25 Edgar Allan Poe phrases to reflect on

Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most popular American writers of all time. Master of the short story, he was one of the greatest exponents of romanticism; with works that are among the classics of universal literature.

Poe is known worldwide for his poem The Raven (1845), although his horror, science fiction and detective stories are ranked among the best ever written. His eventful life was as tragic as some of his works, so it forms a contrast between reality and fiction.

The best phrases of Edgar Allan Poe

If you are a fan of reading, it is impossible that you have not come across a quote from the writer born in Boston at the beginning of 1809. Although we cannot say that he achieved great success at the end of his life, The technique of his pen earned him recognition in some sectors.

Let’s see the best quotes by Edgar Allan Poe about death, life, madness and beauty.

1. “Beauty of any kind, in its supreme development, invariably excites the sensitive soul to tears.”

It is one of his best-known quotes, one that faithfully captures the romantic ideal of the time. Beauty certainly arouses emotion in those who contemplate it, no matter what type of beauty it is.

2. “I have no faith in human perfectibility. I believe that human effort will have no appreciable effect on humanity. Man is now more active, not happier or wiser than 6,000 years ago.”

We tend to believe that many attributes increase over time. This is not a constant, since in many aspects they deteriorate. This happens both with happiness and with other great desires of man.

3. “Those who dream during the day know many things that escape those who dream only at night.”

There are those who have the ability to daydream, others who never manage to wake up from this lethargy. As you will see, almost all of Edgar Allan Poe’s phrases have a gloomy, macabre or dark touch.

4. “The most natural human affections and, consequently, the truest and most intense, are those that arise in the heart as if by electrical sympathy.”

As if there was some kind of connection before. This is the most sincere and natural manifestation of affection that can be developed.

5. “Decorum: that nightmare that deters so many from happiness until the opportunity for joy has passed forever.”

Because many times there are no second chances. It is then advisable to think carefully about which train we should let pass and which we should not.

6. “If you want to forget something on the spot, take note that it must be remembered.”

As it could not be otherwise, irony is always present in Edgar Allan Poe’s phrases. If you are a true fan, we invite you to learn more about his life and work through the Poe Museum and through the Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore.

7. “True genius shudders at incompleteness, imperfection, and generally prefers silence to saying something that is not all that should be said.”

One of the many characteristics that can be attributed to a genius.

8. “We must keep in mind, in general, that the objective of our newspapers is more to create a sensation, to make a point, than to promote the cause of truth.”

Consider that these words were said almost 200 years ago, although it seems that they were contextualized in the present. The validity of Edgar Allan Poe’s phrases is in turn the validity of his thought.

9. “Everything we see or seem is nothing more than a dream within a dream.”

Words that we find in his popular story A dream within a dream (1849). The dream experience is a constant in the phrases of Edgar Allan Poe.

10. “Don’t believe anything you hear, and only half of what you see.”

In this case, the sentence is inserted within the story The system of Dr. Tarr and Professor Fether (1845). Doubting what surrounds you is not only a sign of prudence, but also of intelligence.

11. “I stayed too inside my head and ended up losing my mind.”

There are many Edgar Allan Poe’s phrases about madness, so many that we could well have made a compilation just for them. This, like others that we will see later, describe some of the author’s own experiences.

12. “I fear future events, not in themselves, but their results.”

And the way in which these can surprise or condition life. Uncertainty about the future is something that no one can escape.

13. “Dying laughing must be the most glorious of all glorious deaths.”

Or at least that’s what the romantic writer thought. It is better to die laughing than to die in the deepest sadness.

14. “Even for those who are completely lost, for whom life and death are equally jokes, there are matters that cannot be joked about.”

You find these words in the story The Masque of the Red Death (1842). Without a doubt, there are times to joke and others to take things seriously.

15. “The most terrifying monsters are those that lurk within our souls.”

They are not under your bed, nor in the closet. They are inside you and if you never face them they will never stop scaring you. If you are a horror fan, we invite you to also read Lovecraft’s best phrases.

16. “The customs of the world are many conventional follies.”

It’s just that they are so internalized that we don’t notice them.

17. “All suffering originates in longing, attachment and desire.”

Anyone, no matter how big or small. Any suffering you have in life is due to longing, attachment and desire. Frequently all of these taken to the extreme.

18. “The memory of past happiness is today’s anguish.”

Some words that connect with the previous ones. If you feel longing, attachment or desire for the past, especially for the happiest moments, it is natural that this leads to anguish.

19. “It is a joy to wonder; It is a happiness to dream.”

So you should never stop wondering and dreaming. Not all of Edgar Allan Poe’s phrases are terrifying, as we can see.

20. “Years of love have been forgotten in the hate of a minute.”

Unfortunately, it is something that happens thousands of times every day. A moment of outburst can bury the love that two people profess for each other.

21. “Invisible things are the only realities.”

These words were reformulated in different ways later. For example, everyone knows those of The little Prince (1943): “The essential is invisible to the eyes.”

22. “Sleep, those little pieces of death, how I hate them”

To give you an idea, the average human sleeps about 25 years of their life. Therefore, you spend a third of your life sleeping.

23. “It has been in the pursuit of pleasure that I have endangered my life, reputation and reason. “It has been a desperate attempt to escape from torturous memories, from a feeling of unbearable loneliness and from the fear of a strange imminent doom.”

Words that connect us with the final hours of the life of the American writer. To this day the circumstances of his death are disputed..

24. “There is no exquisite beauty without a certain strangeness in proportion.”

In other words, there is no beauty that escapes imperfection.

25. “The ninety-nine are with dreams, happy, but with the hope of a renewed world; It is the hundredth man who is determined to make those dreams come true.”

Dreams and ideals alone are nothing until the moment someone materializes them. The problem is that there are more dreamers than doers in real life..

With this last reflection we conclude our list of the best phrases by Edgar Allan Poe. We invite you to review all of his work and rediscover new ideas present in this creative genius.

You might be interested…