Edgar Allan Poe: Master of Horror

De: Mark Canada, The Great Courses

Narrado por: Mark Canada

Master storyteller. Madman. America’s dark genius. Who was Edgar Allan Poe, and why have his bizarre and fascinating works resonated with readers so strongly?

Through these 10 lectures, you will delve into the darkness of Poe’s most nightmarish stories, including “The Tell-Tale Heart”, “The Pit and the Pendulum”, and “The Fall of the House of Usher”. You’ll also learn how he invented the detective story and explored themes of love and loss in such poems as “Ulalume” and “Annabel Lee”. And you’ll discover how Poe employed symbolism, imagery, rhythm and rhyme, irony and paradox, repetition, simile, and foreshadowing to create a unique body of work that has enthralled readers and influenced writers for more than 150 years.

But our fascination with Poe is only partly his provocative, often disturbing literature. He is widely known for living an unconventional and tortured life - a life filled with loss, poverty, neglect, and self-destruction. So, in addition to the scope of his work, you’ll get captivating insights into the man himself: his tragic life and the inner workings of his curious mind. Plagued with more than his fair share of illness, conflict, misery, and death through most of his existence, Poe also notoriously exhibited bizarre behaviors that frequently undermined his quest for literary fame. Your professor, Mark Canada, draws on his own research into Poe’s psychology, including some insights from modern brain science, to understand why Poe acted and wrote as he did.

Unpack the works, the life, and the mind of Edgar Allen Poe to discover what makes him a uniquely haunting author to this day.

©2020 Audible Originals, LLC (P)2020 Audible Originals, LLC.

Literary Lectures about Poe and His Writings

This one is a good course to listen to, specially if you want to learn or understand the writings and artistry of Poe, and how his life and struggles were reflected on his works. Breaks down the usage and repetition of words, plus their meaning and importance. This lecture also emphasized the influence of Poe and his works on many succeeding writers, and today's pop culture.

Poe

Forget the lies that Rufus Grisswald told you. This the real Poe and nothing less

Poe’s Voice

The readers “Poe” voice ruined this for me. Pompous and oddly feminine.. little lord fauntleroy vibes:(

A nice trip into the mind of a master

This is a well produced and well presented look at a life that is often remembered for specific highs and lows.

Very informative

Overall I found this to be a great listen. It’s obvious that the speaker has a passion for Poe’s work. I didn’t enjoy the portion on the left and right side of the brain as it felt like a stretch and not entirely necessary. But this is certainly something I’ll listen to again.

Utter Poe-fection

As a life long fan of Edgar Poe I was thrilled by the indepth study poevided here. Mark had exquisitely brought forward the humanity and life a this literary icon.
I recommend this for anyone with just a dabbling curiosity or an everlasting love of Poe.
After listing to this your lecture series your enjoyment of his work will wane..... NEVERMORE......

Wonderful Overview of Poe's Life

When I was in seventh grade, I recited Poe’s The Tell Tale Heart in a speech contest and I’ve had a soft place in my own heart for the author ever since. In high school and college I read a couple more of his stories and I’ve dabbled in his work in the decades since then. Yet, I didn’t know very much about the man himself until I stumbled on this excellent Great Courses book. Put simply, Poe was a mess, yet somehow out of the often-self-created disaster of his life, he transformed world literature creating the detective story and opening up the genre of horror fiction. It’s an amazing story, filled with tragedy and self abuse, but somehow out of all of this crushing difficulty came works of literature that continue to influence the literary and popular fiction worlds today. This one is well worth your time.

Overview of Biography and some works

The focus on Poe‘s biographie is interesting and it has an overview of many works.
I think the author reads too much relationship between life and work (in some cases it‘s interesting, in others it felt like a stretch ) and that he attributes too much seriousness to mockery.
Overall an interesting but superficial short „reading“.
Lecture 5:
Gothic satyre:
- How to write a Blackwood article
- A predicament

Early Horror:
- Berenice

Main focus of the chapter
- Manuscript in a bottle
- The fall of the House of Usher

Mention:
- Ligea

Lection 6:
- William Wilson
- The Mask of the Red Death

Lection 7:
- The Pit and the Pendulum
- Tell Tale Heart
- Cask of Amontillado

Lection 8: mistery novel/ detective story
- Murders in the Rue Morgue
- The purloined letter
- The mistery of Marie Roget

Lection 9: poems of loss
- The raven
- Ulalume
- Annabel Lee

Very informative

I enjoyed this lecture series very much. I don't remember much from school but MC Lars sparked a reinterest for me and I was glad you included him as one of the modern source that are inspired by Poe.

Well deserving tribute for America's greatest poet!

I always been fascinated by Edgar Allen Poe and his works. But couldnt fully grasp or apprecite it as much as I do now after listening this book. This is excellent for novice readers like me because author disects EAP's famous poems and short stories enabling listener to gain in depth understanding into the mind of legendary writer/poet. Absolutely captivating and moving. Thank you!