E. A. Poe (1809 – 1849) was not understood by his contemporaries who confused the author’s wretched (= maledetta) private life with his poetical production. The American author was almost (= quasi del
Only at the end of the 19th century in France the Symbolists, the so called Decadentists, re-discovered his own world and translated his stories into French, while, in England
No critic can however deny (= negare) the effect and the influence Poe had on the artists who followed him (= che lo seguirono). Everyone discussed his works and took in consideration his principles stressing the ability of his genius in attracting the reader’s attention.
In particular Poe’s most incredible influence is in the building up (= costruire) suspence in his detective stories : he is considered one of the fathers of this modern genre and his principles are universally accepted.
In the Tales of Mystery and Terror, Poe, usually the action takes place in a restricted place, which represents the possibility of a return to the origins – the womb(= ventre materno) where man is in constant oscillation between life and death -, the fear of the unknown (= ciò che non si conosce), our inner fears (= paure interne) .
Poe was in quest of his double throughout his life (= per tutta la vita). His characters are tormented by their weaknesses (= debolezze) and forbidden (= proibiti)desires. They are alone in front of their anxieties, they do not know if their nightmares (= incubi) are real or fruit of an altered sensibility (= alterata) . They represent the fears and anguishes that tormented the author, victim of a private life marked by tragedies.