Washington Irving vs Edgar Allan Poe Essay - 738 Words

The Romantic era writers, Washington Irving and Edgar Allan Poe, had many similarities but even more differences, in both writing theme and style. This is very evident in their works, â€Å"Rip Van Winkle†, by Irving, and â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher†, by Poe. Washington Irving and Edgar Allan Poe were both writers who exemplified the writing style of the Romantic era. Both writers used their great talents to take the reader into the story. For example, Irving, in â€Å"Rip Van Winkle†, starts the story by saying, â€Å"Whoever has made a courage up the Hudson must remember the Kaatskill Mountains.† He also involves the reader in the story by taking us into the everyday lives of the Van Winkles and goes into some detail describing Rip’s â€Å"business†.†¦show more content†¦Roderick, who believes he buried her alive, is going insane because when he imagines that she appears in front of her. Poe describes the feelings of Roderick in a manner that one can sense the fear that he must feel seeing someone return from the grave. The differences of Irving and Poe are much greater than the similarities of the two. Irving used humor in his writings while Poe used horror. An example of Irving using humor is his description of Rip falling asleep from the alcohol for twenty years after meeting the Dutchmen. Poe, on the other hand, took a more morbid approach to his writings. He exploited the fear that is in each of us. An instance of this is â€Å"But, as I placed my hand upon his shoulder, there came a string shudder over his whole person; a sickly smile quivered about his lips; and I saw that he spoke in a low, hurried, and gibbering murmur, as if unconscious of my presence. Bending closely over him. I at length drank in the hideous import of his words. Not hear it? —yes, I hear it, and have heard it. Long—long—long—many minutes, many hours, many days, have I heard—yet I dared not—oh, pity, me, miserable wretch that I am!—I dared not—I dared not speak! We have put her living in the tomb! And now tell you that I heard her first feeble movements in the hollow coffin. I heard them—many, many days ago—yet I dared now—I dared not speak! AndShow MoreRelatedSupernatural Essay1273 Words   |  6 Pagescom/quotes/tag/supernatural. B. Background information (titles, authors, book information, definitions, etc.) â€Å"The Black Cat† by Edgar Allan Poe: as the narrator slips into insanity, his grasp on rheality falters, and images, dreams, and unnatural emotions lead to murder and animal cruelty. â€Å"The Raven† by Edgar Allan Poe: â€Å"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow† by Washington Irving: Gothic Literature Definition- â€Å"a genre of fiction characterized by mystery and supernatural horror, often set in a dark castleRead MoreHistory Now1070 Words   |  5 PagesDue Date Tasks Friday, 2/3/2012 Begin Unit: Loyalty and Betrayal, Section A, Order and Chaos Order and Chaos: Introduction Section Warm-Up: Product Loyalty Loyalty vs. Betrayal Literary Elements: Symbolism Tutorial: Symbols and Symbolism Reading 1: Two Kinds, by Amy Tan Practice: Symbolism Loyalty and Betrayal Theme Quiz, 40 points Friday, 2/10/2012 Begin Unit: Loyalty and Betrayal, Section B, Context Context: Introduction Section Warm-Up: A Context Riddle Reading 2: from CommunistsRead MoreBrief Survey of American Literature3339 Words   |  14 PagesRevolution(1789—1799) Romantic vs. Neoclassic (1) Neoclassicism: - reason, order, elegant wit - rationalism of enlightenment in 18th-cent. Romanticism: - passion, emotion, natural beauty - imagination, mysticism, liberalism (freedom to express personal feelings) Romantic vs. Neoclassic (2) Innovation: - subjects: common life; the supernatural; the far away and the long ago - style: common language really used by men; poetic symbolism Romantic vs. Neoclassic(3) Good poetryRead More Analyses of Short Stories Essay examples4756 Words   |  20 Pagesthat they are good, religious people and that Goodman is making up everyone being evil in his head. I found an essay by Alexa Carlson that described the symbolism in light vs. dark, forest vs. town, nature vs. human, and fantasy vs. reality. In her paper, Essay #1: Young Goodman Brown, she states that â€Å"†¦fantasy vs. reality are employed to reinforce the idea that good and evil have been set up as strict categories into which no one, not even the religious figures of the community, fit neatly