Edgar Allan Poe and Stephen King

Human beings have always had some sense of curiosity to explore the dark world. Because we are sensitive beings, we are afraid of making efforts to face the things that either frighten us or the unknown. For instance, we like telling our children that there are no ghosts or spirits lurking in the night. However, deep down we thrive in the excitement that cause fear. As such authors like Edgar Allan Poe and Stephen King have helped readers overcome or satisfy their curiosity when it comes to the darker realms of life.

Edgar Allan Poe and Stephen King are one of the best authors specializing in horror. Despite peculiar sound of the word horror, both authors have managed to attract a large and extensive readership (Academy of American Poets, 2018). It confirms that not only are the authors talented with their narrative styles, they also capitalize on the popularity of theme of horror. The works of both authors are a source of inspiration to a large number of writers as well as other artists. The themes and topics that Poe and King use are now common in other similar works. When one looks into other horror works, it is evident that the influence of Poe and King Mirrors in the works of their contemporaries. The success of the two authors is not just bound to their horror theme, their styles and consistency was also a major contribution.

Edgar Allan Poe Biography

E.A was born in 1809 in Boston but was orphaned two years later because his father left him after his mother’s passing on (Edgar n.d). Luckily, he was taken in by a rich merchant living in Richmond. He spent several years in England with them where he went to grammar school in London and Stoke Newington. As such this English environment greatly influenced him when he begun to write works that were similar to Gothic novels that were originally from England. In 1820, he went back to USA and attended school in Richmond (Edgar n.d). Six years later, he went to study in the University of Virginia where he specialized in poetry and Latin. Because of his financial position, gambling, and drinking problems, he was expelled. He decide to enlist in the army using a false name. While there, he wrote a poem to his foster father to comfort him after his foster mother’s death. Soon, he started drinking again and was dismissed.

Poe moved to Richmond where he married his cousin and in 1838, wrote his first novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym. His work was not appreciated and had to be contended with lack of finances and thereof. In 1847, his young wife passed on as a result of TB which made him so depressed. In addition, he spent most of his time gloomy moods, feeling isolated and in psychic loneliness. A year he after he published ‘’The Raven’, the public started to acknowledge his works (Edgar n.d). Most of Poe’s adult life was filled with intense sadness and finally succumbed to depression. He was found unconscious outside a pub, taken to hospital but he died after four days and buried a day later in 1849.

Stephen King

Stephen King was one of the children that one would term as a miracle baby. According to mother, she was told that she could not have any children of her own (Kimberlin, 2017). However, King was born in September 21^st 1947, in Maine. His father was a war veteran and was with the Merchant Marines during World War II, but after he came back, he was not able to settle in the civilian kind of life. Because of his incomplete family, they had to travel in search of support from relatives. Because of the constant movements, King fell behind in school and was the biggest in his class. He was also an introvert and this made him a spot for bullies. He was always fascinated by literature, particularly the horror theme hence, his mother pushed him to try his hand in literature. He started sending his stories to various magazines and it was when he was eighteen years that his career took off. His work paid off because he was given a scholarship in the University of Maine in Orono to specialize in English (Kimberlin, 2017). It is during this time that he started to experiment with drugs. He married his wife Tabitha after graduation and had three children. He struggled to support his family until his book, ‘’Carrie’’ became huge success. He was able to make his family comfortable as well as indulge in heavy drinking. Most of his works were influenced by his drinking. He finally managed, through the help of his wife to get rid of his drinking and drugs.

Similarities between the two writer’s lives

Poe and king did not have stable childhood and this influenced them emotionally as well the socially (King & DeFilippo, 2018). Both did not have a chance to lead normal social lives and this took toll over their psychological well-being. In order for them to cope, they took to drinking and using drugs. They both had a passion for literature and English and this created a foundation for their horror writing. From a very young age, both they were bullied because of their background (King & DeFilippo, 2018). For Poe, it is because he was the only American in an England school while King, kept changing schools because his family was poor.

On the other hand, they were different in a number of ways: Poe lived in the 19^th century before the industrial revolution. At the time, American literature was influenced by romanticism coming from Europe and the horror theme was not tapped (King & DeFilippo, 2018). As such, Poe is influential because he picked from an era that was at a critical vantage point. On the contrary, King lived in the second part of the 20^th century and fetched his inspiration from the post war conditions. He wrote at time when the genre of horror had already built a foundation. King is one of the best-selling authors in whole world and his works translated into more than 30 languages and even had movie adaptations.

Comparison of Their Works

As compared to King, Poe was not as influential when it came to wide readership. King made huge sales because he was able to attract a large no. of readers all over the world (King & DeFilippo, 2018). Nonetheless, both had the same styles of writing because they focused on the theme of horror. Just as Poe, King wrote novellas, short stories and non-fiction works. However, Poe’s literary works was broader because he did both long and short stories. Both writers built stories were relatively slow and concentrated on increasing on the horror gradually, instead of bombarding the readers from the word go. Despite dealing with horror, it is important to note that King and Poe did not intend to shock the readers, they also focused on love, family and loyalty. It is also evident that they both enjoyed exploring the theme of death, including how murder is critical in human life.

References

Academy of American Poets. (2018). Edgar Allan Pow. Retrieved November 18, 2018, from 

Edgar Allan Poe. (n.d.). Retrieved November 18, 2018, from 

http://www.oswego.edu/~meckert/Poe/inspiration

Kimberlin, M. (2017, August 8). Stephen King: Alcoholism, Drug Addiction and Fame. Retrieved 

November 18, 2018, from https://detoxtorehab.com/celebrity/stephen-king-alcoholism-drug-addiction-and-fame

King, T., & DeFilippo, M. (2018). The Author. Retrieved November 18, 2018, from