There comes Poe, with his Raven, like Barnaby Rudge, Three-fifths of him genius, and two-fifths sheer fudge.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- A critical verse claiming much of Poe's work is unoriginal despite its genius.
- In plain terms
- Critics say Poe is part genius and part imitation.
- What can you take from it?
- Genius may still rely on borrowed ideas.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How much of art is imitation?
- Does originality matter more than skill?
Another view
This is a subjective critique possibly from a rival.
More from Edgar Allan Poe
He was an adventurer into the vaults and cellars and horrible underground passages of the human soul. He sounded the horror and the warning of his own doom.
Permalink to quote #100 Poe is a kind of Hawthorne and delirium tremens.
Permalink to quote #102 I don't believe in ghosts but they have been chasing me my whole life.
Permalink to quote #99
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