#11 The Complete Poetical Works of Edgar Allan Poe: Including

Essays on Poetry: With Memoir by John H. Ingram.

Part 2 of 2.

There are two essays in this collection: The Poetic Principle and The Philosophy of Composition.

The essays were very insightful though I had issue with them in that Poe's vocabulary was so advanced and his writing often so complex that I not only had to regularly consult the dictionary but also had to spend time thinking about each sentence and paragraph to ensure a good understanding. This wrestling with the text was an often frustrating experience.

The contents of these essays however were truly excellent and I discovered Poe to be more of an "architectural" poet that rigorously planned out his writing and began with the final few lines. He walks us through this process using his construction of "The Raven" and I found this to be very insightful. Poe also argues against using poetry to teach lessons and that instead poems should be written for their own sake. The sake of the art.

My rating: 6.1/10