Written in 1846, Edgar Allan Price’s seminal essay The Philosophy of Composition discusses the process of creating a work, providing insights into the writer’s creative process, revealing the methodical – almost algebraic process of creating a creative piece of work. Poe specifically focuses on his famous poem, ‘The Raven’ to discuss and elucidate his arguments. It is a seminal document to help one approach his style of writing.
The Philosophy of Composition | Summary
Poe begins his essay by referring to a letter he received from Charles Dickens, in which he states that William Godwin wrote his famous novel, Caleb Williams backward. Although the credibility of this claim is uncertain, Poe maintains that he must have had some idea of the start and denouement of his novel.
Poe first prefers considering the effect of his work. This is the effect that he wishes to create in the mind of the reader. Of the innumerable senses that the mind is capable of feeling, Poe decides on one emotion. He then focuses on the story or the sequence of events to help create that effect. He wishes that more attention was given to the writing process employed by authors. Most writers compose their works in a “fine frenzy”; at the same time, he acknowledges that it is hard to retrace the steps that an author undertakes while writing a creative work of art because they are only partially conscious of these processes.
Poe selects his 1845 poem The Raven to explain his writing process, which he claims he remembers perfectly. Poe claims that a good piece of writing should be read in one sitting. Long poems are usually weaved together by separate fragments of events; in novels, however, the aim is different since there is no unity of effect that a writer seeks to achieve. The length of his poem is 108 lines.
Poe wants his work to be universally appreciable and beauty is the soul of any poem. Beauty refers to a “pure elevation of the soul- not of intellect”. Beauty is more important than truth. Next, he chooses the tone and settles on sadness. Now, having the length, effect, and tone, Poe can write his poem. He settles on a refrain- “Nevermore”- which best conveys the tone of melancholy.
Poe then decides on a character to repeat this single-word refrain. He considers a parrot but decides that a raven would better suit the tone of the poem, which is a bird of ill omen. Then he decides, of all melancholic topics, which one is the most melancholic of them all, and the answer is simple- death. This melancholy topic is most poetic when it concerns the death of a beautiful woman and the best person to convey the same is “the lips of a bereaved lover”.
Poe has to now combine the two ideas, a lover lamenting his mistress and a raven continuously repeating the word “nevermore”. Poe comments that originality for a writer is the most important aspect of all. Originality does not lie in the meter or rhythm of his poem but rather in the combination of this meter and rhythm into the stanza which has remained hitherto unattempted.
Poe then decides on the locale where the raven and the bereaved lover meet; an obvious suggestion would be a forest or a field but Poe believes that an enclosed space is better suited to frame a picture in the reader’s mind. It holds his attention; Poe thus places the lover in his chamber where he has held the memories of his beloved sacred. Then he introduces the bird through the window and ideates that perhaps his flapping of wings can be mistaken as the tapping on the door. This increases a reader’s curiosity, while the effect is maintained as the lover opens the doors to find no one outside, concluding that it was the spirit of his mistress who visited him. He sets this scene against a stormy night for the raven to seek permission to come inside and for the contrasting effect against the “serenity of the chamber”. Throughout the poem, he uses several instances of contrast to have the ultimate impression on the reader of the poem.
He reaches the denouement by immediately changing the fantastic tone to a somber one. Poe insists on the richness of the text, which is achieved through some undercurrent “however indefinite of meaning”. Keeping this in mind, Poe adds the two last paragraphs such that the reader begins to imagine the raven as an emblem of the remembrance of the lover’s mistress.
The Philosophy of Composition | Analysis
Poe’s central and most interesting argument in his essay is his insistence on originality. It is less about impulse or intuition; it entails more of invention with already existing ideas than the negation of the same. The writer thus arrives at a new way of approaching his work. In The Raven, the individual details of meter and rhyme are not new but they have been arranged in a hitherto unknown and unexperimented manner.
Although Poe is widely considered an American Romantic writer, he does not agree that flashes or images of inspiration serve as the only means to create poetry. Many drafts and redrafts go into the process of writing, and any good writer will have some sense of the beginning and the denouement of his piece of work.
Poe advances some very sensible points in his essay. His consideration of effect, tone, length, denouement, and richness serve as rubrics for anyone to write poetry or other forms of literature. His dissection of The Raven serves as an example of his principles in action. Spontaneous inspiration is hardly enough for a poet to write good poetry; it demands a definite, almost systematic structure to have the desired effect and impression on the reader.
About the Author
Edgar Allen Poe was one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century. A central figure of Romanticism, many of his writings are concerned with the Gothic genre of literature. He is widely regarded for his tales of mystery and macabre. Some of his most famous works include The Raven, The Fall of the House of Usher, The Tell-Tale Heart, etc. His short stories greatly influenced the French Symbolists of the 19th century.
Edgar Allen Poe’s The Philosophy of Composition is a seminal work of non-fiction that dissects his poem The Raven at length; its composition and structure, and how Poe strives to create a deep impression on the reader. He discusses his approach to writing and composing poetry, providing valuable insights into his creative process. He thus reveals the methodical choices he made while crafting the poem.