In The Annotated Poe,
editor Kevin J. Hayes explains Edgar Allan Poe's theory of creativity
as it relates to writing. Poe did not believe “truly original
subjects and themes” were possible, Hayes points out (7). Rather,
for Poe, an author's originality lies in his or her ability to weave
together “pre-existing elements” in new ways (7).
To illustrate his view, Poe makes reference to the griffin of ancient Greek mythology, a creature cobbled together from parts of various actual animals: its body was that of a lion, its head and wings those of an eagle, its tail “serpentine” (7). This mythical beast was, for Poe, emblematic of the creative writing process.
“All novel conceptions are merely unusual combinations. The mind of man can imagine nothing which has not really existed,” Poe insisted (7). By combining such elements as “genres, motifs, styles, [and] themes,” Hayes explains, a writer attains such “originality” as is possible, putting his or her stamp on the resulting work, and “the best authors combine different pre-existing aspects of literature to create something completely original” (7).
Both beauty and deformity, Poe says, provide materials that can be selected as components of original tales; by combining such elements, am author can create original works of art. The grotesque is included in Poe's aesthetic (8).
For Poe, short stories are superior to novels, because the former can (and should) achieve the unity of effect that longer works lack, making short stories more artistically and emotionally satisfying. Unlike the novel, the short story “allows the author to control plot, action, and character, to achieve that which is 'alone worth the attention of the critic—the unity or totality of effect,'” as the story, written according to “a pre-established design,” works toward to a predetermined end (11-12).
Poe's short story “Morella” is a good example of Poe's concept of the creative process, Hayes suggests:
To illustrate his view, Poe makes reference to the griffin of ancient Greek mythology, a creature cobbled together from parts of various actual animals: its body was that of a lion, its head and wings those of an eagle, its tail “serpentine” (7). This mythical beast was, for Poe, emblematic of the creative writing process.
“All novel conceptions are merely unusual combinations. The mind of man can imagine nothing which has not really existed,” Poe insisted (7). By combining such elements as “genres, motifs, styles, [and] themes,” Hayes explains, a writer attains such “originality” as is possible, putting his or her stamp on the resulting work, and “the best authors combine different pre-existing aspects of literature to create something completely original” (7).
Both beauty and deformity, Poe says, provide materials that can be selected as components of original tales; by combining such elements, am author can create original works of art. The grotesque is included in Poe's aesthetic (8).
For Poe, short stories are superior to novels, because the former can (and should) achieve the unity of effect that longer works lack, making short stories more artistically and emotionally satisfying. Unlike the novel, the short story “allows the author to control plot, action, and character, to achieve that which is 'alone worth the attention of the critic—the unity or totality of effect,'” as the story, written according to “a pre-established design,” works toward to a predetermined end (11-12).
Poe's short story “Morella” is a good example of Poe's concept of the creative process, Hayes suggests:
[In “Morella”] he combines aspects of sentimental
fiction, supernatural tales, German metaphysics, and folk legends to
create a challenging and original tale about death, resurrection, and
the power of the will (8).
Poe
considered the length of the short story to be what one could read in
a “single sitting,” which he calculated to be between “a half
hour to one or two hours.” Longer stories lost their effectiveness
because the interruption of one's reading by “worldly interests”
would more or less “counteract . . . the impressions of the book,”
while stopping reading would “destroy the true unity” of the tale
(12).
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