting a large body of work coupled with a biography.
It might be useful to have everyone read the biography, for example, while assigning two or three people to read/analyze a short story or a few poems and then report back to the larger group. That would reduce the volume of reading material each week.
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u/Amanda39 Ask Me About My Cat Oct 03 '25
I enjoyed it. I think it would have worked a little better if we'd had a Poe fan helping us coordinate which stories to read at which points in the biography, though. Not to pat myself on the back, but when we read Mary Shelley's Tales and Stories last year, I was able to point out how the stories related to her life because I'd already read her biography. (Of course, it also helps that Mary Shelley was a much more autobiographical writer.)
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u/emygrl99 Froot Loops From a Soup Can Oct 25 '25
I agree with others that it was quite long. I would have been just as happy with maybe 1/2 as many of Poe's writings. Towards the end I just got so overwhelmed I stopped trying to read anything I didn't recognize, or didn't sound interesting after reading the discussions. That being said, I'd love for the book club to continue doing Author Profiles, as it encourages me to read more classical literature that I otherwise wouldn't touch. Excellent job to all the read runners who put this beast together, it's not easy to read the complete works of Poe!
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u/Previous_Injury_8664 I Like Big Books and I Cannot Lie Dec 12 '25
I got pretty burnt out, as evidenced by the fact that I'm still finishing... Most weeks there were just way too many hours of reading and it felt hard to keep going. I love the concept though and I'm excited to see how it works with a more straightforward author/novel format!
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u/llmartian Attempting 2025 Bingo Blackout Dec 27 '25
I like it, but I think this was too much. I felt like I wasn't giving the poetry the attention it needed because I was trying to keep up. I would prefer doing 1 short story a week and just digging down into it, or a few of the more well known poems
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u/IraelMrad Marius Hater #1 | 🐉|🥇|🧠💯 Sep 28 '25
- At the end of our Author Profile, what is your opinion on Poe as an artist? Which among his works were your favourite?
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u/WatchingTheWheels75 Quote Hoarder Sep 28 '25
I’m not a big horror fan, but I have always liked a few of Poe’s poems and stories. The Cask of Amontillado is a favorite of mine. Poe’s description of the crypt is certainly horrifying and facilitates a particular feeling of disgust combined with foreboding, but the really chilling thing for me is Poe’s description of the mind of his antihero.
The guy is completely without any feeling of empathy or remorse for his victim. And he has analyzed his victim’s weaknesses in a cold, dispassionate way that gives readers a glimpse of true depravity. It’s a masterpiece of characterization that captures the essence of a psychopathic personality.
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u/jaymae21 Yearbook Editor-in-Chief Oct 04 '25
I enjoyed learning about his lesser-known works, even if they weren't as good. And I appreciate him more as an artist now knowing how he wrote in several different genres. I really enjoyed his early sci-fi, like Hans Pfall. Some of my favorite poems are: The City in the Sea, The Bells, Coliseum, and The Conquerer Worm. For tales, I really enjoyed The Masque of the Red Death & M.S. Found in a Bottle.
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 📚Bookclub Boffin📚 ||🧠🥉 Sep 30 '25 edited Sep 30 '25
The Cask of Amontillado has pretty much always topped my list. I also have always loved the Pit and the Pendulum.
Because I'm basic, or perhaps because they're simply some of his best work, I like the Raven, the Masque of the Red Death, the Tell-Tale Heart, the Fall of the House of Usher, and Annabel Lee.
I did discover other Poe poems and stories to enjoy though. I had never read The Murders in the Rue Morgue and loved discovering how much it influenced Doyle's Sherlock Holmes series. I just read A Study in Scarlet, so I can soon say I've read all of the Sherlock Holmes stories, and Sherlock even compares himself to Dupin! But he says he's better than him lol.
There are also a bunch of Poe works that I wouldn't read again even if you paid me. Okay, maybe if you paid me. Some of it was incomprehensible to me.
This was a fun journey!
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u/Amanda39 Ask Me About My Cat Oct 03 '25
To be honest, I'm surprised at how ambivalent I felt. I did really like some of the stories and poems, but found others completely uninteresting. Although it seems like I'm not the only person who feels this way: for the most part, the stories/poems I liked were the famous ones and the ones I didn't were the ones you rarely hear about anymore. I kept hoping to find a forgotten gem, but it turns out the best of his writing, like "The Raven" or "The Tell-Tale Heart," are the ones that have remained popular. The only exceptions I can think of (that I liked but that aren't incredibly famous) are "The Black Cat," which I only knew about because of my trip to Poe's house in Philly, and maybe "Ligeia" and "Berenice." (Although I'm pretty sure that "Ligeia," at least, is still somewhat well-known, even if it isn't on the same level as "The Raven.")
I'm also disappointed that I ended up not caring that much about Poe as a person. Sometimes I get really fixated on certain authors or poets (my three big ones are Mary Shelley, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and Wilkie Collins), and I always kind of suspected that Poe could have resonated with me like that, too. But, between his racism and his overall pettiness, I just couldn't bring myself to care that much about him.
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u/IraelMrad Marius Hater #1 | 🐉|🥇|🧠💯 Oct 04 '25
I think it's normal, when reading the complete works of any author (especially one who wrote a lot of stories and poems), to find a lot of underwhelming parts. I think that's exactly what I expected when going into this collection, but I agree that it was surprising that all his best works are the most well-known ones.
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u/emygrl99 Froot Loops From a Soup Can Oct 25 '25
Reading Poe's works had its ups and downs for me. Some stories I was completely entranced by, while others were a slog. I enjoyed Poe's poetry so much more than his short tales, it's truly a shame he didn't write more poetry. My top favorite is Cask of Amontillado, and other favorites are The Bells, Annabel Lee, The City in the Sea, Tamerlane, The Lake, and other poetry.
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u/IraelMrad Marius Hater #1 | 🐉|🥇|🧠💯 Sep 28 '25
- Questions about Eureka
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u/IraelMrad Marius Hater #1 | 🐉|🥇|🧠💯 Sep 28 '25
a. Poe said about this essay that “I have no desire to live since I have done Eureka. I could accomplish nothing more”. How does this influence your opinion on the essay? Why do you think Poe believed it to be his greatest work?
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 📚Bookclub Boffin📚 ||🧠🥉 Sep 30 '25
I have to admit I didn't read it in full. It was too long and I was getting nothing out of it. I didn't see the point in forcing myself to read something I wouldn't understand anyway. So I sought out some analysis of Eureka instead. I think Poe was talking about some deep topics! He had a brilliant mind and I think this essay/poem put his mind on display in a completely different way than his other works. I get why he'd be so proud of it.
If I was a different person and had the vocabulary for some of these spiritual and existential topics, I think I'd be pretty impressed by Eureka.
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u/IraelMrad Marius Hater #1 | 🐉|🥇|🧠💯 Oct 01 '25
Same, I enjoyed reading the analyses more than the work itself. I think this work can be appreciated only when the context in which it was written is very clear to you, but even people at the time allegedly found it really confusing, so I don't mind that I didn't really "get it".
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u/jaymae21 Yearbook Editor-in-Chief Oct 03 '25
Yeah I downloaded the Project Gutenberg copy and DNF'd about 20% of the way through in favor of a summary & analysis. It's so dense & not an easy read at all.
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u/IraelMrad Marius Hater #1 | 🐉|🥇|🧠💯 Sep 28 '25
b. How can we approach a scientific essay written more than a century ago nowadays? Is it possible to still find any value in it? If you’ve read the article I linked in the post, what do you think about Poe’s view of the universe and what we now know to be true nowadays?
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u/IraelMrad Marius Hater #1 | 🐉|🥇|🧠💯 Sep 28 '25
c. How did you find the writing style? Why do you think Poe called Eureka “A Prose Poem”? Why do you think he chose to use the literary device of a letter from the future?
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u/WatchingTheWheels75 Quote Hoarder Sep 28 '25 edited Sep 30 '25
I started reading Eureka and, just a couple of sentences in, I realized with some shock that he was describing the Big Bang! It really stunned me. I knew it predated Einstein & others, but not by how much, so I looked it up to find that Poe wrote this about 70 years before it was suggested by physicists.
Poe was an original thinker with a curious mind. After reading the biography, I realize that he was not simply a dark and depressed man who had an obsession with the macabre. I think he had a questioning mind that focused on the great “What’s Next?” and he felt that religious explanations tried to fit philosophical questions into a preconceived framework rather than trying to describe phenomena based on observation, direct mystical experiences, and intuition. I think he could imagine various explanations for things that appeared mystical and he believed that poetry was the best known medium in which to address irrational and emotional experiences.
My entire impression of Poe has expanded and I now regard him with increased respect for his achievements. I’m sad to know that he lived a short life full of loss and grief, yet I suspect those challenging circumstances helped him become the great writer he was.
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u/IraelMrad Marius Hater #1 | 🐉|🥇|🧠💯 Sep 30 '25
I agree, learning more about him definitely painted a more multifaceted artist than what I expected. I would have certainly been surprised, months ago, to learn that Poe considered this essay his greatest work, but now I can see how curious and insightful he was.
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u/IraelMrad Marius Hater #1 | 🐉|🥇|🧠💯 Sep 28 '25
d. How does Poe describe the infinite and the way we humans see it? Can you compare it to any other artist/philosopher/scientist you know?
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u/IraelMrad Marius Hater #1 | 🐉|🥇|🧠💯 Sep 28 '25
e. What are the conclusions Poe reached in this work?
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u/IraelMrad Marius Hater #1 | 🐉|🥇|🧠💯 Sep 28 '25
- Questions about The Philosophy of Composition
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u/IraelMrad Marius Hater #1 | 🐉|🥇|🧠💯 Sep 28 '25
c. Poe argues that Beauty is the aim of poetry. What do you think of this statement? Do you agree?
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u/IraelMrad Marius Hater #1 | 🐉|🥇|🧠💯 Sep 28 '25
b. Do you feel like this essay has given you a different insight into some of Poe’s works?
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 📚Bookclub Boffin📚 ||🧠🥉 Sep 30 '25
I did! I thought it was cool how he referenced his works and talked about how he accomplished what he did with them. He broke down the Raven in a way I hadn't known he had done.
This essay showed that Poe was a craftsman and could objectively look at his works and describe them to other people.
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u/jaymae21 Yearbook Editor-in-Chief Oct 03 '25
I found his breakdown of his own poem fascinating. It really was a methodical process, and totally contrasts with the tortured, mad poet he's portrayed as. And I like that he mentions his process is the norm, even if other poets don't want to admit it, they don't typically just produce a poem in a sudden moment of inspiration, there are usually some drafts & re-workings.
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u/IraelMrad Marius Hater #1 | 🐉|🥇|🧠💯 Sep 28 '25
a. Are you an artist? I would love to get your perspective on this work! Which process do you follow when you create your art?
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u/IraelMrad Marius Hater #1 | 🐉|🥇|🧠💯 Sep 28 '25
- Questions about Scenes from Politian
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u/IraelMrad Marius Hater #1 | 🐉|🥇|🧠💯 Sep 28 '25
a. Have you ever read other plays in this format? How do you approach it? How does Poe’s style compare to his other works when writing a play?
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 📚Bookclub Boffin📚 ||🧠🥉 Sep 30 '25
I didn't care for this play. I couldn't get into the style. It didn't get good reviews. I don't think he was good at dramatizing true stories.
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u/IraelMrad Marius Hater #1 | 🐉|🥇|🧠💯 Sep 28 '25
b. The play was inspired by a real crime, but Poe chose to set the story in a different time and place. Why do you think he did that?
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u/IraelMrad Marius Hater #1 | 🐉|🥇|🧠💯 Sep 28 '25
c. Despite the work being incomplete, were there any characters that you believed had an interesting voice? How does the theme of revenge compare with other Poe’s works you have read?
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u/IraelMrad Marius Hater #1 | 🐉|🥇|🧠💯 Sep 28 '25
- What do you think The Haunted Palace is an allegory for? Which techniques does Poe use to describe the scenery, and what did it evoke in you?
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 📚Bookclub Boffin📚 ||🧠🥉 Sep 30 '25
The imagery was fairly compelling to me. A radiant palace in a green valley surrounded by wanderers. But the the tone shifts and evil things in robes of sorrow assail the castle and now can be seen moving like erratic ghosts through the windows. Very creepy imagery.
I had to look up the analysis and I can confidently say I did not pick up on what it was an allegory for.
Apparently it symbolizes the human mind, particularly its descent from clarity and order into chaos and mental deterioration.
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u/IraelMrad Marius Hater #1 | 🐉|🥇|🧠💯 Sep 28 '25
- Let’s talk about The Conqueror Worm: What does the fact that life is represented as a gala convey to you? What do you think about the worm used as a metaphor?
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 📚Bookclub Boffin📚 ||🧠🥉 Sep 30 '25
The worm as a metaphor for death makes sense. We will all be worm food someday, more or less. The poem is fairly bleak.
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u/jaymae21 Yearbook Editor-in-Chief Oct 03 '25
I think the gala is a sort of metaphor for life, as being this transient event. The worm is death & decay, which comes in & ends the event that is life. It ruins the party, so-to-speak.
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u/IraelMrad Marius Hater #1 | 🐉|🥇|🧠💯 Sep 28 '25