Edgar Allan Poe and Emily Dickinson Comparison Essay

Compare And Contrast The Life And Poetry Of Edgar Allan Poe And Emily Dickinson

Edgar Allan Poe and Emily Dickinson are both famous writers whose lives greatly contributed to their style of poetry writing. Edgar Poe lost his parents at a tender age of three. Later in life he struggled with alcoholism and depression due to loneliness, which formed the basis of her poetry themes.

Emily Dickinson was alone writer who rarely left his home and had no visitors. Poe’s poems are characterized by a common theme of horror because he focused on bringing out the poetic effect of structure and style.

Dickinson’s poems were based on the theme of loneliness, domestic lifestyle and sentimentalism. Her poems were characterized by her upbringing lifestyle and the England seventeenth century the metaphysical poems. The two poets works were similar because their poems reflected upon their lifestyle, however, they contrasted whereby Poes poems were based on the theme of horror while Dickinson’s poems reflected about the traditional lifestyle that existed at the time.

Emily Dickinson’s poems characterized by at least one or more themes such as death, nature, religion, eternity or love. Dickinson’s poems have varied themes combination or unique poetic voices. Her poems have a great sense of meditation such as There’s a certain Slant of Ligh.. I know that He exists is a poem whose main theme is skeptism. I’m Nobody! Who are you? And Papa above are characterized by embarrassing poetic appeal (Pollack 30).

Dickinson’s poetic style was unique that all of her poems exhibit no form of linear development and liner punctuation hence her earlier poems are equally excellent as her later poems (MacNeil614). Dickinson is writing style is characterized by lack of punctual at the end of the line hence creating enjambments that form full stanzas. Her love for dashes a creates hiatus at end or midline (Juhasz 50) Some critics perceive that Dickinson’s works defy convention because they were written during the 19th century when most of the works by women lacked themes and form.

Edgar Allan Poe was a reserved poet who wrote gothic poems using a supernatural style that enhanced the melodramatic within his works (Meyer 78). Poe’s poems are characterized by a musical effect of words to the reader’s emotion as in the poem The Raven.

Poe’s poems are characterized by a gloomy and threading tone. His poems lean towards tradition while maintaining gothic aspects with melodramatic, strange or evil happenings (Lovercraft 46). Poe’s horror and lack of love themes are believed to have been his personal reflection according to the lonely life that he lived. The theme of death is attributed to his sorrows after he lost his parents at a very tender age of three.

Poe and Dickinson’s pomes were characterized by traditional writing styles and they all reflected upon the poet’s lonely lives. Both poets exhibited good poetic writing styles with a theme of death and lack of love. The pomes’ excellent writing style resulted in emotional poems. On the contrary, Poe was an excellent gothic poet whose poems are characterized by death, horror and uncertainty. Dickson’s poems are characterized by themes such as death, nature, religion, eternity or love although they were emotional but not horrific.

Do you need quality compare and contrast essay help from academic writers? Just buy a college essay from our custom writing service and get a custom comparison paper written from scratch!

Emily Dickinson Writing Style

Emily Dickinson writing style was unique and invariable, a major factor that laid a solid foundation for her career in poetry; her compositions comprised exceptional use of lyrics, which made her popular among lovers of poems. Emily’s thematic choice in the art works have led to continuous and heated debates from those interested in enhancing their writing skills, creativity, and understanding her professional development over time. As a result, most people wonder, “What factors influenced Emily Dickinson to adapt her inimitable writing style?”

Emily Dickinson’s sensational writing style is fundamentally attributed to her childhood years. She was a brilliant child, although antisocial, a major factor that impacted her personality. Between 12 and 22 years, Emily spent most of her time alone.

For instance, she disliked going to church and other social functions with her siblings and parents because she did not relate with most religious teachings. Unlike most writers or poets whose careers were influenced by external factors such as attending programs like school events, church workshops, and other activities meant to help the attendees improve or discover their talents, Emily discovered her passion for writing and poetry without any external help; she relied on her reasoning and motivations in life.

Later in her career, Emily went deeper into solitude after moving to the Dickinson’s homestead. The new lifestyle became a turning point in her life; besides impacting her character, it changed her writing styles for almost 15 years. The transformation was primarily attributed to her inability to forget her old life and unfamiliarity with the new environment. Emily often stayed alone to distract herself from her parent’s sicknesses. In addition, she became more selective about people she surrounded herself with, which further contributed to her unique poetry technique.

Unlike Emily Dickenson, Edgar Allan Poe ventured into short story narratives and poems focusing on themes like mystery meant to reflect on his troubled life as a youth. Edgar’s zeal in poetry began in his childhood years although his parents were not supportive enough to help him nurture his talent. Nonetheless, he was still determined to become a renowned poet.

Emily Dickinson and Edgar Allan Poe had several similarities in their writing style

Emily Dickinson and Edgar Allan Poe used similar thematic approaches in their writings. They composed poems based on their life experiences including loss of loved ones, loneliness, and emotions. However, this resemblance seems to had faded as they progressed.

For example, Emily became optimistic about living a fulfilled life while Edgar remained pessimistic as evident in his style, which mainly comprised themes like insanity, death and horrific events, negativity, distress and lack of fulfillment. These topics are associated with Edgar’s family instability and addiction to drugs. Nonetheless, the poets lived lonely lives at some point in their lives, which might have probably improved their imagination.

Furthermore, they composed intriguing emotional verses and narratives in their entire careers. Although their success can be attributed to personal motivation and determination, major changes in life, especially as they transitioned from childhood to adulthood played a major role in influencing writing techniques.