Edgar Allan Poe

Bloom's Classic Critical Views

by Harold Bloom

Edgar Allan Poe's eerie stories and poems continue to captivate readers to this day. He not only wrote such gothic classics as "The Raven," "The Tell-Tale Heart," and "The Fall of the House of Usher," he also lived a haunted life worthy of one of his tales.

Genres: Poetry, Literary Criticism

202 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Harold Bloom was an American literary critic and the Sterling Professor of Humanities at Yale University. In 2017, Bloom was called "probably the most famous literary critic in the English-speaking world." After publishing his first book in 1959, Bloom wrote more than 50 books, including over 40 books of literary criticism, several books discussing religion, and one novel. He edited hundreds of anthologies concerning numerous literary and philosophical figures for the Chelsea House publishing firm. Bloom's books have been translated into more than 40 languages. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1995.
Bloom was a defender of the traditional Western canon at a time when literature departments were focusing on what he derided as the "school of resentment" (multiculturalists, feminists, Marxists, and others). He was educated at Yale University, the University of Cambridge, and Cornell University.

Reviews

[Vicki Gooding · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a Biography and Critical Analysis, which I mistakenly took to mean more of his writings in addition to his story. In actuality while it mentions his writings the book is a critique on the man in the biography. It is very apparent that Bloom in particular really disliked Poe and only chose him because of how many Americans delighted in his work. The book mainly focuses on his "dark insanity" much of which gave some substance to what the reader could probably guess but without actual facts. As a lover of Poe's writings and a genuine interest in parts of his life that were not touched, I found the book ok but not great. If someone has such animosity toward who they're writing a critique about, it would have been better from someone (or someone's) less biased.

[Erik · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good collection of essays discussing Poe's writing. Harold Bloom's introduction is particularly interesting (and funny, though not intentionally, I think) because Bloom doesn't like Poe's work much (if at all) but at the same time says frankly that Poe is inescapable because he has influenced so much that came after him. The other writers assembled on the pages address aspects of Poe's writing with a great deal of thought.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of narratives on various topics found within Poe's works.