Comparing the Literary Works of Edgar Allan Poe and Stephen King
Edgar Allan Poe and Stephen King are two of the most influential American writers from different generations. While the two lived in different centuries, both Poe and King are known for their contribution to the horror genre; Poe is considered as its father, and King the master of the art (Kopecna 5). Poe’s fictional works are characterized by various aspects of classicism, romanticism, and the gothic style. His settings, which often had elements such as storm, darkness, abyss, moonlight, shriek, and castles, aligned Poe’s writing with Gothicism (Unrue 113). Apart from being a writer of the horror genre, Poe wrote poems, political satires, and tales of exploration and detection (Hoffman 11). King’s significant accomplishments are in supernatural fiction, horror, and fantasy literary works. Just like Poe, King is a romantic novelist. While both contributors of the horror genre appear similar, Poe and King had varied approaches to their influence on other writers and artists, motifs, topics, and styles of writing.
Poe and King lived very differently yet, to some degree, similar lives. Poe lived in th 19th century; he was born in Boston in 1809 and became an orphan two years later after his father left him following the death of his mother (Kopecna 10). He studied at the University of Virginia from 1826, specializing in Latin and poetry. By 1838, Poe was writing in local magazines; in the same year, his first novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, was published (Kopecna 11). In the active years of his career, he wrote theoretical essays, short stories, and poems (Kopecna 11). King was born in 1947, and his father as well left the family, never to return, when he was two years old (Kopecna 13; Williams). During his childhood, King was interested in the science fiction and horror genre. In his high school days, he wrote newspaper articles and short stories (Kopecna 13). After getting a scholarship at the University of Maine, similar to Poe, his studies were influenced by the literary direction (Kopecna 13). His first published short story was A Teenage Grave Robber, which he wrote at only 18 years (Kopecna 13). A deep interest influenced the works of both Poe and King in their respective fields. To Poe, poetry was not just a purpose, but a passion (Hoffman 11). Arguably, both their lives had a significant impact on their works. In Poe’s time, literature was highly influenced by European romanticism; Poe incorporated this aspect in his horror genre and poems. On the other hand, American literature in the 20th century was influenced by post-war conditions, which propelled King’s work.
Poe’s style of writing developed continually throughout his career. When he was contributing to magazines as a journalist, he followed an innovative approach (Kopecna 22). Although romantic aspects were still present in his articles, he wrote essays that were more intelligent and rational insistent, as noted in The Philosophy of Composition, The Poetic Principle, and The Rationale of Verse (Kopecna 22). In his short stories, The Tales of Mystery and Imagination, Poe’s style follows romantic irony and poetic imagination based on horror features. The romanticism and classical values present in Poe’s work have been subjected to misinterpretation and criticism by readers trying to understand him (Unrue 112; Block 391). However, this can be attributed to the complexity of his writing stylistic tools, and reasoning, which was associated with “scientifiction.” According to Kopecna, Poe’s style is arabesque as he uses bizarre foreign words and gothic aspects (22). His mixture of styles is emotionally driven by his nature and the environment in which he grew. It is the same attributed that as aided the popularity of his stories, perhaps, better than his choice of plots.
Similar to Poe, King does not stick with a specific style in all his novels. In short stories such as The Reach and the novel Thinner, King mixes realistic descriptions with supernatural horror. Also, throughout several of his works, King emphasizes the role of imagination in literature.
As mentioned before, the lives of Poe and King impacted their literary works. Both were left by their fathers as toddlers, had addiction problems, and were attached to their families (Kopecna 24). Evidently, these aspects found their way into their short stories and novels. For instance, King uses memories in most of his topics, whereby a character revisits his or her childhood, as in The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon or Pet Sematary. Also, physical or mental isolation portrayed by some of the characters might be a mere reflection of the lives of the authors’ early experiences. As a result of this loneliness, the young characters in King’s novels rebel against America’s social systems (Kopecna 24).
While King and Poe are similar in many other ways, their characterization differs. The personality traits of Poe’s characters are gradually revealed throughout the course of the story (Kopecna 30). Poe only displays and follows an investigative approach for his characters, but he does not moralize them. On the other hand, King’s characters have personality traits that are changed by the events in their lives (Kopecna 30). King creates moral heroes and heroines whose self –control helps them to live and to fight the corrupted world (Kopecna 30).
Poe is considered as the innovator of the horror genre, whereas King is recognized as one of its most significant contributors. Rightfully, this is true because both writers dedicated multiple short stories and novels to the genre. However, Poe is known for other fields. According to Kopecna, Poe is widely recognized as the father of detective stories (31). Although he lived in a different time, aspects of modern criminal literature are present in his work. Consequently, both writers have directly or indirectly influenced other areas of art, such as horror and investigation movies.
Poe and King had varying approaches to their influence on other writers and artists, motifs, topics, and styles of writing, which are similar in some ways and dissimilar in others. Poe and King lived very differently yet, to some degree, similar lives. They lived in different centuries, but they were both abandoned by their fathers as toddlers, and their interest in literature guided their university studies. Poe’s style of writing developed continually throughout his career. When he was contributing to magazines as a journalist, he followed an innovative approach. Later, he emphasized on imagination, romanticism, and Gothicism. Although the two did not use particularly similar styles, similar to Poe, King does not stick with a specific one in all his novels. Aspects of Poe’s and King’s found their way into their short stories and novels. For instance, King uses memories in most of his topics, whereby a character revisits his or her childhood. While King and Poe are similar in many other ways, their characterization differs. Poe is considered as the innovator of the horror genre, whereas King is recognized as one of its most significant contributors. However, Poe is known for other fields, such as the detective genre. Nevertheless, both writers have directly or indirectly influenced other areas of art, for instance, horror and investigation movies.
Works Cited
Block, Louis J. “Edgar Allan Poe.” The Sewanee Review 18.4 (1910): 385-403, www.jstor.org/stable/27532400
Hoffman, Daniel. “Edgar Allan Poe: The artist of the beautiful.” American Poetry Review 24.6 (1995): 11-18, www.jstor.org/stable/27781913
Kopecna, Katerina. “Comparison of the lives and works of EA Poe and Stephen King/ What makes people write horror stories?” (2012), hd.handle.net/20.500.11956/46021
Unrue, Darlene Harbour. “Edgar Allan Poe: The romantic as a classicist.” International Journal of the Classical Tradition 1.4 (1995): 112-119, doi.org/10.1007/BF02677053
Williams, Justin. “Stephen King, the romantic novelist.” The Telegraph, www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/3656763/Stephen-King-the-romantic-novelist.html