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The Literary Criticism Edgar Allan Poe






This selection of Poe's literary criticisms is just in the beginning stages. Within these selections, all original punctuation, abbreviations and spellings have been retained. Where these spellings differ greatly from modern spellings, the most current form is noted in brackets immediately following the word. A number of obvious variants, such as "colour" for "color," reflect conventions to which we no longer adhere, but which were considered acceptable during Poe's lifetime and are left to stand without additional commentary. For manuscript material, including Poe's own corrections to printed sources, text contained within angle brackets "<...>" shows annotations made by Poe himself for the main text given. Reversed double-angle brackets ">>...<<" show text that Poe has canceled by striking or scratching out. Text contained within square brackets "[...]" is not part of the original. This text is intended as notes or corrections of typographical errors. In the original printings, some text occasionally appears within square brackets "[...]." In such cases, these have been changed to standard parentheses to avoid confusion. (Note: Over time, we will be changing our previously stated policy concerning square brackets to retain Poe's usage and distinguish our own editorial notes by enclosing these in double-square brackets "[[...]]".)  For a combined list of all the texts of Poe's tales, see the original index (although that index has not been maintained and is less current than the information presented here).

Since most of the literary criticism of Poe's era is unsigned, attribution is a complex and divisive issue. All items included here have been attributed to Poe at one time or another, but are subject to further analysis as our project proceeds. In general, uncertain attributions are noted by the presence of a question mark ("?"), with more question marks ("???") being used to denote less certain items. A few doubtful items are included merely because they have not been disproven. Again, these marks are not definitive at this stage.

At the end of each selection, beyond the "End of Text" tag, is a code, such as "[S:1]". This code is intended as an internal marker for keeping track of verification of the text.  In general, a value of "[S:0]" or the total absence of the code notes that the text has been entered, but not yet verified. Anyone who has ever tried to proofread a large volume of text will appreciate the inherent difficulties.






 

The Collections and Books:

During his lifetime, Poe planned, but never published a collection of his literary notices. A posthumous collection, edited by Rufus Wilmot Griswold, incorporates a few of his reviews, taken from the material Poe had accumulated for "Literary America." These collections are listed chronologically.
  • Living Writers of America   (late1846-1847, manuscript expansion of Poe's "Literati" series, incomplete and unpublished during Poe's lifetime) [The full manuscript was first published, with extensive notes, by Burton R. Pollin, "The Living Writers of America: A Manuscript by Edgar Allan Poe," Studies in the American Renaissance, 1991, Charlottesville: The University Press of Virginia, 1991, pp.151-211.]







The Literary Criticism:

These items are arranged alphabetically by the name of the author who is the subject of the review or notice. Within each name, the items are listed chronologically. Few of these items were published under any specific title and most are, therefore, given here as "Review of . . " or "Notice of . . . ." It should also be noted that most of these reviews did not carry the name of the reviewer. The authorship of specific items is a topic long researched and debated. Some notices are signed, but for most, the attribution to Poe is necessarily the result of conjecture.  

Scroll down, or select letter:  A   B   C   D   E   F   G   H   I   J   K   L   M   N   O   P   Q   R   S   T   U   V   W   X   Y   Z



 

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  • Brooks, James  (1810-1873)  ("Major Jack Downing" a pseudonym shared with Seba Smith)





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~~ G ~~

  • Gove, Mrs. Mary  (Miss Mary Sargeant Neal, later Mrs. Mary Gove Nichols)




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~~ J ~~






~~ K ~~






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~~ M ~~

  • Moore, Thomas  (also Thomas Little, Thomas Brown the Younger) (1779-1852)




~~ N ~~




 
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~~ P ~~






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  • Smith, Seba ("Major Jack Downing," a pseudonym shared with James Brooks) (1792-1868)




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~~ V ~~






~~ W ~~









Related Items:
  • A chronological index   (in preparation)




Bibliography:
  • Edsall, Thomas, ed., The Poe Catalogue, Baltimore: The 19th Century Shop, 1992. (This catalogue includes a few reprints of material which are not noted elsewhere.)
  • Harrison, James A[lbert]., ed, The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe, 17 vols, New York: T. Crowell, 1902.
  • Heartman, Charles F. and James R. Canny, A Bibliography of First Printings of the Writings of Edgar Allan Poe, Hattiesburg, MS: The Book Farm, 1943. (The best overall bibliography of Poe, although it does contain errors and is somewhat outdated.)
  • Hull, William Doyle, II, A Canon of the Critical Works of Edgar Allan Poe, With a Study of Poe as Editor and Reviewer, unpublished doctoral disseration for  University of Virginia, 1941.
  • Pollin, Burton R., ed., The Collected Writings of Edgar Allan Poe; Vols. III & IV - The Broadway Journal: Non-Fictional Prose, New York: Gordian Press, 1986; Vol. V - The Southern Literary Messenger: Non-Fictional Prose, New York: Gordian Press, 1997.
  • Thompson, G. Richard, ed., Essays and Reviews, New York: The Library of America, 1984. (A good basic collection.)
  • Vines, Lois D., ed., Poe Abroad: Influence, Reputation, Affinities, Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1999. (An extremely useful compendium of articles by various authors, divided by country or region.)
  • Woodberry, George E[dward]. and Stedman, Edmund Clarence, The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, 10 vols, Chicago, 1894-1895. (Reprinted in 1903 and 1914.)



 
[S:0 - JAS] - Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore - Works - The Literary Criticism of Edgar Allan Poe