Edgar Allan Poe and the Romantic Era.

Edgar Allan Poe, was an American author who created the term "short story" in the literary world. He is highly admired by many other authors and readers due to his poems and stories that encompass a macabre, dark and mystery environment. In addition, he was considered part of the American Romantic Movement, therefore, most of his works are product of a mix between aspects from the Romantic Era and characteristics from the Gothic Fiction, such as "Hop Frog", "The Cask of Amontillado", "The Murderers in the Rue Morgue" and "The Pit and the Pendulum". 

 Moreover, in the Romantic story, the setting is usually set in a distant time in the past, in other words, this setting can be a dark, mysterious or unknown place. Hence, Poe created new worlds in each of his stories, so that the readers would only concentrate on the themes, motifs and the chartless environment. For example "The Murderers in the Rue Morgue" is set in France instead of America and in this detective fiction, the environment is full of mystery and astonishment because the descriptions give the reader and idea of how the setting can be in real life, but it is actually a place distant from the present, this means that, Poe creates in this work a Romantic distance from the reader. 

Equally important, the Romantic Era is also recognized because of the rejection of the rational and the intellectual, establishing an importance to the intuitive and emotional. In his critical theories, Poe emphasized that the importance of art should be related with emotions, therefore, this theory is infused in most of his works. For example, in "The Pit and the Pendulum", the main character is being tortured by his own thoughts and emotions and he is transmitting them to reader, and the beauty of this short story is in sensing and being focused on his fears and terrors. Also, in "Hop Frog" and "The Cask of Amontillado", the dwarf and Montresor committed homicide because they were driven by his emotions and the madness was impulsing them to look for revenge. 

In conclusion,  most of Poe's short stories and poems are influenced by the Romantic Era, emphasizing the human nature by giving a huge importance in the emotions of the characters. Also, it is interesting how the macabre, mysterious and dark environment is caused by the consequences of expressing those emotions and feelings.