NEITHER GENIUS NOR FUDGE: EDGAR ALLAN POE AND 'EUREKA'

Authors

  • G. St. John Stott Arab American University, Jenin

Keywords:

Poe, Eureka, ether, mesmerism, hoax

Abstract

Eureka (1848) has been taken at face value as an expanded version of a lecture on cosmology that Poe gave earlier the same year. However, its seriousness as a work of science should be questioned. Its treatment of themes found in other works by Poe shows the author’s unconcern for consistency, and the text unlikely to have resulted from a serious engagement with scientific argument. Instead it should be approached as a hoax: an attempt to reveal the gullibility of its readers. Poe’s hoaxes relied for their effect on the trust created in readers by their recognition of generic conventions, and Eureka exploited and ridiculed public trust in cosmological lecturers such as John Bovee Dods.

Author Biography

G. St. John Stott, Arab American University, Jenin

Associate Professor of English and Chair of the Department of Modern LanguagesArab American University, Jenin

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How to Cite

Stott, G. S. J. (2014). NEITHER GENIUS NOR FUDGE: EDGAR ALLAN POE AND ’EUREKA’. 452ºF. Revista De Teoría De La Literatura Y Literatura Comparada, (1), 52–64. Retrieved from https://revistes.ub.edu/index.php/452f/article/view/10736

Issue

No. 1 (2009): The Figure of Edgar Allan Poe

Section

Monograph

License

All contents published in the journal are protected under a Creative Commons BY-NC-ND license. This corresponds to legislation within Spain, and does not allow commercial use of the texts. It is not possible to modify the contents either.

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Comparative Literature magazine 452ºF [ISSN 2013-3294] is a publishing project coordinated by Asociación Cultural 452ºF, and developed by its Editorial board.



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