Edgar Allan Poe: Master of Horror

By: Mark Canada, The Great Courses

Narrated by: 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.