"The Philosophy of Furniture" is an essay written by American author Edgar Allan Poe and published in 1840. The essay is an unusual work by Poe, whose better-known works include horror tales like "The Tell-Tale Heart". The essay presents Poe's theories on interior decorating.
Poe begins by suggesting that the English are the "supreme" examples of internal decoration, above the Italians, French, Chinese, Scotch, Dutch, Spanish and Russians. "Yankees", he says, "are preposterous". He blames this American failing on a lack of aristocracy by blood, having instead "an aristocracy of dollars". Because of that, decoration in America has become a "mere parade of costly appurtenances" to create an "impression of the beautiful". He contrasts this with England, where wealth is not the loftiest ambition to constitute "nobility".
As a result, Poe says, "there could be nothing more directly offensive to the eye of an artist than the interior of what is termed in the United States... a well-furnished apartment". Because decorating rooms is a form of art, it should be judged similarly to any other work of art. The elements of a room should work well together, just as in a painting.
Poe begins giving his advice, starting with curtains. Excessive drapery, he says, is "irreconcilable with good taste". Curtains should be chosen based on the general character of the room. He puts strong emphasis on carpets, which he calls "the soul of the apartment". From the carpet, the colors and forms of the rest of the room can be determined. He recommends patterns "of no meaning". as "the abomination of flowers or representations of well-known objects of any kind should not be endured". Carpets, curtains, tapestry, or even ottoman coverings and upholstery of any kind should be "rigidly Arabesque". Gaudy patterns "glorious with all hues" are a cloth version of a kaleidoscope and only serve worshipers of Mammon.
Gas lighting is "inadmissible", Poe says, because it is harsh and unsteady. "No one having both brains and eyes will use it", he says. He also dismisses large chandeliers as "the quintessence of all that is false in taste or preposterous in folly".
In the essay, Poe continued his criticism of the country lacking aesthetic taste and attributed excess in American homes to a deterioration in values and further expressed a concern for pursuit of dollars and rank in American society. [1]
Poe's ideal room, he says, is oblong, about thirty feet long and twenty-five feet wide. It should have only one door, not too wide, with two windows on another side. The windows should be large, to the floor, and open into a veranda, with rose wood frames, "more massive than usual". A double-layer of silver and "exceedingly rich crimson silk" with gold-colored ropes tying them open. Those tints of crimson and gold, he says, should be echoed throughout the room to determine its "character". The carpet in particular should match these tones.
The walls should be papered in a silver gray with small, crimson Arabesque designs. On the walls should hang relatively large paintings, "chiefly landscapes", and three or four portraits of women with "ethereal beauty", painted in the manner of Thomas Sully and hung flat on the walls, not with cords. Only one mirror should be included in the room and it should be circular and hung "so that a reflection of the person can be obtained from it in none of the ordinary sitting-places of the room".
He also calls for two large sofas with crimson silk decorated with a modest gold flower pattern with matching "conversation chairs". A rose-wood pianoforte should be left with keys visible. The room should also have an octagonal marble table, left uncovered. He also recommends "two or three hundred magnificently bound books".
"The Philosophy of Furniture" was first published in the May 1840 issue of Burton's Gentleman's Magazine . It was later republished in the Broadway Journal on May 3, 1845 as "House of Furniture". [2] It was written during a period in which Poe produced a wide range of works from "extremes of high discourse and slapstick", according to biographer Kenneth Silverman, that included "The Conversation of Eiros and Charmion", "The Business Man", and "The Man That Was Used Up". [3]
The Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has recreated a room based on "The Philosophy of Furniture". It is the only furnished room at the site. Referred to as the "Reading Room", it also contains Poe's collected works (some works in other languages) and audio inspired by Poe. The room includes a reproduction of a painting by Sully and an eight-sided table, as Poe recommends.
Roberto Bolaño's 1996 work Nazi Literature in the Americas cites Poe's "The Philosophy of Furniture" in its entry on the work of fictional Argentine poet Edelmira Thompson de Mendiluce. The entry describes her creation of a book entitled Poe's Room. This piece takes Poe's essay as its point of departure, leading to Mendiluce's creation of an imperfect replica of the room at her Azul ranch. The original essay, as well as her subsequent process of interpretation of its guidelines and the final, somewhat altered result, are dealt with therein.
"Lenore" is a poem by the American author Edgar Allan Poe. It began as a different poem, "A Paean", and was not published as "Lenore" until 1843.
"Ulalume" is a poem written by Edgar Allan Poe in 1847. Much like a few of Poe's other poems, "Ulalume" focuses on the narrator's loss of his beloved due to her death. Poe originally wrote the poem as an elocution piece and, as such, the poem is known for its focus on sound. Additionally, it makes many allusions, especially to mythology, and the identity of Ulalume herself, if a real person, has been a subject of debate.
"The Philosophy of Composition" is an 1846 essay written by American writer Edgar Allan Poe that elucidates a theory about how good writers write when they write well. He concludes that length, "unity of effect" and a logical method are important considerations for good writing. He also makes the assertion that "the death... of a beautiful woman" is "unquestionably the most poetical topic in the world". Poe uses the composition of his own poem "The Raven" as an example. The essay first appeared in the April 1846 issue of Graham's Magazine. It is uncertain if it is an authentic portrayal of Poe's own method.
"Al Aaraaf" is an early poem by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1829. It tells of the afterlife in a place called Al Aaraaf, inspired by A'raf as described in the Quran. At 422 lines, it is Poe's longest poem.
"The Light-House" is the unofficial title of the last work written by Edgar Allan Poe. He did not live to finish it, and had barely begun it by the time of his death in 1849.
Eureka (1848) is a lengthy non-fiction work by American author Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849) which he subtitled "A Prose Poem", though it has also been subtitled "An Essay on the Material and Spiritual Universe". Adapted from a lecture he had presented, Eureka describes Poe's intuitive conception of the nature of the universe, with no antecedent scientific work done to reach his conclusions. He also discusses man's relationship with God, whom he compares to an author. Eureka is dedicated to the German naturalist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859).
The Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site is a preserved home once rented by American author Edgar Allan Poe, located at 532 N. 7th Street, in the Spring Garden neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Though Poe lived in many houses over several years in Philadelphia, it is the only one which still survives. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1962.
"Berenice" is a short horror story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in the Southern Literary Messenger in 1835. The story is narrated by Egaeus, who is preparing to marry his cousin Berenice. He tends to fall into periods of intense focus, during which he seems to separate himself from the outside world. Berenice begins to deteriorate from an unnamed disease until only her teeth remain healthy. Egaeus obsesses over them. When Berenice is buried, he continues to contemplate her teeth. One day, he awakens with an uneasy feeling from a trance-like state and hears screams. A servant reports that Berenice's grave has been disturbed, and she is still alive. Beside Egaeus is a shovel, a poem about "visiting the grave of my beloved", and a box containing 32 teeth.
"The Poetic Principle" is an essay by Edgar Allan Poe, written near the end of his life and published posthumously in 1850, the year after his death. It is a work of literary criticism, in which Poe presents his literary theory. It is based on a series of lectures Poe had given late in his lifetime.
Sarah Helen Power Whitman was an American poet, essayist, transcendentalist, spiritualist and a romantic interest of Edgar Allan Poe.
"Metzengerstein: A Tale in Imitation of the German" is a short story by American writer and poet Edgar Allan Poe, his first to see print. It was first published in the pages of Philadelphia's Saturday Courier magazine, in 1832. The story follows the young Frederick, the last of the Metzengerstein family, who carries on a long-standing feud with the Berlifitzing family. Suspected of causing a fire that kills the Berlifitzing family patriarch, Frederick becomes intrigued with a previously unnoticed and untamed horse. Metzengerstein is punished for his cruelty when his own home catches fire and the horse carries him into the flame. Part of a Latin hexameter by Martin Luther serves as the story's epigraph: Pestis eram vivus—moriens tua mors ero.
Graham's Magazine was a nineteenth-century periodical based in Philadelphia established by George Rex Graham and published from 1840 to 1858. It was alternatively referred to as Graham's Lady's and Gentleman's Magazine, Graham's Magazine of Literature and Art, Graham's American Monthly Magazine of Literature and Art, and Graham's Illustrated Magazine of Literature, Romance, Art, and Fashion.
The Broadway Journal was a short-lived New York City-based newspaper founded by Charles Frederick Briggs and John Bisco in 1844 and was published from January 1845 to January 1846. In its first year, the publication was bought by Edgar Allan Poe, becoming the only periodical he ever owned, though it failed after only a few months under his leadership.
"Eulalie", or "Eulalie — A Song", is a poem by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in the July 1845 issue of The American Review and reprinted shortly thereafter in the August 9, 1845 issue of the Broadway Journal.
The American Review, alternatively known as The American Review: A Whig Journal and The American Whig Review, was a New York City-based monthly periodical that published from 1844 to 1852. Published by Wiley and Putnam, it was edited by George H. Colton, and after his death, beginning with Volume 7, by James Davenport Whelpley. As of Volume 10, July 1849, the proprietors of the journal were Whelpley and John Priestly. The American Review was allied to the Whig Party
"The Business Man" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe about a businessman boasting of his accomplishments. It was published in February 1840 in Burton's Gentleman's Magazine. The story questions the concept of a self-made man.
"Bon-Bon" is a comedic short story by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in December 1832 in the Philadelphia Saturday Courier. Originally called "The Bargain Lost", it follows Pierre Bon-Bon, who believes himself a profound philosopher, and his encounter with the Devil. The story's humor is based on the verbal interchange between the two, which satirizes classical philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle. The Devil reveals that he has eaten the souls of many of these philosophers.
William Henry Leonard Poe, often referred to as Henry Poe, was an American sailor, amateur poet and the older brother of Edgar Allan Poe and Rosalie Poe.
The works of American author Edgar Allan Poe include many poems, short stories, and one novel. His fiction spans multiple genres, including horror fiction, adventure, science fiction, and detective fiction, a genre he is credited with inventing. These works are generally considered part of the Dark romanticism movement, a literary reaction to Transcendentalism. Poe's writing reflects his literary theories: he disagreed with didacticism and allegory. Meaning in literature, he said in his criticism, should be an undercurrent just beneath the surface; works whose meanings are too obvious cease to be art. Poe pursued originality in his works, and disliked proverbs. He often included elements of popular pseudosciences such as phrenology and physiognomy. 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. Though known as a masterly practitioner of Gothic fiction, Poe did not invent the genre; he was following a long-standing popular tradition.
"The Duc de L'Omelette" is a humorous short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe. It was first published in the Philadelphia Saturday Courier on March 3, 1832, and was subsequently revised a number of times by the author.