About the Author
Edgar Poe was born on January 19, 1809, in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of indigent actors. At age three, when his parents died, Poe was […]
The Murders in the Rue Morgue
Setting
The story is set in the city of Paris, France, in the mid-nineteenth century. The particularly brutal murders of a woman and her daughter have […]
Themes and Characters
The central character, Auguste Dupin, is idiosyncratic, more than a little egocentric, and somewhat of a recluse. He is highly observant and an expert at […]
Literary Qualities
Although Poe is credited with the creation of the detective story and the character type known as the amateur sleuth, obviously Auguste Dupin and his […]
Social Sensitivity
Poe’s fiction is not concerned with social issues. He viewed true reality as a process of the mind, not a fact of physical existence; consequently, […]
Ideas and Topics for Papers
VII TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION 1. Look carefully at the opening pages of the story and discuss the nature of the “analytical” faculty. 2. Discuss the […]
Related Titles and Adaptations
William Legrand, the central character in “The Gold Bug,” shares some characteristics with Poe’s famous amateur sleuth, Auguste Dupin. Like Dupin, he alternates between gloomy […]