Volume 5

Poe is presented as the most interesting and original figure in American letters, born in poverty and dying under painful circumstances, yet achieving lasting recognition for his extraordinary works.

Despite producing 'The Raven' and other masterpieces, Poe received meager compensation and lived in poverty, as exemplified by N. P. Willis's appeal for aid to support him and his dying wife.

The writer catalogues the range and quality of Poe's works across multiple genres—tales of mystery, hoaxes, conscience, beauty, ratiocination, and poetry—demonstrating his versatile genius.

Poe was born to an actor father and English actress mother who died in poverty when he was orphaned at age two, then adopted by John Allan, a wealthy Richmond merchant.

The Allan household provided Poe with luxury, education, and affection, with Mrs. Allan as a devoted mother figure and Mr. Allan taking pride in the precocious boy.

Poe attended excellent schools both in England and America, where he was recognized as a born poet and gifted scholar by his teachers despite his emotional sensitivity.

At seventeen, Poe entered the University of Virginia but left after one session due to financial disputes with Allan, not expulsion, and contracted debts from card-playing.

Poe made his initial literary attempt in 1827 with 'Tamerlane' and Other Poems, followed by 'Al Aaraaf' in 1829, though neither attracted much attention.

Through Allan's influence, Poe gained admission to West Point Military Academy but deliberately neglected his duties to secure dismissal, finally achieving his aim on March 7, 1831.

In 1833, Poe won a $100 prize for 'A MSS. Found in a Bottle,' his first genuine victory that established him as a serious writer.

During his fifteen-year literary career, Poe worked for various newspapers and magazines in Richmond, Philadelphia, and New York, proving himself faithful, punctual, industrious, and thorough.

On September 22, 1835, Poe married his thirteen-year-old cousin Virginia Clemm in Baltimore when he was twenty-six, beginning a relationship marked by devotion despite economic hardship.

Throughout his career, Poe lived in poverty with meager salaries from periodicals, even when his reputation was established, receiving only $10 weekly initially and modest payments later.

After his death, Griswold's malignant misrepresentations were corrected by scholars like Ingram and Gill, allowing Poe to be seen as the finest American literary genius rather than as a disreputable figure.

Lowell notes that American literature lacks a central organizing force like London or Paris, instead being fragmented into regional systems that limit mutual influence and recognition.

Lowell argues that judging contemporary literature fairly is difficult because friendship and generosity easily corrupt critical judgment, and praise given carelessly becomes merely flattery.

Lowell presents Poe's biography as remarkably eventful, marked by romantic parentage, early orphaning, adoption by a wealthy merchant, and a series of dramatic turns.

Lowell surveys Shakespeare, Milton, Pope, Chatterton, Burns, Coleridge, Byron, Wordsworth, Shelley, and Cowley to show that early poetry rarely predicts future greatness, establishing context for evaluating Poe's precocious talents.

Lowell argues that Poe's early poems demonstrate mature purpose, technical mastery, and innate experience surpassing those of other young poets, showing a grace and symmetry rarely attained.

Lowell praises 'To Helen' as a work of limpid, serene beauty showing classical learning and melodic perfection without the dark cynicism or affected emotions common in contemporary youth poetry.

Lowell defines genius as possessing an indescribable magnetism and divine power that mere talent, however accomplished, cannot achieve, granting kindred with Nature itself.

Lowell acknowledges Poe possesses genuine genius but not the highest order, and notes that newspapers falsely claim the greatest peaks of Parnassus are overcrowded with geniuses.

Lowell identifies rigorous analytical ability and fecund imagination as Poe's chief strengths, the former enabling correct conception and outline, the latter providing color and completeness.

Lowell declares that while he disagrees with Poe's belief that art's object is Beauty, he will evaluate Poe's works by Poe's own standard rather than imposing external criteria.

Poe's tales operate in the dim region between the probable and supernatural, combining the impalpable shadows of mystery with meticulous attention to detail, both resulting from his analytical mind.

Poe's analytical tendency provides patience for minute detail and lends reality to his fantastic creations, while his approach differs fundamentally from mysticism in its external, dissective perspective.

Lowell commends Poe's highly finished, graceful, classical style as demonstrating varied powers, with 'The House of Usher' exemplifying a serene, somber beauty that establishes him as a master of classic style.

Lowell argues that great imaginative masters rarely resort to mere vagueness and horror, but Poe's achievement lies in skillfully combining strange fascination and terror as means of subjugating reader fancy.

As a critic, Poe was aesthetically deficient despite unerring analysis of technical elements, lacking perception of art's deeper ethics, yet his criticism excels in scientific precision and logical coherence.

Lowell concludes that Poe has attained permanent individual eminence in American literature through demonstrated power and originality, having done what could only be done once successfully.

Willis begins with the ancient fable of two antagonistic spirits inhabiting one body, suggesting that Poe's character embodied both angelic and demonic natures.

Willis presents Griswold's unflattering portrait of Poe as known but unpopular, erratic, ambitious beyond measure, envious, cynical, and driven by selfish ambition rather than honorable motives.

Willis contrasts Griswold's account with his own experience, finding Poe invariably punctual, industrious, gentle, and refined during their working relationship at the Evening Mirror.

Willis notes that with a single glass of wine, Poe's entire nature seemed to reverse, becoming irrational and aggressive while appearing sober, which would account for negative reports about him.

Willis argues that the reported arrogance and depravity were artifacts of Poe's intoxicated state, while his true character showed modesty, unaffected humility, and genuine gratitude.

Willis quotes letters from Poe expressing gratitude to Willis for support and genuine humility about his literary success, specifically regarding 'The Raven' and 'Ulalume.'

Willis testifies to the selfless, holy devotion of Poe's mother-in-law Mrs. Clemm, who tirelessly supported him through poverty and helped him even after Virginia's death, embodying pure disinterested love.