On the Charm of Horror in Allan Poe’s Fiction
Abstract
Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most influential writers of American literature in 19th Century. The theme of his work shows legendary flavour of Gothicism such as vanishment of beauty, horror of death, mystery and weirdness. Poe has ingenious instruction in his creation and writes in an ornate style. He sets off the atmosphere by contrast in every possible way with the theme of abnormal psychology, terror of death and reborn from death, in which he gives a vivid picture of thrillingness and horror. Aiming to probe into the charm of horror in his works, this thesis is divided into three parts. The frist part tries to understand Poe’s horror stories, the theme of death and the Gothic in his fiction. The second part is to analyze the charm of horror through Poes description of psychology and details from his fiction. At last, it analyzes Poe’s aesthetic theory and the influence of his family background, times background and disposition to his work. Combining with some fragments and phrases in original, it presents a profound understanding of aesthetics and mystery in his work.
Key Words: Edgar Allan Poe; Gothic; horror; psychological stories; death
摘 要
埃德加•爱伦•坡是19世纪美国文坛上最有影响的作家之1。他的作品主要反映了这样的主题：美的幻灭、死亡的恐怖、神秘和怪异，具有哥特式的传奇色彩。爱伦•坡在创作中总是精雕细琢、巧妙构建，在诸如变态心理、死亡的恐怖、起死回生等题材中，运用各种手段来烘托气氛，使读者感受到1种惊险、强烈的恐怖效果，体现出1种恐怖的魅力。本文分3部分，主要研究其作品中的恐怖魅力。第1部分主要了解作者的恐怖小说、死亡主题和哥特传统的体现。第2部分从作者作品的细节和心理描写等方面来分析其恐怖魅力。第3部分介绍作者的写作理论以及家庭背景、时代背景和个人性格等原因对其作品的影响。并通过结合原著中的某些片断和语句，深刻理解作者作品中的唯美与神秘。
关键词：爱伦•坡、哥特式、恐怖、心理小说、死亡