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Edgar Allan Poe's Influence on Literature

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Edgar Allan Poe’s influence on American literature was nothing short of great; not only was he the creator of the detective story and the horror thriller, but he also influenced many great writers, among those William Faulkner and Fyodor Dostoevsky. While Poe is best known for his horror thrillers, being the creator of that particular genre, he has also fashioned two other literary genres, like the detective and the science fiction genre. Throughout his life, Poe read, reviewed, and critiqued many books for various magazines and papers. Poe did not hesitate to attack what he deemed inferior. “Is purely too imbecile to merit an extended critique,” he once wrote of a novel. Because of his readiness to attack what he believed to be unworthy, …show more content…

His first attempt was Hans Pfall, a story in which a man travels to the moon on a revolutionized balloon. Poe included actual facts into his story, mixing it with entirely false scientific “facts” to make the story believable (Meltzer 64). Poe’s innovations would later expand the modern science fiction genre. His vivid imagination veered off from scientific facts to create believable details to incorporate into his stories. These details anticipated later discoveries in both geography and astronomy (64). Science fiction writers like H.G. Wells and Jules Verne learned a great deal from Poe, which they integrated into their own writings. The belief that Poe began the science fiction genre may also be attributed to Poe’s complicated piece of writing which explained his own view of the universe. Eureka: A Prose Poem was published in March of 1848, and in it, Poe introduced his theory, a mixture of science, theology, and intuition. Poe theorized that: “God existed before matter. God created the first atoms. They scattered to create the universe. They are all trying to join back together, but when they do, they will be scattered again.” Poe’s theory caused an upset in society, as it was not Christian; however, others believed it to be brilliant, as it showed both insight and clear thought (Binns 100). Poe’s influence has not limited itself on just literature. Alfred Hitchcock, director of classic suspense films like Vertigo and Psycho has stated

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