He wrote many of his stories and poems to satisfy the public appetite for sensational and gothic stories during the 19th century. He believed that beauty and melancholy could, and should, go hand in hand and this is evident in the poetry and prose he wrote. His pieces usually contrast dark themes with beauty and love.
Sanity is unstable
I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity.
A letter from Poe to G.W. Eveleth on January 4, 1858
This incredibly famous quote by Edgar Allan Poe expresses the idea that there are moments in life when one feels overwhelmed by madness or a state of mental confusion. These moments are followed by periods, as Poe writes, of “horrible sanity.” This suggests that there are moments in which he regains his rationality and perhaps becomes acutely aware of his existence in a way that’s not pleasurable.
Reality is based on one’s fleeting perceptions
All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream.
Poe’s poem ‘A Dream Within a Dream’
This is another incredibly well-known Poe quote. In these lines, Poe is suggesting that everything one experiences is illusory or fleeting, in the same way a dream is. He’s questioning the nature of reality itself and the reliability of one’s senses. He’s emphasizing the idea that reality is layered and possibly unreal.
The intensity and depth of love
We loved with a love that was more than love.
Poe’s poem ‘Annabel Lee‘
This quote comes from ‘Annabel Lee,’ Poe’s most famous love poem. This specific line is usually interpreted as an expression of the love shared between the speaker and Annabel Lee before she passed away.
This love was extraordinary and transcended conventional notions of love. It suggests that the love was so profound that it went beyond the ordinary bounds of romantic affection.
Poe indulged in alcohol in order to escape painful memories
I have absolutely no pleasure in the stimulants in which I sometimes so madly indulge. It has not been in the pursuit of pleasure that I have periled life and reputation and reason. It has been the desperate attempt to escape from torturing memories, from a sense of insupportable loneliness and a dread of some strange impending doom.
Letter from Poe to S.H. Whitman, November 3, 1848
In this statement from the 1848 letter, Poe expresses how he considers his indulgence in stimulants or intoxicants. It was not, he stated, for his enjoyment. Instead, he says, it was to experience a form of escapism. It was an attempt to avoid the painful memories of his past.
Mystery can come in the most unexpected forms
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
Tis some visitor,” I muttered, “tapping at my chamber door —
Only this, and nothing more.
Poe’s poem ‘The Raven‘
This famous opening stanza of ‘The Raven’ is a beautiful quote from Edgar Allan Poe and a great demonstration of his poetic style. The lines describe a narrator reading about “forgotten lore” late at night and feeling tired and weak. As he’s about to fall asleep, he hears someone knocking on his door.
The stanza opens the poem with a melancholic and foreboding feeling. It hints at the poet’s interest in the esoteric and the supernatural, as well.
The power of feelings of alienation
From childhood’s hour I have not been. As others were, I have not seen. As others saw, I could not awaken. My heart to joy at the same tone. And all I loved, I loved alone.
Poe’s poem ‘Alone‘
These lines convey Poe’s sense of detachment from childhood in the poem ‘Alone.’ The quote expresses how he always felt different from others and the unique way in which he perceives the world. The phrase “I have not been as others were” is a particularly interesting part of the poem. It suggests a strong sense of not fitting in or sharing a common experience with those around him.
The complex relationship between madness and creativity
Men have called me mad; but the question is not yet settled, whether madness is or is not the loftiest intelligence– whether much that is glorious– whether all that is profound– does not spring from disease of thought– from moods of mind exalted at the expense of the general intellect.
Poe’s short story ‘Eleonora’
These lines from the beginning of the short story ‘Eleonora’ are another great example of Poe’s writing. The poet acknowledges that others have labeled him (or his speaker) as mad and that this suggests he’s mentally unstable in some way. But, he raises the question of whether madness is, in fact, the highest form of intelligence.
Strangeness is necessary for true beauty
There is no exquisite beauty… without some strangeness in the proportion.
This quote is often attributed to Edgar Allan Poe, but there is some debate around its origin, suggesting that it could’ve been said by someone else. More than likely, though, it does belong to Poe.
The quote speaks of beauty and strangeness, two things common to Poe’s writing. Here, he’s suggesting that one can’t have true beauty (or extraordinary, perfect beauty) without “some strangeness in the proportion.” The “strangeness” section of the quote indicates that the most beautiful people are those who are also slightly different looking. Their appearance stands out in its unusual nature.
Blessings go hand-in-hand with suffering
Never to suffer would never to have been blessed.
Mesmeric Revelation
This short Poe quote is another example of his interest in contrast and juxtaposition. Just as in the previous quote, he uses this one to indicate that one can’t experience a blessing without also having suffered. It takes one side of the equation in order to have the other.
Without love, there is only loneliness
Deep in earth my love is lying
Poe’s poem ‘Deep in the Earth’
And I must weep alone.
This moving couplet was presumably written after the death of Poe’s young wife. She died long before her time, and her death was one of several that contributed to Poe’s outlook on life and literature. The quote is as beautiful as it is sad. It is also directly to the point in a way that many Poe quotes are not. There is no misunderstanding Poe’s sorrow and loneliness in these lines.
It’s possible to become entrapped by melancholy
And so being young and dipped in folly
I fell in love with melancholy
Poe’s poem ‘Romance‘
This short section of the longer poem ‘Romance’ is another great example of Poe’s interest in love generally and the way that it influences one’s understanding of the world. Here, Poe is discussing youthful love, specifically a love for the melancholy. This line indicates Poe felt he was entranced by melancholy and sorrow in a way that was comparable to love. It was a state that he experienced so often that it was hard, if not impossible, to get away from it.
Life is fleeting
It is by no means an irrational fancy that, in a future existence, we shall look upon what we think our present existence, as a dream.
Poe’s poem ‘A Dream Within a Dream‘
This quote from the famous poem ‘A Dream Within a Dream’ speaks to the nature of existence and how temporary it is. The speaker, commonly assumed to be Poe, discusses the future and how, at the end of our lives or even after death, we’ll look back on our experiences, and it will all feel like a dream. Time is so fleeting that what feels real and solid now will not seem so in the future.
The power of existential dread
Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before.
Poe’s poem ‘The Raven‘
This famous quote from ‘The Raven’ speaks to Poe’s contemplation of death and darkness. His speaker stands peering into the darkness and experiencing dreams and feelings that no “mortal” had ever done before. His speaker has a moment of realization about the nature of life.
It’s better never to begin than to leave something unfinished
The true genius shudders at incompleteness — imperfection — and usually prefers silence to saying the something which is not everything that should be said.
Poe’s novel ‘Marginalia’
In this quote from ‘Marginalia,’ Poe is speaking to the nature of perfectionism. He indicates that, to someone interested in completing things to perfection they will find incompleteness intolerable. This also goes for speaking, he says. If one starts a sentiment but is unable to bring it to completion or adequately express what they want to say, then it’s better to never say anything at all.
Poetry is beauty
I would define, in brief, the poetry of words as the rhythmical creation of beauty.
Poe’s essay ‘The Poetic Principle’
In this quote, Poe describes poetry in simple terms: it is beauty. The poetry of words is the “creation of beauty,” he says specifically. It’s as close as one can get to creating beauty with one’s mind, heart, and hands. This is a fitting depiction of poetry, especially for Poe, who embued so much of his love and suffering into his verse.
FAQs
What is Edgar Allan Poe’s most famous quote?
It’s hard to pick one quote that could be described as Poe’s most famous, but the line “Quote the Raven, Nevermore” is certainly one of his best-known and is generally recognized even by those who don’t have an interest in poetry.
What were Poe’s dark quotes?
Some of Poe’s darkest quotes include, “True! — nervous — very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad?” And “Deep in earth my love is lying / And I must weep alone.”
What is the most famous line from ‘The Raven?’
Poe’s “Quote the Raven, Nevermore” is one of his most famous lines, but readers will also recognize these lines from “We loved with a love that was more than love” from ‘Annabel Lee.’
Why was Edgar Allan Poe’s writing so dark?
Poe’s writing is so dark because his life was marked by a series of personal tragedies and difficulties. He lost his mother to tuberculosis when he was very young, and his adoptive mother also died when he was in his early twenties. His wife, Virginia, also died at a young age.
