內容簡介
Born to an unfortunate heritage, orphaned, unsympathetically raised, and then abandoned, Edgar Allan Poe struggled for greatness in an adverse social and economic climate -- a setting not improved by his fiery temperament and caustic criticism of others. Poe's melancholy brilliance, his passionate lyricism, and his tormented soul would make him one of the most widely read and original writers in American literature. Here, in one volume, are his classic short works: masterpieces of horror, terror, humor, and adventure -- and the finest lyric and narrative poetry of this ill-fated genius whose influence on both prose and verse continues to this day.
Pocket Books' Enriched Classics present the great works of world literature enhanced for the contemporary reader. This edition of Great Tales And Poems Of Edgar Allan Poe contains the original Pocket Books introduction, first published in 1951, along with an updated selection of critical excerpts, and suggestions for further readings.
作者簡介
Edgar Allan Poe (January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective-fiction genre. He is further credited with contributing to the emerging genre of science fiction. He was the first well-known American writer to try to earn a living through writing alone, resulting in a financially difficult life and career.
He was born as Edgar Poe in Boston, Massachusetts; he was orphaned young when his mother died shortly after his father abandoned the family. Poe was taken in by John and Frances Allan, of Richmond, Virginia, but they never formally adopted him. He attended the University of Virginia for one semester but left due to lack of money. After enlisting in the Army and later failing as an officer's cadet at West Point, Poe parted ways with the Allans. Poe's publishing career began humbly, with an anonymous collection of poems, Tamerlane and Other Poems (1827), credited only to "a Bostonian".
Poe switched his focus to prose and spent the next several years working for literary journals and periodicals, becoming known for his own style of literary criticism. His work forced him to move between several cities, including Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York City. In Baltimore in 1835, he married Virginia Clemm, his 13-year-old cousin. In January 1845, Poe published his poem "The Raven" to instant success. His wife died of tuberculosis two years later. He began planning to produce his own journal, The Penn (later renamed The Stylus), though he died before it could be produced. On October 7, 1849, at age 40, Poe died in Baltimore; the cause of his death is unknown and has been variously attributed to alcohol, brain congestion, cholera, drugs, heart disease, rabies, suicide, tuberculosis, and other agents.
Poe and his works influenced literature in the United States and around the world, as well as in specialized fields, such as cosmology and cryptography. Poe and his work appear throughout popular culture in literature, music, films, and television. A number of his homes are dedicated museums today.
埃德加·愛倫·坡(Edgar Allan Poe),十九世紀美國詩人、小說傢和文學評論傢,在世時曾長期擔任報刊編輯工作。其作品在任何時代都有著獨一無二的風格。語言精緻,形式優美,內容多樣,他的小說被公認為短篇哥特小說的巔峰。他是偵探小說的鼻祖,科幻小說的先驅,也是恐怖小說大師。象徵主義先行者。此外,愛倫·坡還是一個唯美主義者。
前言/序言
經典文學瑰寶:愛倫·坡的深邃世界 愛倫·坡,這位美國文學史上獨樹一幟的哥特式大師,其作品以其獨特的氛圍、精妙的敘事結構和對人類心理幽暗麵的深刻剖析而著稱。他的文字如同夜色中的微光,既引人入勝,又令人不寒而栗。我們在此為您呈現的這本精選集,旨在帶領讀者穿越時空的迷霧,深入探索這位天纔作傢的文學疆域,領略其在短篇小說和詩歌領域所達到的藝術巔峰。 本選集收錄的作品,無一不體現瞭坡對“統一效果”的極緻追求。他相信每一部文學作品都應服務於一個預先設定的核心印象,無論是恐懼、悲傷、還是對逝去之美的緬懷。翻開本書,您將接觸到一係列構建精妙、邏輯嚴密的推理故事,以及那些音韻和諧、意境蒼涼的絕美詩篇,它們共同構成瞭坡作品的完整光譜。 短篇小說:邏輯的迷宮與心智的深淵 坡被公認為現代偵探小說的鼻祖。他筆下的偵探,如那位赫赫有名的分析傢杜賓先生,不僅僅是解決謎團的工具,更是理性和邏輯的化身。然而,與冰冷的邏輯並存的,是人物內心深處無法抑製的恐懼、罪惡感和偏執。 我們將探討那些挑戰讀者心智的作品。例如,那些發生在封閉空間內、充滿暗示和象徵意義的場景,它們巧妙地利用瞭環境的壓迫感來烘托人物的心理狀態。坡擅長從最日常的景象中發掘齣令人不安的細節,使讀者在閱讀過程中,必須保持高度的警覺,以免錯過那些隱藏在敘事錶象之下的真相綫索。 更引人入勝的是他對病態心理的描摹。坡的許多故事主角,往往是那些被自己心魔所睏之人。他們的敘述充滿瞭自我辯護的矛盾性,引導讀者進入一個介於清醒與瘋狂之間的灰色地帶。讀者將跟隨敘述者的腳步,體驗那種從內而外崩塌的恐懼——當一個人發現自己最信任的“自我”開始背叛自己時,那種無助與絕望。我們深入探討瞭敘事聲音的不可靠性,這是坡敘事技巧中最為精妙的部分之一。敘述者往往自以為清醒,實則已被某種無法言喻的衝動所驅使,而正是這種內在的衝突,構成瞭故事最強大的張力。 這些故事不僅僅是簡單的懸疑或恐怖故事,它們是關於人類局限性的哲學探討。坡毫不留情地揭示瞭在極端壓力下,社會規範與原始欲望之間的脆弱界限。他構建的世界觀是內嚮的、沉思的,其焦點不在於外部世界的宏大事件,而在於靈魂深處細微的震顫與最終的崩潰。 詩歌:韻律中的哀歌與永恒的美 如果說短篇小說展現瞭坡的邏輯與洞察力,那麼他的詩歌則展示瞭他作為浪漫主義先驅的抒情天賦與對音樂性的執著追求。坡的詩歌是精雕細琢的藝術品,每一個詞語的選擇、每一個音節的押韻,都經過瞭嚴密的計算,以期達到最大的情感衝擊力。 本選集中收錄的詩篇,往往圍繞著一個永恒的主題:對逝去美人的哀悼。這種哀悼並非簡單的傷感,而是一種將逝者理想化、甚至神聖化的過程。詩人試圖通過完美的韻律和華麗的辭藻,在短暫的生命消逝後,為愛人的記憶構建一座不朽的殿堂。 詩歌中的意象選擇極具代錶性——烏鴉、月夜、古老的建築、幽深的林地,這些元素交織在一起,共同營造齣一種既華麗又淒美的氛圍。例如,那標誌性的“永不復焉”(Nevermore),不僅僅是一個重復的詞語,它成為瞭對一切希望破滅、對時間無情流逝的終極注腳。 我們仔細分析瞭坡在詩歌中對節奏和韻腳的創新使用。他並不拘泥於傳統的格律,而是通過巧妙地打破或重新組閤韻腳,來模擬心跳的紊亂、或是思緒的起伏不定。這種聲音的實驗性,使得他的詩歌即使在今天閱讀,依然保持著強大的共鳴力和現代感。詩歌的魅力在於其模糊性,它允許讀者在特定的情緒氛圍中,投射齣自己對於失落、死亡與永恒的理解。 總結:跨越時代的文學遺産 本選集不僅是對愛倫·坡創作生涯的忠實迴顧,更是一次對文學美學原則的深入學習。通過研讀他如何將哥特式的恐怖元素與嚴謹的敘事結構相結閤,以及他如何將對哀傷的體驗提升至音樂的境界,讀者將更能體會到為何愛倫·坡的作品能夠跨越世紀,持續影響著從偵探小說到現代主義文學的廣闊領域。 這些故事和詩篇,如同黑暗中閃爍的寶石,要求我們以一種既好奇又審慎的態度去對待。它們邀請我們直麵人性的脆弱,沉思存在的虛妄,並在最深沉的黑暗中,尋找一絲理智和美的救贖。這是一次不容錯過的文學探索之旅。