Edgar Allan Poe had an extremely interesting (and twisted) personal life. He was an alcoholic, never held a steady job, and married his 13-year old cousin, Virginia Clemm.
This brings up two questions. Feel free to respond to either: 1) How much should we care about an author’s personal life? Should we consider a person’s life when we read and analyze his or her writings? 2) Often writers are crazy, depressed, and have faced serious trauma. Do people need to have awful things happen to them to produce powerful literature?
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23 comments:
I don't think we should care that much about an author's personal life because some authors have written beautiful stories and they may come from a bad family or a good one. Although Edgar Allan Poe had a bad life, that doesn't mean that he could not have created amazing works. If his life had been easier, he might not have created the kind of liturature he writes, but he could have been amazing in another genre. The only reason why we should care about a authors backround is if you read alot of stories from that author or if you read a couple and think about how they came up with the story. Like Poe's story, "The Cask of Amontillado", when you read it, you wonder how, and even why, Poe came up with this idea.
Writers do not have to be crazy, depressed, or faced trama in their life to be amazing writers. That would be like saying teachers have to be mean and strict to teach their students something, or that laywers have to be loud and always arguing. These are just things people tend to think when they read a powerful peice of lituature and find out that the authors life was hard. There are many authors out there that have had a great life and write amazing stories, some may even be better than Poe's, or any writer with a hard life.
We really shouldn't care much about an authors personal life. It doesn't matter who they are or where they come from but the stories they write. When we read what they have written, we sometimes think that mayb some of their personal life had something to do with what they have written but shouldn't judge them or think too hardly about their past. Also sometimes having bad experiences does contribute to good writing because they can empathize for that character and make a well designed plot and story line. Producing powerful literature doesn't necessarily have to come from a bad past. It comes from a good imagination and talent. Authors shouldn't be judged on who they are but their talent of writing great pieces and stories.
People don't have to have something bad happen to them to write a good story. Many authors have good stories such as Stephanie Meyer and nothing bad happened to her. Sometimes bad things happen to people and they write about them, and that story may or may not come out good. It is true that in some cases people write about their past and have their writing become published an succesful, but it isn't the norm. So no, people don't need to have bad things happen to them to be succesful writers.
Having awful things occur in an author's life isn't the only way a writer can produce powerful literature. Writing about adventures or memories, good or bad, can also help a writer publish good stories. These can help because then they can tell the reader every little detail and the reader can relate to the story better. Although having awful things occurring may help a writer bring emotion into their piece, happiness and adventure can bring the same, if not more, emotion. So, yes, having bad things occur in an author's life may help, but comedy and adventures can all help a writer produce good literature as well.
Abby Seel
Responding to the 1st question:
We should care about the author's personal life. I think the reason most authors are crazy and depressed is because these people have great experiances to write off of; I think thats what makes them good authors. It's important to know the background of the author before reading one of their stories just to give you an idea of the theme or the tone. Knowing the background of the author can also kind of give you an idea if the story is going to be a good piece of writing or if you're interested in it. In conclusion, It's important to know the author's personal life because that will tell a lot about their writing.
I think that we should care a little bit about an authors personal life. Some times it is interesting to find out these things. But if you do choose to find out an authors personal life, you shouldn't let it affect the piece of writing you read. Also, you should not let it take affect to how you felt about the piece.
Some authours have horrible events happen to them.Also, alto of times great writings can come out of feeling of anger, sadness and etc... But, some authors don'y have bad things happen to them. This does not mean that they can't write good literature.
Even though we do not think of the author's personal life while we are reading one of their works (unless it is an autobiography) I believe that it does play a very important role in how the author writes, so we should take it into account the author's personal experiences that could connect to their work. Obviously if an author like Poe wrote a story, it would have a different overall feeling to it then if an author that writes sitcoms wrote it. This doesn't mean that an author like Poe couldn't write a sitcom, or a sitcom writer couldn't write a darker or more serious piece, it just means that it wouldn't be the same as the original in many aspects.
Just because an author hasn't experienced events as tragic or strange as Poe doesn't mean that this author can't write strong, compelling literature. Poe being able to tie in some of his personal experiences and feelings (to an extent) just adds to the literature. It doesn't make it the great piece that it already was, it just gives a deeper feeling to the piece. I have read many stories that were written by many different authors, and even though their personal life does affect their writing, it doesn't mean that it is better or worse than another story i read just because the author had a twisted life.
In my opion, we do not need to know every little detail of what has happened in an author's life. But it is okay to know just some basic thing's about their live's, For example if they have had any hard times in their life's, or if they have any mental disabilities. Edgar Allan Poe definalty had some sort of issue. In "The Cask of Amatillado," he had Montresor chain Fortunato up in his basement, and build a brick wall in formt of him. I don't know about anybody else, but to me that makes me think that he has some sort of issue. Edgar Allan Poe even married his 13 year old cousin, In my opion that is really sick.
i feel that an auther doesnt need to have first hand experience of someting to write a novel about it, there are many authers that have no expeirience of what they are writing about, but they are not able to write like the person with the experince. The way that i look at it is that you can do all the research that you want talk to all the pople that you want, do everything in your power to know more about the subject , but you still dont have the experience of being there. This leads to my feeling that authers that have first hand experience of something tend to write better about simply ofr the fact that they were there so they can tell you every little detail in a more realistic sense then the auther that wasnt there. I still believe that there are authers out there that can write really well with out expeirinceing that thing first hand but the majority of them can write it like ther person that was there.
In response to question 1.
I believe that one of the true ways to discover the meanings of stories and poems written by someone is to understand things that have happened to them or things about their personal life. This is because in many cases when you understand a persons life you may be able to understand where they are coming from and how they felt. Also, it can show one's outlook on life and by knowing things about this person you can see why they felt this way because everyone sees the world differently. Especially in Poe's case because he had quite the unique persona, you almost would need to know a few things about his life to understand how he looked at things or why he wrote them in such a way that he did. However, still today philosophers and such people who study Poe still can't figure out why he wrote the things he did and honestly, the world will never know because Poe isn't alive anymore to tell us how he thinks or feels; therefore we know what we know and his literature surely gives us room to think and question his work and even give our own mind questions about our life in some cases.
Thank you.
I don't think that anyone should worry about Edgar Allan Poe's personel life. The same thing go's with all the other thousands of authors. It is alright to know sometimes there biography or anything like that, but you don't need to know every single fact about their life. Also, an author doesn't always have to have something dramatic in their life to produce beautiful writing. Sometimes it does help, but not always.
EThomas said...
I don't think that anyone should worry about Edgar Allan Poe's personel life. The same thing go's with all the other thousands of authors. It is alright to know sometimes there biography or anything like that, but you don't need to know every single fact about their life. Also, an author doesn't always have to have something dramatic in their life to produce beautiful writing. Sometimes it does help, but not always.
I think that we should care a little bit about an authors personal life. Some times it is interesting to find out these things. But if you do choose to find out an authors personal life, you shouldn't let it affect the piece of writing you read. Also, you should not let it take affect to how you felt about the piece.
Some authours have horrible events happen to them.Also, alto of times great writings can come out of feeling of anger, sadness and etc... But, some authors don'y have bad things happen to them. This does not mean that they can't write good literature
We really shouldn't care much about an authors personal life. It doesn't matter who they are or where they come from but the stories they write. When we read what they have written, we sometimes think that mayb some of their personal life had something to do with what they have written but shouldn't judge them or think too hardly about their past. Also sometimes having bad experiences does contribute to good writing because they can empathize for that character and make a well designed plot and story line. Producing powerful literature doesn't necessarily have to come from a bad past. It comes from a good imagination and talent. Authors shouldn't be judged on who they are but their talent of writing great pieces and stories.
I don't think we should care that much about an author's personal life because some authors have written beautiful stories and they may come from a bad family or a good one. Although Edgar Allan Poe had a bad life, that doesn't mean that he could not have created amazing works. If his life had been easier, he might not have created the kind of liturature he writes, but he could have been amazing in another genre. The only reason why we should care about a authors backround is if you read alot of stories from that author or if you read a couple and think about how they came up with the story. Like Poe's story, "The Cask of Amontillado", when you read it, you wonder how, and even why, Poe came up with this idea.
Writers do not have to be crazy, depressed, or faced trama in their life to be amazing writers. That would be like saying teachers have to be mean and strict to teach their students something, or that laywers have to be loud and always arguing. These are just things people tend to think when they read a powerful peice of lituature and find out that the authors life was hard. There are many authors out there that have had a great life and write amazing stories, some may even be better than Poe's, or any writer with a hard life.
Even though we do not think of the author's personal life while we are reading one of their works (unless it is an autobiography) I believe that it does play a very important role in how the author writes, so we should take it into account the author's personal experiences that could connect to their work. Obviously if an author like Poe wrote a story, it would have a different overall feeling to it then if an author that writes sitcoms wrote it. This doesn't mean that an author like Poe couldn't write a sitcom, or a sitcom writer couldn't write a darker or more serious piece, it just means that it wouldn't be the same as the original in many aspects.
Just because an author hasn't experienced events as tragic or strange as Poe doesn't mean that this author can't write strong, compelling literature. Poe being able to tie in some of his personal experiences and feelings (to an extent) just adds to the literature. It doesn't make it the great piece that it already was, it just gives a deeper feeling to the piece. I have read many stories that were written by many different authors, and even though their personal life does affect their writing, it doesn't mean that it is better or worse than another story i read just because the author had a twisted life.
Bradley Ellmann said...
In my opion, we do not need to know every little detail of what has happened in an author's life. But it is okay to know just some basic thing's about their live's, For example if they have had any hard times in their life's, or if they have any mental disabilities. Edgar Allan Poe definalty had some sort of issue. In "The Cask of Amatillado," he had Montresor chain Fortunato up in his basement, and build a brick wall in formt of him. I don't know about anybody else, but to me that makes me think that he has some sort of issue. Edgar Allan Poe even married his 13 year old cousin, In my opion that is really sick.
October 4, 2009 5:58 PM
Abby Seel
Responding to the 1st question:
We should care about the author's personal life. I think the reason most authors are crazy and depressed is because these people have great experiances to write off of; I think thats what makes them good authors. It's important to know the background of the author before reading one of their stories just to give you an idea of the theme or the tone. Knowing the background of the author can also kind of give you an idea if the story is going to be a good piece of writing or if you're interested in it. In conclusion, It's important to know the author's personal life because that will tell a lot about their writing.
October 4, 2009 5:36 AM
In response to question 1.
I believe that one of the true ways to discover the meanings of stories and poems written by someone is to understand things that have happened to them or things about their personal life. This is because in many cases when you understand a persons life you may be able to understand where they are coming from and how they felt. Also, it can show one's outlook on life and by knowing things about this person you can see why they felt this way because everyone sees the world differently. Especially in Poe's case because he had quite the unique persona, you almost would need to know a few things about his life to understand how he looked at things or why he wrote them in such a way that he did. However, still today philosophers and such people who study Poe still can't figure out why he wrote the things he did and honestly, the world will never know because Poe isn't alive anymore to tell us how he thinks or feels; therefore we know what we know and his literature surely gives us room to think and question his work and even give our own mind questions about our life in some cases.
Thank you...again
i feel that an auther doesnt need to have first hand experience of someting to write a novel about it, there are many authers that have no expeirience of what they are writing about, but they are not able to write like the person with the experince. The way that i look at it is that you can do all the research that you want talk to all the pople that you want, do everything in your power to know more about the subject , but you still dont have the experience of being there. This leads to my feeling that authers that have first hand experience of something tend to write better about simply ofr the fact that they were there so they can tell you every little detail in a more realistic sense then the auther that wasnt there. I still believe that there are authers out there that can write really well with out expeirinceing that thing first hand but the majority of them can write it like ther person that was there.
Abby Seel
Responding to the 1st question:
We should care about the author's personal life. I think the reason most authors are crazy and depressed is because these people have great experiances to write off of; I think thats what makes them good authors. It's important to know the background of the author before reading one of their stories just to give you an idea of the theme or the tone. Knowing the background of the author can also kind of give you an idea if the story is going to be a good piece of writing or if you're interested in it. In conclusion, It's important to know the author's personal life because that will tell a lot about their writing.
October 4, 2009 5:36 AM
November 12, 2009 6:15 AM
People don't have to have something bad happen to them to write a good story. Many authors have good stories such as Stephanie Meyer and nothing bad happened to her. Sometimes bad things happen to people and they write about them, and that story may or may not come out good. It is true that in some cases people write about their past and have their writing become published an succesful, but it isn't the norm. So no, people don't need to have bad things happen to them to be succesful writers.
Having awful things occur in an author's life isn't the only way a writer can produce powerful literature. Writing about adventures or memories, good or bad, can also help a writer publish good stories. These can help because then they can tell the reader every little detail and the reader can relate to the story better. Although having awful things occurring may help a writer bring emotion into their piece, happiness and adventure can bring the same, if not more, emotion. So, yes, having bad things occur in an author's life may help, but comedy and adventures can all help a writer produce good literature as well.
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