This article's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia. Specific concerns may be found on the talk page. See Wikipedia's guide to writing better articles for suggestions. (December 2009)

The ancient Hebrews perceived that there were poetical portions in their sacred texts, as shown by their entitling as songs or chants passages such as Exodus 15:1-19 and Numbers 21:17-20; a song or chant (shir) is, according to the primary meaning of the term, poetry. The question whether the poetical passages of the Old Testament show signs of regular rhythm or meter is yet unsolved.^[1]

Characteristics of Ancient Hebrew poetry[link]

Rhyme[link]

This section's factual accuracy is disputed. Please help to ensure that disputed facts are reliably sourced. See the relevant discussion on the talk page.

It is often stated that ancient Hebrew poetry contains almost no rhyme. This assertion is understandable because the ancient texts preserved in the Hebrew Bible were written over a period of at least a millennium. Over that length of time, the pronunciation of every language changes. Words that were rhyming pairs at the beginning of that period may no longer rhyme at the end of that period. Further, different tribal groups or other groups of Hebrew speakers undoubtedly pronounced words differently in one and the same era. Using English as an example, we would be hard-pressed to find rhyme or even meter in the opening verses of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, written in Middle English, if we were to pronounce the words of that poem as we pronounce their direct descendants in Modern English. Even within contemporary English, some speakers rhyme "again" with "rain" while others rhyme "again" with "pen."

The phonological phenomena that obscure the rhymes of Chaucer only 600 years after his death, are also to be found in Biblical Hebrew texts which spanned a millennium. One fine example of rhyme and meter in ancient Hebrew texts is found in the Book of Proverbs, 6:9, 10. As Hebraist Seth Ben-Mordecai (author, The Exodus Haggadah) points out, these two verses, split into four lines of poetry, demonstrate both internal rhyme (common to Biblical Hebrew texts) and end-of-line rhyme (less common in Hebrew but the norm in English rhyming poetry), as well as noticeable meter. Thus, the last word of the first line ('AD maTAI 'aTZEL tishKAV) rhymes with the last word of the last line (me'AT khibBUQ yaDAYM lishKAV). In the third line, the second and fourth words create an internal rhyme with each other (me'AT sheNOT, me'AT tenuMOT). Finally, the first word of the second line (maTAI taQUM mishshenaTEksgha) is identical to the first word of the first line, linking those two lines even without obvious rhyme. Similar rhyming verses within the Hebrew Bible ought to put to rest the [question]. It is sometimes stated that ancient Hebrew texts demonstrate assonance more often than rhyme. Indeed, assonance is prominent in ancient Hebrew texts - as are other forms of "sound matching." An example of assonance is found in the first song mentioned above (Exodus 15:1-19), where assonance occurs at the ends of the lines, as in "anwehu" and "aromemenhu" (15:2). It is, of course, true that consonance of "hu" (= "him") can occur frequently in the Hebrew, because the language allows speakers to affix object-case as suffixes to verbs. What is notable when comparing ancient Hebrew poetry to contemporary English poetry is the playfulness of the authors, and their evident willingness to use multiple sound-matching schemes,^{[citation needed]} rather than limiting themselves to simple rhymes at the end of verses, as in English.

Unusual forms[link]

The employment of unusual forms of language cannot be considered as a sign of ancient Hebrew poetry. In the sentences of Noah^[2] the form "lamo" occurs. But this form, which represents partly "lahem" and partly "lo", has many counterparts in Hebrew grammar, as, for example, "kemo" instead of "ke";^[3] or "emo" = "them";^[4] or "emo" = "their";^[5] or "clemo" = "to them"^[6]—forms found in passages for which no claim to poetical expressions is made. Then there are found "ḥayeto" = "beast",^[7] "osri" = "tying",^[8] and "yeshu'atah" = "salvation"^[9]—three forms that probably retain remnants of the old endings of the nominative, genitive, and accusative: "u(n)," "i(n)," "a(n)."

Again, in Lamech's words, "Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, harken unto my speech",^[10] the two words "he'ezin" and "imrah" attract attention, because they occur for the first time in this passage, although there had been an earlier opportunity of using them: in Genesis 3:8 and 3:10, "He'ezin" = "to harken" could have been used just as well as its synonym "shama'" = "to hear".^[11]

Furthermore, "imrah" = "speech" might have been used instead of the essentially identical "dabar" in Genesis 9:1 and following, but its earliest use is, as stated above, in Genesis 4:23.^[12] In place of "adam" = "man"^[13] "enosh" is employed.^[14] (compare the Aramaic "enash"^[15]).

A systematic review of similar unusual forms of Hebrew grammar and Hebrew words occurring in certain portions of the Old Testament.^[16] Such forms have been called "dialectus poetica" since the publication of Robert Lowth's "Prælectiones de Sacra Poesi Hebræorum" iii. (1753); but this designation is ambiguous and can be accepted only in agreement with the rule a parte potiori fit denominatio for some of these unusual forms and words are found elsewhere than in the "songs" of the Old Testament.

These unusual forms and expressions do not occur in all songs, and there are several Psalms that have none of these peculiarities.

Parallelism[link]

Not even the parallelismus membrorum is an absolutely certain indication of ancient Hebrew poetry. This "parallelism" is a phenomenon noticed in the portions of the Old Testament that are at the same time marked frequently by the so-called dialectus poetica; it consists in a remarkable correspondence in the ideas expressed in two successive verses; for example, the above-cited words of Lamech, "Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, harken unto my speech",^[17] in which are found "he'ezin" and "imrah," show a remarkable repetition of the same thought.

But this ideal corythmy is not always present in the songs of the Old Testament or in the Psalter, as the following passages will show:

• "The Lord is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation" (Exodus 15:2).
• "Saul and Jonathan, the beloved and the lovely, in life and in death they were not divided".^[18]
• "Ye daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet, and fine linen".^[19]
• "And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season";^[20]
• "I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the Lord sustained me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about".^[21]

Julius Ley^[22] says therefore correctly that

"the poets did not consider themselves bound by parallelism to such an extent as not to set it aside when the thought required it."

This restriction must be made to James Robertson's view:^[23] "The distinguishing feature of the Hebrew poetry ... is the rhythmical balancing of parts, or parallelism of thought."

Various rhetorical forms are found in the parallelisms of Biblical poetry. These include:

• Synonymous parallelism; in this form, the second hemistich (half line of verse) says much the same thing as the first one, with variations. An example is found in Amos 5:24:

But let judgment run down as waters,

and righteousness as a mighty stream.

Another example of synonymous parallelism is found in Isaiah 2.4 or Micah 4.3:

"They will beat their swords into plowshares

and their spears into pruning hooks.

• Antithesis is also found; here, the second hemistich directly contradicts or contrasts with the first. From Proverbs 10:1:

A wise son maketh a glad father,

but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.

• Formal parallelism occurs where the hemistichs balance, clause for clause, but contain neither synonymy nor direct antithesis. From Psalm 14:2:

The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men,

to see if there were any that did understand and seek God.

• Climactic parallelism occurs where the second hemistich partially balances the first hemistich, but also adds a thought or completes it. From Psalm 29:1:

Give unto the LORD, O ye mighty,

give unto the LORD glory and strength.

• External parallelism occurs when the syntactic units balance one another across multiple verses. Here, some of the permitted sorts of parallelisms are added not only within a single line of verse, but also between lines. From Isaiah 1:27-28:

Zion shall be redeemed with judgment,

and her converts with righteousness.

And the destruction of the transgressors and the sinners shall be together,

and they that forsake the LORD shall be consumed.

Quantitative Rhythm[link]

The poetry of the ancient Hebrews is not distinguished from the other parts of the Old Testament by rhythm based on quantity, though in view of Greek and Roman poetry it was natural to seek such a rhythm in the songs and Psalms of the Old Testament. William Jones, for example,^[24] attempted to prove that there was a definite sequence of long and short syllables in the ancient Hebrew poems; but he could support this thesis only by changing the punctuation in many ways, and by allowing great license to the Hebrew poets. However, on reading the portions of the Old Testament marked by the so-called dialectus poetica or by parallelism (e.g., Genesis 4:23 and following) no such sequence of long and short syllables can be discovered; and Sievers^[25] says: "Hebrew prosody is not based on quantity as classical prosody is."

Accentual rhythm[link]

Many scholars hold that the Hebrew poet considered only the syllables receiving the main accent, and did not count the intervening ones. Examples contrary to this are not found in passages where forms of the so-called dialectus poetica are used, as Ley holds;^[26] and Israel Davidson has proved^[27] that the choice of "lamo" instead of "lahem" favors in only a few passages the opinion that the poet intended to cause an accented syllable to be followed by an unaccented one.

The rhythm of Hebrew poetry may be similar to that of the German Nibelungenlied — a view that is strongly supported by the nature of the songs sung by the populace of Palestine in the early 20th century. These songs have been described by L. Schneller^[28] in the following words:

"The rhythms are manifold; there may be eight accents in one line, and three syllables are often inserted between two accents, the symmetry and variation being determined by emotion and sentiment."

Also in Palestine, Gustaf Hermann Dalman observed:

n:"Lines with two, three, four, and five accented syllables may be distinguished, between which one to three, and even four, unaccented syllables may be inserted, the poet being bound by no definite number in his poem. Occasionally two accented syllables are joined" ("Palästinischer Diwan", 1901, p23).

Such free rhythms are, in Davidson's opinion, found also in the poetry of the Old Testament. Under the stress of their thoughts and feelings the poets of Israel sought to achieve merely the material, not the formal symmetry of corresponding lines. This may be observed, for example, in the following lines of Psalm 2: "Serve the LORD with fear" ("'Ibdu et-Yhwh be-yir'ah", 2:11), "rejoice with trembling" ("we-gilu bi-re'adah"). This is shown more in detail by König;^[29] and Carl Heinrich Cornill has confirmed this view^[30] by saying:

"Equal length of the several stichoi was not the basic formal law of Jeremiah's metric construction."

Sievers is inclined to restrict Hebrew rhythm by various rules, as he attacks^[31] Karl Budde's view, that

"a foot which is lacking in one-half of a verse may find a substitute in the more ample thought of this shorter line".^[32]

Furthermore, the verse of the Old Testament poetry is naturally iambic or anapestic, as the words are accented on one of the final syllables.

The Dirges[link]

A special kind of rhythm may be observed in the dirges, called by the Hebrews "kinot". A whole book of these elegies is contained in the Hebrew Bible, the first of them beginning thus: "How does the city sit solitary—that was full of people—how is she become as a widow—she that was great among the nations—and princess among the provinces—how is she become tributary!" (Lamentations 1:1).

The rhythm of such lines lies in the fact that a longer line is always followed by a shorter one. As in the hexameter and pentameter of Greek poetry, this change was intended to symbolize the idea that a strenuous advance in life is followed by fatigue or reaction. This rhythm, which may be designated "elegiac measure," occurs also in Amos 5:2, expressly designated as a ḳinah. The sad import of his prophecies induced Jeremiah also to employ the rhythm of the dirges several times in his utterances (Jeremiah 9:20, 13:18 and following). He refers here expressly to the "meḳonenot" (the mourning women) who in the East still chant the death-song to the trembling tone of the pipe (48:36 and following). "Ḳinot" are found also in Ezekiel 19:1, 26:17, 27:2, 32:2 and following, 32:16, 32:19 and following.

This elegiac measure, being naturally a well-known one, was used also elsewhere, as, for example, in Psalm 19:8-10. The rhythm of the ḳinah has been analyzed especially by Budde (in Stade's "Zeitschrift", 1883, p299). Similar funeral songs of the modern Arabs are quoted by Wetzstein (in "Zeitschrift für Ethnologie", v. 298), as, e.g.: "O, if he only could be ransomed! truly, I would pay the ransom!" (see König, l.c. p315).

Anadiplosis[link]

A special kind of rhythm was produced by the frequent employment of the so-called anadiplosis, a mode of speech in which the phrase at the end of one sentence is repeated at the beginning of the next, as, for instance, in the passages "they came not to the help of the Lord [i.e., to protect God's people], to the help of the Lord against the mighty" (Judges 5:23; compare "ẓidḳot" [5:11a] and "nilḥamu" [5:19a-20a, b]), and "From whence shall my help come? My help cometh from the Lord" (Psalm 121:1b-2a, R. V.).

Many similar passages occur in fifteen of the Psalms, 120-134, which also contain an unusual number of epanalepsis, or catch-words, for which Israel Davidson proposed the name "Leittöne." Thus there is the repetition of "shakan" in Psalm 120:5, 6; of "shalom" in verses 6 and 7 of the same psalm; and the catch-word "yishmor" in Psalm 121:7, 8 (all the cases are enumerated in König, l.c. p. 302).

As the employment of such repetitions is somewhat suggestive of the mounting of stairs, the superscription "shir ha-ma'alot," found at the beginning of these fifteen psalms, may have a double meaning: it may indicate not only the purpose of these songs, to be sung on the pilgrimages to the festivals at Jerusalem, but also the peculiar construction of the songs, by which the reciter is led from one step of the inner life to the next. Such graduated rhythm may be observed elsewhere; for the peasants in modern Syria accompany their national dance by a song the verses of which are connected like the links of a chain, each verse beginning with the final words of the preceding one (Wetzstein, l.c. v. 292).

Acrostics[link]

Alphabetical acrostics are used as an external embellishment of a few poems. The letters of the alphabet, generally in their ordinary sequence, stand at the beginning of smaller or larger sections of Psalms 9-10 (probably), 15, 34, 37, 111, 112, 119, 145; Proverbs 31:10-31; Lamentations 1-4; and also of Sirach 51:13-29, as the newly discovered Hebrew text of this book has shown (see, on Psalms 25 and 34 especially, Hirsch in "Am. Jour. Semit. Lang." 1902, p167-173).

Alphabetical and other acrostics occur frequently in Neo-Hebraic poetry.^[33] The existence of acrostics in Babylonian literature has been definitely proved;^[34] and alphabetical poems are found also among the Samaritans, Syrians, and Arabs. Cicero says ("De Divinatione," II.54) that the verse of the sibyl was in acrostics; and the so-called Oracula Sibyllina contain an acrostic.^[35]

A secondary phenomenon, which distinguishes a part of the poems of the Old Testament from the other parts, is the so-called "accentuatio poetica"; it has been much slighted (Sievers, l.c. § 248, p. 375). Although not all the poetical portions of the Old Testament are marked by a special accentuation, the Book of Job in 3:3-42:6 and the books of Psalms and Proverbs throughout have received unusual accents. This point will be further discussed later on.

Division of the poetical portions of the Hebrew Bible[link]

Poems that deal with events[link]

First may be mentioned poems that deal principally with events, being epic-lyric in character: the triumphal song of Israel delivered from Egypt, or the song of the sea;^[36] the mocking song on the burning of Heshbon;^[37] the so-called song of Moses;^[38] the song of Deborah;^[39] the derisive song of victory of the Israelite women;^[40] Hannah's song of praise;^[41] David's song of praise on being saved from his enemies;^[42] Hezekiah's song of praise on his recovery;^[43] Jonah's song of praise;^[44] and many of the Psalms, e.g., those on the creation of the world,^[45] and on the election of Israel.^[46] A subdivision is formed by poems that deal more with description and praise: the so-called Well song;^[47] the song of praise on the uniqueness of the God of Israel;^[48] and those on His eternity;^[49] His omnipresence and omniscience;^[50] and His omnipotence.^[51]

Didactic poems[link]

Poems appealing more to reason, being essentially didactic in character. These include fables, like that of Jotham (Judges 9:7-15, although in prose); parables, like those of Nathan and others (2 Samuel 12:1-4, 14:4-9; 1 Kings 20:39 and following, all three in prose), or in the form of a song (Isaiah 5:1-6); riddles (Judges 14:14 and following; Proverbs 30:11 and following); maxims, as, for instance, in 1 Samuel 15:22, 24:14, and the greater part of Proverbs; the monologues and dialogues in Job 3:3 and following; compare also the reflections in monologue in Ecclesiastes. A number of the Psalms also are didactic in character. A series of them impresses the fact that God's law teaches one to abhor sin (Psalms 5, 58), and inculcates a true love for the Temple and the feasts of Yahweh (Psalms 15, 81, 92). Another series of Psalms shows that God is just, although it may at times seem different to a short-sighted observer of the world and of history ("theodicies": Psalms 49, 73; compare Psalms 16, 56, 60).

Lyrics[link]

Poems that portray feelings based on individual experience. Many of these lyrics express joy, as, e.g., Lamech's so-called Song of the sword;^[52] David's "last words";^[53] the words of praise of liberated Israel;^[54] songs of praise like Psalms 18, 24, 126, etc. Other lyrics express mourning. First among these are the dirges proper for the dead, as the ḳinah on the death of Saul and Jonathan;^[55] that on Abner's death;^[56] and all psalms of mourning, as, e.g., the expressions of sorrow of sufferers,^[57] and the expressions of penitence of sinners.^[58]

Poems that urge action[link]

Finally, a large group of poems of the Old Testament that urge action and are exhortatory. These may be divided into two sections:

1. The poet wishes something for himself, as in the so-called "signal words" (Numbers 10:35 and following, "Arise, LORD" etc.); at the beginning of the Well song (21:17 and following, "ali be'er"); in the daring request, "Sun, stand thou still" (Joshua 10:12); in Habakkuk's prayer ("tefillah"; Habakkuk 3:1-19); or in psalms of request for help in time of war (44, 60, etc.) or for liberation from prison (122, 137, etc.).
2. The poet pronounces blessings upon others, endeavoring to move God to grant these wishes. To this group belong the blessing of Noah (Genesis 9:25-27), of Isaac (27:28-29 and 39-40), and of Jacob (49:3-27); Jethro's congratulation of Israel (Exodus 18:10); the blessing of Aaron (Numbers 6:24-26) and of Balaam (23:7-10, 18-24, 24:5-9, 24:17-24); Moses' farewell (Deuteronomy 33:1 and following); the psalms that begin with "Ashre" = "Blessed is," etc., or contain this phrase, as Psalms 1, 41, 84:5 and following, 84:13, 112, 119, 128.

It was natural that in the drama, which is intended to portray a whole series of external and internal events, several of the foregoing kinds of poems should be combined. This combination occurs in Canticles, which, in Davidson's opinion, is most correctly characterized as a kind of drama.

The peculiar sublimity of the poems of the Old Testament is due partly to the high development of monotheism which finds expression therein and partly to the beauty of the moral ideals which they exalt. This subject has been discussed by J. D. Michaelis in the preface to his Arabic grammar, second edition, p29, and by Emil Kautzsch in "Die Poesie und die Poetischen Bücher des A. T." (1902).

Extent of Poetry in the Old Testament[link]

How much of the Hebrew Bible is to be considered poetry?

Can the prophetic books be considered as poetry? Setting aside the many modern exegetes of the Old Testament who have gone so far as to discuss the meters and verse of the several prophets, it may be noted here merely that Sievers says (l.c. p. 374) that the prophecies, aside from a few exceptions to be mentioned, are eo ipso poetic, i.e., in verse. But the fact must be noted, which no one has so far brought forward, namely, that every single utterance of Balaam is called a sentence ("mashal"; Numbers 23:7, 23:18, 24:3, 24:15, 24:20, 24:23), while in the prophetic books this term is not applied to the prophecies. There "mashal" is used only in the Book of Ezekiel, and in an entirely different sense, namely, that of figurative speech or allegory (Ezekiel 17:2, 21:5, 24:3). This fact seems to show that in earlier times prophecies were uttered more often in shorter sentences, while subsequently, in keeping with the development of Hebrew literature, they were uttered more in detail, and the sentence was naturally amplified into the discourse. This view is supported by Isaiah 1, the first prophecy being as follows: "Banim giddalti we-romamti," etc. There is here certainly such a symmetry in the single sentences that the rhythm which has been designated above as the poetic rhythm must be ascribed to them. But in the same chapter there occur also sentences like the following: "Arẓekém shemamáh 'arekém serufot-ésh; admatekém le-negdekém zarím okelím otáh" (verse 7), or this, "When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts?" (verse 12). In the last pair of lines even the translation sufficiently shows that each line does not contain three stresses merely, as does each line of the words of God (verses 2b, 3a, b).

Although the prophets of Israel inserted poems in their prophecies, or adopted occasionally the rhythm of the dirge, which was well known to their readers, their utterances, aside from the exceptions to be noted, were in the freer rhythm of prose. This view is confirmed by a sentence of Jerome that deserves attention. He says in his preface to his translation of Isaiah: "Let no one think that the prophets among the Hebrews were bound by meter similar to that of the Psalms."

See also[link]

Poetry portal

• Poetry
• Hebrew Bible
• List of national poetries

References[link]

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain:  Jewish Encyclopedia. 1901–1906. 

Further reading[link]

• Alter, Robert (2011-09-06). The Art of Biblical Poetry (Second Edition ed.). Basic Books. ISBN 0-465-02256-1. 
• Alter, Robert (2009-10-19). The Book of Psalms: A Translation with Commentary. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0-393-33704-9. 

External links[link]

• Biblical Hebrew Poetry - Reconstructing the Original Oral, Aural and Visual Experience
• Jewish Encyclopedia - Poetry - Biblical
•  "Hebrew Poetry of the Old Testament". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913. 

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (February 2011)

Hany Ramzy

Personal information
Full name	Hany Guda Ramzy Arabic: هاني جودة رمزي
Date of birth	(1969-03-10) March 10, 1969 (age 43)
Place of birth	Cairo, Egypt
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position	Manager (Former Defender)
Club information
Current club	Egypt U-23
Youth career
1977–1988	Al-Ahly
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1987–1990	Al-Ahly
1990–1994	Neuchâtel Xamax	85	(9)
1994–1998	Werder Bremen	98	(3)
1998–2005	1. FC Kaiserslautern	130	(12)
2005–2006	1. FC Saarbrücken	4	(0)
National team‡
1988–2003	Egypt	124	(6)
Teams managed
2005–2008	ENPPI (assistant manager)
2007	ENPPI
2008–2009	Egypt U-20 (assistant manager)
2009–2010	Egypt U-20
2010–	Egypt U-23
2011	Egypt (caretaker)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of August 20, 2006. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of August 20, 2006

Hany Guda Ramzy (Arabic هانى رمزى) (born on March 10, 1969 in Cairo) is an Egyptian international football defender. He is the current Head Coach of the Egypt U23 national football team.

Early life[link]

Ramzy was born in Abdean region of Cairo to Coptic Orthodox parents (hence his nickname, "The Coptic Maradona"). He has one sister, Miriam.

Ramzy began his career at the age of 10. A scout from Tersana club saw him and tried to persuade him to join the youth team in the club but his father Mr. Guda Ramzy – one of Al-Ahly's fans – refused to have his son join Tersana or Al-Zamalek clubs. So his father and his uncle took him to Al-Ahly club, Captain Mustafa Hussein saw him and decided to put him in the youth club of the red castle. Ramzy signed officially to Al-Ahly and it was 10 thousand L.E. Step by step Ramzy joined the youth national team at less than 17 years old; Captain Ahamad Rafat was his coach in this time.

Professional career[link]

Despite his young age, Ramzy's playing ability earned him a spot on Al-Ahly's first team. Captain Mahmoud El-Gohary also picked him for the Egyptian National Team's journey to the World Cup in Italy. That was the key of success for the 20 year old player and soon he became Egypt's youngest professional.

In 1990, he started his professional career with the Swiss club Neuchâtel Xamax FC, as a centre-half. The Swiss nicknamed him "The Rock."

In summer 1994 Ramzy was the first Egyptian player in the Bundesliga as he joined the German Club Werder Bremen with $1.5 million to become the most expensive player in Egypt.

After 1998 African Nations Cup and by former Bremen and current Greece coach Otto Rehhagel, Ramzy joined the Red Devils of Kaiserslautern with his mate in the Egyptian national team Samir Kamona and wore jersey number 6. Ramzy was named as one of the famous players in Kaiserslautern because he scored 12 goals from the center back position but in April 2003 after a knee injury Ramzy spent two seasons in agony as he watched from the sidelines until his contract came to an end.

After Kaiserslautern released him, Ramzy told BBC that he intends to join Al-Wahda of United Arab Emirates and will be traveling to negotiate his contract. But according to some Arab newspapers Ramzy sent a fax to his old club Al-Ahly asking for the possibility of his return. However, some sources revealed that Manuel José might not welcome the player as the coach feels that Ramzy will not add to the already solidly performing Ahly team.

On October 19, 2005 Ramzy signed officially for the Bundesliga II club 1. FC Saarbrücken for 18 months util June 30, 2007 but for unknown reasons Hany Ramzy decided to retire sooner than expected and later was posted as assistant coach for Egyptian club ENPPI prior to their match against Al-Ahly in the Egyptian Super Cup.

During his knee injury Ramzy started taking lectures about coaching in Berlin, Germany. He decided to become a manager after his retirement, so he started as a member in the coaching staff in FC Kaiserslautern youth team. But Ramzy didn’t stop thinking like a player so he signed a contract with the Bundesliga II club FC Saarbrücken for a year and a half.

Surprising all his fans, Ramzy become the assistant coach for the German coach Rainer Zobel the head manager for the Egyptian club ENPPI but beside this powerful coach staff the results of the team become so bad, so in January 2007 the team decided to replace Zobel with Ramzy to the end of the season whatever the results were.

Ramzy said that it is a big responsibility and a good step to open the door for young coaches to manage teams in Egypt.

Ending the season 2006 / 2007 in the ninth place, Ramzy return to his original job as assistant coach. The team signs a contract with the Egyptian coach Anwar Salama the former manager of Petrol Assiut.

After he was named as 19th best African player in the last 50 years Ramzy hopes - after ten years - to be named as one of the top ten managers in Africa.

In the middle of September 2008, Ramzy take a new step toward the international training career he become the assistant manager of the Egypt national football team U20 under the leadership of coach Miroslav Soukup. In late December 2009 was named as the new Head Coach of the Egypt U-21 national football team.^[1]

In December 2009, it was announced that Ramzy had signed a two-year contract as the manager of the Egypt U-23 national football team.

Awards[link]

• Ramzy nominated as one of the best players in the last 50 years in Africa.
• Ramzy named as the 19th Best African player in the last 50 years.
• Named as the 5th Best African Footballer by France football 1990.
• Named as the 9th Best African Footballer by CAF 2000 and CAF 2001.
• Named as the Best Libero in the 1992 African Nations Cup.
• Named as the Best Defensive Midfielder defender in the 2002 African Nations Cup.
• Ramzy was the only Egyptian player to play for the World Stars team in their match against Australia on June 12, 1999 during the official opening of the Sydney Olympic Stadium.
• Ramzy was selected among the All-stars team for the testimonial of the U.A.E. Star Adnan Al Talyani the All Stars played against a full-strength Juventus in the Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi.
• Ramzy was selected for the testimonial of the Egyptian star Nader El-Sayed.
• Ramzy has Egyptian record as he played five consecutive African Nations Cups in years 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000 and 2002.
• Ramzy entered the list of the players of the century of caps with 124 international caps.
• Ramzy was part at the squad at the 1990 FIFA World Cup.

References[link]

External links[link]

• CAF release 30 best African players in the last 50 years
• Egypt's Christian Captain
• Ramzy's Latest reports
• Hany Ramzy - Century of International Appearances
• Hany Ramzy - Player Profile
• Hany Ramzy open his heart (Arabic)

v t e Egypt squad – 1990 FIFA World Cup 1 Shobair 2 Ibrahim Hassan 3 Yassin 4 Hany Ramzy 5 Yakan 6 Kasem 7 Youssef 8 Abdelghani 9 Hossam Hassan 10 Abdelhamid (c) 11 Soliman 12 Abouzaid 13 Ahmed Ramzy 14 Mayhoub 15 Eid 16 Tolba 17 Shawky 18 Orabi 19 Abdelrahman 20 El-Kass 21 Taher 22 El-Batal Coach: El-Gohary

v t e Egypt squad – 1992 Africa Cup of Nations GK El-Saghir GK Moustafa GK Shobair DF Gamal DF I. Hassan DF Ragab DF A. Ramzy DF H. Ramzy DF Yakan DF Yassine MF Abdelghani MF Azima MF El-Kass MF Kasem MF Soliman MF Tolba MF Youssef FW Abdelhamid FW E. Eid FW K. Eid FW Gerefha FW H. Hassan Coach: El-Gohary

v t e Egypt squad – 1994 Africa Cup of Nations GK El-Saghir GK El-Sayed GK Shobair DF Abdelghelil DF El-Gamal DF Fathi DF Gamal DF Kasem DF Mansour DF Ramzy DF Youssef MF Al MF Al-Saghir MF El-Gandour MF El-Kass MF Rayyan MF Yahia MF Youssef FW El-Masry FW Mansour FW Ramadhan FW Samad Coach: Ismail

v t e Egypt squad – 1996 Africa Cup of Nations GK Abdel-Azim GK El-Sayed GK El-Swerky DF Abdel-Hady DF El-Gamal DF Gamal DF Kamouna DF Radwan DF Ramzy MF Emam MF Hassan MF Kamouna MF Khashaba MF Reyadh MF Sabry MF Tolba MF Youssef FW El-Masry FW El-Kass FW Ibrahim FW Koushary FW Maher Coach: Krol

v t e Egypt squad – 1998 Africa Cup of Nations Winners (4th title) 1 El-Sayed 2 El-Saqua 3 Emara 4 Ramzy 5 Kamouna 6 Abdelhadi 7 Youssef 8 Radwan 9 H. Hassan 10 Sabry 11 Rayyan 12 Khashaba 13 Salah 14 Imam 15 Fahim 16 El-Hadary 17 A. Hassan 18 Abdelnasser 19 El-Sheshini 20 Mostafa 21 Nabih 22 Saber Coach: El-Gohary

v t e Egypt squad – 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup 1 El-Sayed 2 I.Hassan 3 Emara 4 Ramzy 5 Kamouna 6 Abdelhadi 7 Youssef 8 Radwan 9 H.Hassan 10 Sabry 11 Rayyan 12 Khashaba 13 Bassiouny 14 Emam 15 El-Saqua 16 El-Hadary 17 A.Hassan 18 Abdelmoneim 19 Bebo 20 El-Din Coach: El-Gohary

v t e Egypt squad – 2000 Africa Cup of Nations 1 N. El-Sayed 2 I. Hassan 3 Emara 4 Ramzy 5 El-Saqua 6 Abdel Hafeez 7 Youssef 8 Radwan 9 H. Hassan 10 Sabry 11 El-Said 12 Abdelmoneim 13 Abdel Haleem 14 Imam 15 Said 16 El-Hadary 17 A. Hassan 18 Farouk 19 Hosny 20 Khashaba 21 Abdelaziz 22 A. El-Sayed Coach: Gili

v t e Egypt squad – 2002 Africa Cup of Nations 1 N. El-Sayed 2 Fahim 3 Emara 4 Ramzy 5 El-Saqua 6 H. Said 7 Bebo 8 Radwan 9 H. Hassan 10 Hamza 11 El-Said 12 Barakat 13 Gomaa 14 Imam 15 I. Said 16 El-Hadary 17 A. Hassan 18 Mido 19 Hosny 20 Aboul Ela 21 T. El-Sayed 22 Monsef Coach: El-Gohary

Edgar Allan Poe
1848 "Ultima Thule" daguerreotype of Poe
Born	Edgar Poe (1809-01-19)January 19, 1809 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	October 7, 1849(1849-10-07) (aged 40) Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Nationality	American
Spouse(s)	Virginia Eliza Clemm Poe
Signature

Edgar Allan Poe (born Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective fiction genre. He is further credited with contributing to the emerging genre of science fiction.^[1] He was the first well-known American writer to try to earn a living through writing alone, resulting in a financially difficult life and career.^[2]

He was born as Edgar Poe in Boston, Massachusetts; he was orphaned young when his mother died shortly after his father abandoned the family. Poe was taken in by John and Frances Allan, of Richmond, Virginia, but they never formally adopted him. He attended the University of Virginia for one semester but left due to lack of money. After enlisting in the Army and later failing as an officer's cadet at West Point, Poe parted ways with the Allans. His publishing career began humbly, with an anonymous collection of poems, Tamerlane and Other Poems (1827), credited only to "a Bostonian".

Poe switched his focus to prose and spent the next several years working for literary journals and periodicals, becoming known for his own style of literary criticism. His work forced him to move among several cities, including Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York City. In Baltimore in 1835, he married Virginia Clemm, his 13-year-old cousin. In January 1845 Poe published his poem, "The Raven", to instant success. His wife died of tuberculosis two years after its publication. He began planning to produce his own journal, The Penn (later renamed The Stylus), though he died before it could be produced. On October 7, 1849, at age 40, Poe died in Baltimore; the cause of his death is unknown and has been variously attributed to alcohol, brain congestion, cholera, drugs, heart disease, rabies, suicide, tuberculosis, and other agents.^[3]

Poe and his works influenced literature in the United States and around the world, as well as in specialized fields, such as cosmology and cryptography. Poe and his work appear throughout popular culture in literature, music, films, and television. A number of his homes are dedicated museums today.

Life and career[link]

Early life[link]

This plaque marks the approximate location^[4] where Edgar Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts.

He was born Edgar Poe in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 19, 1809, the second child of English-born actress Elizabeth Arnold Hopkins Poe and actor David Poe, Jr. He had an elder brother, William Henry Leonard Poe, and a younger sister, Rosalie Poe.^[5] Edgar may have been named after a character in William Shakespeare's King Lear, a play the couple was performing in 1809.^[6] His father abandoned their family in 1810,^[7] and his mother died a year later from consumption (pulmonary tuberculosis). Poe was then taken into the home of John Allan, a successful Scottish merchant in Richmond, Virginia, who dealt in a variety of goods including tobacco, cloth, wheat, tombstones, and slaves.^[8] The Allans served as a foster family and gave him the name "Edgar Allan Poe",^[9] though they never formally adopted him.^[10]

The Allan family had Poe baptized in the Episcopal Church in 1812. John Allan alternately spoiled and aggressively disciplined his foster son.^[9] The family, including Poe and Allan's wife, Frances Valentine Allan, sailed to Britain in 1815. Poe attended the grammar school in Irvine, Scotland (where John Allan was born) for a short period in 1815, before rejoining the family in London in 1816. There he studied at a boarding school in Chelsea until summer 1817. He was subsequently entered at the Reverend John Bransby’s Manor House School at Stoke Newington, then a suburb four miles (6 km) north of London.^[11]

Poe moved back with the Allans to Richmond, Virginia in 1820. In 1824 Poe served as the lieutenant of the Richmond youth honor guard as Richmond celebrated the visit of the Marquis de Lafayette.^[12] In March 1825, John Allan's uncle^[13] and business benefactor William Galt, said to be one of the wealthiest men in Richmond, died and left Allan several acres of real estate. The inheritance was estimated at $750,000. By summer 1825, Allan celebrated his expansive wealth by purchasing a two-story brick home named Moldavia.^[14] Poe may have become engaged to Sarah Elmira Royster before he registered at the one-year-old University of Virginia in February 1826 to study languages.^[15] The university, in its infancy, was established on the ideals of its founder, Thomas Jefferson. It had strict rules against gambling, horses, guns, tobacco and alcohol, but these rules were generally ignored. Jefferson had enacted a system of student self-government, allowing students to choose their own studies, make their own arrangements for boarding, and report all wrongdoing to the faculty. The unique system was still in chaos, and there was a high dropout rate.^[16] During his time there, Poe lost touch with Royster and also became estranged from his foster father over gambling debts. Poe claimed that Allan had not given him sufficient money to register for classes, purchase texts, and procure and furnish a dormitory. Allan did send additional money and clothes, but Poe's debts increased.^[17] Poe gave up on the university after a year, and, not feeling welcome in Richmond, especially when he learned that his sweetheart Royster had married Alexander Shelton, he traveled to Boston in April 1827, sustaining himself with odd jobs as a clerk and newspaper writer.^[18] At some point he started using the pseudonym Henri Le Rennet.^[19]

Military career[link]

Poe was first stationed at Boston's Fort Independence while in the army.

Unable to support himself, on May 27, 1827, Poe enlisted in the United States Army as a private. Using the name "Edgar A. Perry", he claimed he was 22 years old even though he was 18.^[20] He first served at Fort Independence in Boston Harbor for five dollars a month.^[18] That same year, he released his first book, a 40-page collection of poetry, Tamerlane and Other Poems, attributed with the byline "by a Bostonian". Only 50 copies were printed, and the book received virtually no attention.^[21] Poe's regiment was posted to Fort Moultrie in Charleston, South Carolina and traveled by ship on the brig Waltham on November 8, 1827. Poe was promoted to "artificer", an enlisted tradesman who prepared shells for artillery, and had his monthly pay doubled.^[22] After serving for two years and attaining the rank of Sergeant Major for Artillery (the highest rank a noncommissioned officer can achieve), Poe sought to end his five-year enlistment early. He revealed his real name and his circumstances to his commanding officer, Lieutenant Howard. Howard would only allow Poe to be discharged if he reconciled with John Allan and wrote a letter to Allan, who was unsympathetic. Several months passed and pleas to Allan were ignored; Allan may not have written to Poe even to make him aware of his foster mother's illness. Frances Allan died on February 28, 1829, and Poe visited the day after her burial. Perhaps softened by his wife's death, John Allan agreed to support Poe's attempt to be discharged in order to receive an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point.^[23]

Poe finally was discharged on April 15, 1829, after securing a replacement to finish his enlisted term for him.^[24] Before entering West Point, Poe moved back to Baltimore for a time, to stay with his widowed aunt Maria Clemm, her daughter, Virginia Eliza Clemm (Poe's first cousin), his brother Henry, and his invalid grandmother Elizabeth Cairnes Poe.^[25] Meanwhile, Poe published his second book, Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane and Minor Poems, in Baltimore in 1829.^[26]

Poe traveled to West Point and matriculated as a cadet on July 1, 1830.^[27] In October 1830, John Allan married his second wife, Louisa Patterson.^[28] The marriage, and bitter quarrels with Poe over the children born to Allan out of affairs, led to the foster father finally disowning Poe.^[29] Poe decided to leave West Point by purposely getting court-martialed. On February 8, 1831, he was tried for gross neglect of duty and disobedience of orders for refusing to attend formations, classes, or church. Poe tactically pled not guilty to induce dismissal, knowing he would be found guilty.^[30]

He left for New York in February 1831, and released a third volume of poems, simply titled Poems. The book was financed with help from his fellow cadets at West Point, many of whom donated 75 cents to the cause, raising a total of $170. They may have been expecting verses similar to the satirical ones Poe had been writing about commanding officers.^[31] Printed by Elam Bliss of New York, it was labeled as "Second Edition" and included a page saying, "To the U.S. Corps of Cadets this volume is respectfully dedicated." The book once again reprinted the long poems "Tamerlane" and "Al Aaraaf" but also six previously unpublished poems including early versions of "To Helen", "Israfel", and "The City in the Sea".^[32] He returned to Baltimore, to his aunt, brother and cousin, in March 1831. His elder brother Henry, who had been in ill health in part due to problems with alcoholism, died on August 1, 1831.^[33]

Publishing career[link]

After his brother's death, Poe began more earnest attempts to start his career as a writer. He chose a difficult time in American publishing to do so.^[34] He was the first well-known American to try to live by writing alone^[2][35] and was hampered by the lack of an international copyright law.^[36] Publishers often pirated copies of British works rather than paying for new work by Americans.^[35] The industry was also particularly hurt by the Panic of 1837.^[37] Despite a booming growth in American periodicals around this time period, fueled in part by new technology, many did not last beyond a few issues^[38] and publishers often refused to pay their writers or paid them much later than they promised.^[39] Poe, throughout his attempts to live as a writer, had to repeatedly resort to humiliating pleas for money and other assistance.^[40]

Poe married his 13-year old cousin, Virginia Clemm. Her early death may have inspired some of his writing.

After his early attempts at poetry, Poe had turned his attention to prose. He placed a few stories with a Philadelphia publication and began work on his only drama, Politian. The Baltimore Saturday Visiter awarded Poe a prize in October 1833 for his short story "MS. Found in a Bottle".^[41] The story brought him to the attention of John P. Kennedy, a Baltimorean of considerable means. He helped Poe place some of his stories, and introduced him to Thomas W. White, editor of the Southern Literary Messenger in Richmond. Poe became assistant editor of the periodical in August 1835,^[42] but was discharged within a few weeks for being caught drunk by his boss.^[43] Returning to Baltimore, Poe secretly married Virginia, his cousin, on September 22, 1835. He was 26 and she was 13, though she is listed on the marriage certificate as being 21.^[44] Reinstated by White after promising good behavior, Poe went back to Richmond with Virginia and her mother. He remained at the Messenger until January 1837. During this period, Poe claimed that its circulation increased from 700 to 3,500.^[5] He published several poems, book reviews, critiques, and stories in the paper. On May 16, 1836, he had a second wedding ceremony in Richmond with Virginia Clemm, this time in public.^[45]

The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket was published and widely reviewed in 1838.^[46] In the summer of 1839, Poe became assistant editor of Burton's Gentleman's Magazine. He published numerous articles, stories, and reviews, enhancing his reputation as a trenchant critic that he had established at the Southern Literary Messenger. Also in 1839, the collection Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque was published in two volumes, though he made little money off of it and it received mixed reviews.^[47] Poe left Burton's after about a year and found a position as assistant at Graham's Magazine.^[48]

In June 1840, Poe published a prospectus announcing his intentions to start his own journal, The Stylus.^[49] Originally, Poe intended to call the journal The Penn, as it would have been based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In the June 6, 1840 issue of Philadelphia's Saturday Evening Post, Poe bought advertising space for his prospectus: "Prospectus of the Penn Magazine, a Monthly Literary journal to be edited and published in the city of Philadelphia by Edgar A. Poe."^[50] The journal was never produced before Poe's death. Around this time, he attempted to secure a position with the Tyler administration, claiming he was a member of the Whig Party.^[51] He hoped to be appointed to the Custom House in Philadelphia with help from President Tyler's son Robert,^[52] an acquaintance of Poe's friend Frederick Thomas.^[53] Poe failed to show up for a meeting with Thomas to discuss the appointment in mid-September 1842, claiming to be sick, though Thomas believed he was drunk.^[54] Though he was promised an appointment, all positions were filled by others.^[55]

Poe spent the last few years of his life in this small cottage in the Bronx, New York.

One evening in January 1842, Virginia showed the first signs of consumption, now known as tuberculosis, while singing and playing the piano. Poe described it as breaking a blood vessel in her throat.^[56] She only partially recovered. Poe began to drink more heavily under the stress of Virginia's illness. He left Graham's and attempted to find a new position, for a time angling for a government post. He returned to New York, where he worked briefly at the Evening Mirror before becoming editor of the Broadway Journal and, later, sole owner.^[57] There he alienated himself from other writers by publicly accusing Henry Wadsworth Longfellow of plagiarism, though Longfellow never responded.^[58] On January 29, 1845, his poem "The Raven" appeared in the Evening Mirror and became a popular sensation. Though it made Poe a household name almost instantly,^[59] he was paid only $9 for its publication.^[60] It was concurrently published in The American Review: A Whig Journal under the pseudonym "Quarles".^[61]

The Broadway Journal failed in 1846.^[57] Poe moved to a cottage in the Fordham section of The Bronx, New York. That home, known today as the "Poe Cottage", is on the southeast corner of the Grand Concourse and Kingsbridge Road. Virginia died there on January 30, 1847.^[62] Biographers and critics often suggest Poe's frequent theme of the "death of a beautiful woman" stems from the repeated loss of women throughout his life, including his wife.^[63]

Increasingly unstable after his wife's death, Poe attempted to court the poet Sarah Helen Whitman, who lived in Providence, Rhode Island. Their engagement failed, purportedly because of Poe's drinking and erratic behavior. However, there is also strong evidence that Whitman's mother intervened and did much to derail their relationship.^[64] Poe then returned to Richmond and resumed a relationship with his childhood sweetheart, Sarah Elmira Royster.^[65]

Death[link]

Edgar Allan Poe is buried in Baltimore, Maryland. The circumstances and cause of his death remain uncertain.

On October 3, 1849, Poe was found on the streets of Baltimore delirious, "in great distress, and... in need of immediate assistance", according to the man who found him, Joseph W. Walker.^[66] He was taken to the Washington College Hospital, where he died on Sunday, October 7, 1849, at 5:00 in the morning.^[67] Poe was never coherent long enough to explain how he came to be in his dire condition, and, oddly, was wearing clothes that were not his own. Poe is said to have repeatedly called out the name "Reynolds" on the night before his death, though it is unclear to whom he was referring. Some sources say Poe's final words were "Lord help my poor soul."^[67] All medical records, including his death certificate, have been lost.^[68] Newspapers at the time reported Poe's death as "congestion of the brain" or "cerebral inflammation", common euphemisms for deaths from disreputable causes such as alcoholism.^[69] The actual cause of death remains a mystery.^[70] Speculation has included delirium tremens, heart disease, epilepsy, syphilis, meningeal inflammation,^[3] cholera^[71] and rabies.^[72] One theory, dating from 1872, indicates that cooping – in which unwilling citizens who were forced to vote for a particular candidate were occasionally killed – was the cause of Poe's death. ^[73].

Griswold's "Memoir"[link]

The day Edgar Allan Poe was buried, a long obituary appeared in the New York Tribune signed "Ludwig". It was soon published throughout the country. The piece began, "Edgar Allan Poe is dead. He died in Baltimore the day before yesterday. This announcement will startle many, but few will be grieved by it."^[74] "Ludwig" was soon identified as Rufus Wilmot Griswold, an editor, critic and anthologist who had borne a grudge against Poe since 1842. Griswold somehow became Poe's literary executor and attempted to destroy his enemy's reputation after his death.^[75]

Rufus Griswold wrote a biographical article of Poe called "Memoir of the Author", which he included in an 1850 volume of the collected works. Griswold depicted Poe as a depraved, drunk, drug-addled madman and included Poe's letters as evidence.^[75] Many of his claims were either lies or distorted half-truths. For example, it is now known that Poe was not a drug addict.^[76] Griswold's book was denounced by those who knew Poe well,^[77] but it became a popularly accepted one. This occurred in part because it was the only full biography available and was widely reprinted and in part because readers thrilled at the thought of reading works by an "evil" man.^[78] Letters that Griswold presented as proof of this depiction of Poe were later revealed as forgeries.^[79]

Literary style and themes[link]

1860s portrait by Oscar Halling after an 1849 daguerreotype

Genres[link]

Poe's best known fiction works are Gothic,^[80] a genre he followed to appease the public taste.^[81] His most recurring themes deal with questions of death, including its physical signs, the effects of decomposition, concerns of premature burial, the reanimation of the dead, and mourning.^[82] Many of his works are generally considered part of the dark romanticism genre, a literary reaction to transcendentalism,^[83] which Poe strongly disliked.^[84] He referred to followers of the movement as "Frog-Pondians" after the pond on Boston Common.^[85][86] and ridiculed their writings as "metaphor-run mad,"^[87] lapsing into "obscurity for obscurity's sake" or "mysticism for mysticism's sake."^[84] Poe once wrote in a letter to Thomas Holley Chivers that he did not dislike Transcendentalists, "only the pretenders and sophists among them."^[88]

Beyond horror, Poe also wrote satires, humor tales, and hoaxes. For comic effect, he used irony and ludicrous extravagance, often in an attempt to liberate the reader from cultural conformity.^[81] In fact, "Metzengerstein", the first story that Poe is known to have published,^[89] and his first foray into horror, was originally intended as a burlesque satirizing the popular genre.^[90] Poe also reinvented science fiction, responding in his writing to emerging technologies such as hot air balloons in "The Balloon-Hoax".^[91]

Poe wrote much of his work using themes specifically catered for mass market tastes.^[92] To that end, his fiction often included elements of popular pseudosciences such as phrenology^[93] and physiognomy.^[94]

Literary theory[link]

Poe's writing reflects his literary theories, which he presented in his criticism and also in essays such as "The Poetic Principle".^[95] He disliked didacticism^[96] and allegory,^[97] though he believed that meaning in literature should be an undercurrent just beneath the surface. Works with obvious meanings, he wrote, cease to be art.^[98] He believed that quality work should be brief and focus on a specific single effect.^[95] To that end, he believed that the writer should carefully calculate every sentiment and idea.^[99]

In "The Philosophy of Composition", an essay in which Poe describes his method in writing "The Raven", he claims to have strictly followed this method. It has been questioned, however, if he really followed this system. T. S. Eliot said: "It is difficult for us to read that essay without reflecting that if Poe plotted out his poem with such calculation, he might have taken a little more pains over it: the result hardly does credit to the method."^[100] Biographer Joseph Wood Krutch described the essay as "a rather highly ingenious exercise in the art of rationalization".^[101]

Legacy[link]

Illustration by French impressionist Édouard Manet for the Stéphane Mallarmé translation of "The Raven", 1875. Digitally restored.

Literary influence[link]

During his lifetime, Poe was mostly recognized as a literary critic. Fellow critic James Russell Lowell called him "the most discriminating, philosophical, and fearless critic upon imaginative works who has written in America", suggesting – rhetorically – that he occasionally used prussic acid instead of ink.^[102] Poe's caustic reviews earned him the epithet "Tomahawk Man". A favorite target of Poe's criticism was Boston's then acclaimed poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who was often defended by his literary friends in what would later be called "The Longfellow War". Poe accused Longfellow of "the heresy of the didactic”, writing poetry that was preachy, derivative, and thematically plagiarized. Poe correctly predicted that Longfellow's reputation and style of poetry would decline, concluding that "We grant him high qualities, but deny him the Future".^[103]

Poe was also known as a writer of fiction and became one of the first American authors of the 19th century to become more popular in Europe than in the United States.^[104] Poe is particularly respected in France, in part due to early translations by Charles Baudelaire. Baudelaire's translations became definitive renditions of Poe's work throughout Europe.^[105]

Poe's early detective fiction tales featuring C. Auguste Dupin laid the groundwork for future detectives in literature. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle said, "Each [of Poe's detective stories] is a root from which a whole literature has developed.... Where was the detective story until Poe breathed the breath of life into it?"^[106] The Mystery Writers of America have named their awards for excellence in the genre the "Edgars".^[107] Poe's work also influenced science fiction, notably Jules Verne, who wrote a sequel to Poe's novel The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket called An Antarctic Mystery, also known as The Sphinx of the Ice Fields.^[108] Science fiction author H. G. Wells noted, "Pym tells what a very intelligent mind could imagine about the south polar region a century ago."^[109]

Like many famous artists, Poe's works have spawned innumerable imitators.^[110] One interesting trend among imitators of Poe, however, has been claims by clairvoyants or psychics to be "channeling" poems from Poe's spirit. One of the most notable of these was Lizzie Doten, who in 1863 published Poems from the Inner Life, in which she claimed to have "received" new compositions by Poe's spirit. The compositions were re-workings of famous Poe poems such as "The Bells", but which reflected a new, positive outlook.^[111]

Edgar Allan Poe photographed circa 1849

Even so, Poe has received not only praise, but criticism as well. This is partly because of the negative perception of his personal character and its influence upon his reputation.^[104] William Butler Yeats was occasionally critical of Poe and once called him "vulgar".^[112] Transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson reacted to "The Raven" by saying, "I see nothing in it"^[113] and derisively referred to Poe as "the jingle man".^[114] Aldous Huxley wrote that Poe's writing "falls into vulgarity" by being "too poetical"—the equivalent of wearing a diamond ring on every finger.^[115]

It is believed that only 12 copies of Poe's first book, Tamerlane and Other Poems, have survived. In December 2009, one copy sold at Christie's, New York for $662,500, a record price paid for a work of American literature.^[116]