Wright, Tom F (2016) Edgar Allan Poe and the Southern Gothic. In: Castillo Street, Susan and Crow, Charles L (eds.) The Palgrave handbook of the Southern Gothic. Palgrave, London, pp. 9-20. ISBN 9781137477736

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Abstract

This chapter explores the complex relationship of Edgar Allan Poe’s works to the Southern Gothic. Though raised in Virginia, and known during his lifetime as a Southern writer, Poe’s relationship to the region remains hard to pin down. Nonetheless, as this chapter explores, certain of his key works offered influential gothic critique of the antebellum South. This is explored in two texts which would exert a strong influence over later Southern writers: ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ (1839) and The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket (1838). The chapter ends by arguing that thinking about Poe in terms of the Southern Gothic helps readers to appreciate his role as literary precursor, whilst allowing us to reflect upon the limitations of the very term itself.

Item Type:	Book Section
Keywords:	American literature, Edgar Allan Poe, Southern Gothic, Gothic
Schools and Departments:	School of English > English
Research Centres and Groups:	Sussex Centre for American Studies
Subjects:	P Language and Literature > PS American literature > PS0185 By period > PS0201 19th century P Language and Literature > PS American literature > PS0360 Prose P Language and Literature > PS American literature > PS0700 Individual authors > PS0991 19th century
Related URLs:	Publisher
Depositing User:	Tom Wright
Date Deposited:	30 Sep 2016 14:59
Last Modified:	20 Sep 2017 09:06
URI:	http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/63753

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