Ligeia | Literary Precedents
Poe's art derives from the Gothic tradition, a genre popular in his own time. Critic Julian Symons notes, "The Gothic novelists wanted to arouse in their readers feelings of terror and delight at the horrific plight of the central character, and they used mysterious events to enhance these feelings." Gothic writing veered into violent crime literature and ghost stories, and employed creaky mansions, malevolent characters, and deadly secrets. Poe parodies the Gothic style in his "How to Write a Blackwood Article," named for the popular Scottish monthly Blackwood's Magazine. Poe...
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