The layout of this collection is interesting, as it starts with Poe's poems "of later life" which include his most famous (The Raven, Annabelle Lee, etc), then moves to his poems "of middle life", followed by poetry of his early life (I skipped the essays and prose poems at the end of the book).

The reverse chronology unfortunately meant that the quality decreased somewhat as you proceed. Poe clearly gained in skill as he aged and all of his very best poems are in the first section of this collection. ( )

3.5-4 stars
The only thing that I would have liked more is if this edition included notes to help with context of terms/words in the poems. But even without that, I really enjoyed reading Poe's poems. ( )

Bone chilling and keep you up all night tales of the creepy

I would use this in English classes. I would want to show that not all form of loved poetry has to be all fluffy and lovely. You can show your dark side, embrace it and it can be cherished as well.
Students in this era are having to deal with a lot more then adults realize. If a teacher would offer a different venue for expression, one never knows what would save a life or spark a discussion of deeper topics. ( )

Poe, not only a noted author but also poet, is not only the author of The Raven - the quintessential American gothic poem, but also the author of numerous other poems worthy of recognition.

This book collects of Poe's poetry from "To Helen" and "Annabel Lee" to "Ulalume" and of course "The Raven". ( )

Some poems were extraordinary, but the majority of the poems were dull. ( )

Tengo que aclarar, no sin cierta vergüenza, que no sabía que Edgar Allan Poe había escrito poesía hasta que me prestaron el libro.

No estoy segura de qué es lo que esperaba al leerlas, pero me encontré transportándome a un mundo gótico y sombrío, pero no carente de sentimientos.
Cuando uno piensa en Poe, la primer palabra que viene a la mente no es precisamente "romántico". Sin embargo, en sus poesías hay sensibilidad y tragedia, se habla de amor, de dolor, y sobre todo, de muerte.

Son todas muy bellas, muy bien escritas. Quizás por primera vez en mi vida, realmente disfruté de leer poesía. Me encontré abstrayéndome por completo del mundo exterior, absorvida por la magia siniestra de sus poemas.
No todas son tétricas sin embargo, las hay muy románticas y fantasiosas. Pero todas, sin igual, están escritas de un modo impecable, con ese sabor extra que tenía el lenguaje del siglo XIX.

El tiempo corroe las torres, pero éstas no tiemblan
- La ciudad en el Mar

Por otro lado, creo que se me había generado demasiada expectativa con respecto a El Cuervo, especialmente después de leer el ensayo donde lo explica y desglosa. Fue un error -accidental- leerlo primero, porque la magia de lo inesperado se perdió para mí, y lo hizo palidecer en contraste con los otros poemas. De todos modos es muy bueno y lo disfruté igual que al resto del libro. ( )

Fall of the House of Usher is a wonderful piece with plenty of interesting allusions to Poe's own life. The symbolism is rampant. I'm also a fan of Masque of the Red Death. A favorite quote, "There are chords in the hearts of the most reckless which cannot be touched without emotion... Even with the utterly lost, to whom life and death are equally jests, there are matters of which no jest can be made."

Just wonderful. ( )

I love Edgar Allen Poe. He's is one of my favorite poets. I love his dark and eerie style. He has a lot of underlying meanings in his poems (i.e. Annabelle Lee). I like trying to decipher his feelings and emotions within the story. I also enjoy the fact that he's from maryland, like me :) ( )

Poe is known for too few of his poems. He deserves to be known for more. ( )

I used to love Poe when I was younger, but, now, I get easily bored when I read his poetry. ( )

This is a necessary addition for anyone who loves Poe or his poetry. It is beautiful and tragic and dark. This collection is complete and not so large as to be unwieldy. ( )

3.5 stars ( )

Dot

I didn't read this version. ( )