Interesting Poems

Whenever the name Edgar Allan Poe comes to my mind, immediately I think of "The Raven". Being one of the greatest literary works of Poe's time, it remains to this day a classic. P. Pendleton Cooke from Bloom's Major Poets states that "The Raven" is a "great triumph of imagination and art." The poem's dark and murky tone always frightened me a bit, but it still does not take away from the brilliance of Poe's writing. Another great piece from Poe that I can easily identify with is "A Dream Within a Dream". I found interest in this poem because it was written only seven months before Poe's death. To me I think he was depressed and his life was insignificant as if it was nothing but a dream. "Poe questions if everything the poet experiences and sees is merely a dream, which leaves reality beyond his grasp" (Sova). Regardless, Poe's brilliance directly contributed to creating timeless poems to be shared with further generations.

Works Cited

Sova, Dawn B. "A Dream within a Dream'." Critical Companion to Edgar Allan Poe: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work, Critical Companion. New York: Facts on File, Inc., 2007. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts on File, Inc. Web. (Accessed December 6, 2010).

Cooke, P. Pendleton. "Edgar A. Poe," Southern Literary Messenger (January 1848). Reprinted in The Recognition of Edgar Allan Poe, ed. Eric W. Carlson: pp.21-23. Quoted as "Review of 'The Raven'" in Harold Bloom, ed. Edgar Allan Poe, Bloom's Major Poets. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishing, 1999. (Updated 2007.) Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts on File, Inc. (Accessed December 6, 2010).