Edgar Allan Poe was a prolific writer. It was, after all, his profession. All the money he ever earned came from his poems, short stories, and nonfiction articles-supplemented by small salaries for his work as an editor for many weekly newspapers.
This list includes the poem and stories that are generally accepted as his work. Sometimes people refer to these generally-accepted pieces as Poe's canon. A canon is a group of works that scholars think is authentic creations of a certain writer.
Many of them are versions of the same poem or short story. As a writer, Poe spent a great deal of time polishing his works, changing words and structure to make sure they said exactly what he wanted them to say.
As you read this list, think about these questions:
During which years did Poe write most of his poems?
Based on these titles, which poems would you be most interested in reading? Least interested?
Poe is most popularly known for these poems: "Annabel Lee," "The Bells," and "The Raven." During which years were these poems written? Can you think of any reasons this might have happened?
Poe often used bizarre and frightening topics as the basis for his work. Based on the titles, which poems do you think might be about topics like those?
"An Acrostic" (ca. 1829)
"Al Aaraaf" (1829) (or "Al Araaf" due to a typographical error) READ THE POEM
"Alone" (ca. 1828) READ THE POEM
"Annabel Lee" (1849) READ THE POEM
"Ballad" (1837)
"The Bells" (1848, 1849) READ THE POEM
"Bridal Ballad" (1845)
"Catholic Hymn" (1835, written ca. 1833)
"City in the Sea, The" (1831)
"The City of Sin" (1845 [1831])
"The Coliseum" (1833 [1831])
"The Conqueror Worm" (1843)
"Dirge" (1848 [1843])
"The Divine Right of Kings" (1845)
"The Doomed City" (1831)
"A Dream within a Dream, A" (1849)
"A Dream" (1827)
"Dream-Land" (1844)
"Dreams" (1827)
"Eldorado" (1849) READ THE POEM
"Elizabeth" (ca. 1829)
"Enigma [on Shakespeare]" (1833)
"Enigma, An [Sarah Anna Lewis]" (1847)
"Eulalie -- A Song" (1844)
"Evening Star" (1827)
"Fairy land" (1831)
"Fairy-land" (1829)
"Fairyland" (1829, 1831)
"Fanny" (1833)
"For Annie" (1849?) READ THE POEM
"The Haunted Palace" (1839)
"Heaven" (1829)
"Hymn" (1835, written ca. 1833)
"Imitation" (1827)
"In an Album. To --" (1827)
"Introduction [to Poems, 1831]" (1831)
"Irene" (1831 and 1837)
"Israfel" (1831) READ THE POEM
"The Lake" (1827)
"Lenore" (1843)
"Lines Written in an Album" (1835 [1833 ?])
"Mysterious Star!" (1831)
"Oh, Tempora! Oh, Mores!" (ca. 1825?)
"Original" (ca. 1829)
"A Paean" (1831, 1842)
"Preface [to Al Aaraaf, etc.]" (1829)
"The Raven" (1845) READ THE POEM
"Romance" (1845)
"Serenade" (1833)
"Silence--a Sonnet" (?)
"The Sleeper" (1841)
"Song" (1827)
"Sonnet" (1829)
"Sonnet to My Mother" (1849)
"Sonnet--Silence" (1839)
"Sonnet--To Science" (1829)
"Sonnet--To Zante" (1837)
"Spirits of the Dead" (1829)
[Stanzas] (1827)
"Tamerlane" (1827) READ THE POEM
"To -- --" (1829)
"To Elizabeth" (@1833)
"To -- [Elmira]" (1829)
"To -- --" (1827)
"To F--s S. O--d [Frances S. Osgood]" (1845 [1833 ?])
"To -- [Violet Vane]" (1845)
"To Helen" (1831)
"To Helen [Whitman]" (1848)
"To M--" (1828)
"To Marie Louise" (ca. 1848)
"To Miss Louise Olivia Hunter" (1847)
"To My Mother" (1849)
[To Octavia] (May 1, 1827)
"To One in Paradise" (ca. 1833)
"To the River -- [Po]" (1828)
"To Zante"
"Ulalume--A Ballad" (1847) READ THE POEM
"Valentine, A [Frances S. Osgood]" (1849)
"The Valley Nis" (1831)
"The Valley of Unrest" (1845)
"Visit of the Dead" (1827)
As you read this list, think about these questions:
Are Poe's titles generally short or generally long? How does this affect you as a reader?
Based on these titles, which stories might you pick to read? Why?
Which titles do you recognize as films or videos? Why do you think some stories were adapted for films and videos, and some were not?
Based on these titles, which stories would you expect to be humorous ones?
There is one title in the list that is in italics. Why?
"The Angel of the Odd" (1844)
"The Assignation" (1833)
"The Balloon-Hoax" (1844) READ THE STORY
"The Bargain Lost" (1831)
"Berenice" (1835)
"The Black Cat" (1842) READ THE STORY
"Bon-Bon" (1835)
"The Business Man" (1840)
"The Cask of Amontillado" (1846) READ THE STORY
"The Colloquy of Monos and Una" (1841)
"The Conversation of a Somnambule"
"The Conversation of Eiron and Charmion" (1839)
"A Decided Loss" (1831)
"A Descent into the Maelstrom" (1841)
"Destruction of the World"
"The Devil in the Belfry" (1839)
"Diddling Considered as One of the Exact Sciences" (1843)
"The Domain of Arnheim" (1846)
"A Dream" (Philadelphia Saturday Evening Post, August 13, 1831)
"The Duc De L'Omelette" (1831) READ THE STORY
"The Duke de L'Omelette"
"Eleonora" (1841)
"Epimanies" (1833)
"The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar" (1845)
"Facts of M. Valdemar's Case"
"The Fall of the House of Usher" (1839) READ THE STORY
"Four Beasts in One"
"The Gold-Bug" (1843)
"Homo-Cameleopard"
"Hop-Frog" (1849)
"The Horse-Shade"
"How to Write a Blackwood Article" (1838)
"The Imp of the Perverse" (1845)
"The Island of the Fay" (1841)
"The Journal of Julius Rodman" (1839-1840)
"King Pest" (1835)
"King Pest the First"
"Landscape Garden" (1842)
"Landor's Cottage" (1848)
"Life in Death"
"Ligeia" (1838) READ THE STORY
"Lion-izing. A Tale" (1835)
"Lionizing" (1840)
"The Literary Life of Thingum Bob, Esq." (1844)
"Loss of Breath" (1833 and 1840)
"The Man in the Crowd"
"The Man of the Crowd" (1840)
"The Man That Was Used Up" (1839)
"Manuscript Found in a Bottle"
"The Mask of the Red Death"
"The Masque of the Red Death" (1842) READ THE STORY
"Metzengerstein" (1831)
"Mellonta Tauta" (1848)
"Mesmeric Revelation" (1844)
"Morella" (1835 and 1848)
"MS. Found in a Bottle" (1833) READ THE STORY
"The Murders in the Rue Morgue" (1841) READ THE STORY
"Murders in the Rue Trianon Bas Morgue"
"The Mystery of Marie Roget" (1842-1843)
"Mystification" (1837)
The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket
"Never Bet the Devil Your Head" (1841)
"Never Bet Your Head"
"The Oblong Box" (1844)
"The Oval Portrait" (1842 and 1845)
"Peter Pendulum, the Business Man"
"The Pit and the Pendulum" (1842) READ THE STORY
"The Power of Words" (1845)
"A Predicament"
"The Premature Burial" (1844)
"The Psyche Zenobia"
"The Purloined Letter" (1844)
"Raising the Wind"
"Shadow" (1833)
"Signora Psyche Zenobia"
"Silence"
"Siope" (1833)
"Some Words with a Mummy" (1844)
"The Spectacles" (1844)
"The Sphinx" (1845)
"A Succession of Sundays"
"The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether" (1844)
"A Tale of Jerusalem" (1831)
"A Tale of the Ragged Mountains" (1844)
"The Teeth"
"The Tell-Tale Heart" (1842) READ THE STORY
"Thou Art the Man" (1844)
"The Thousand-and-Second Tale of Scheherazade" (1844)
"Three Sundays in a Week" (1841)
"The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaal" (1835)
"The Visionary"
"Von Jung, the Mystific"
"Von Kemplen and His Discovery" (1849)
"Why the Little Frenchman Wears His Hand in a Sling" (1837-1839)
"William Wilson" (1839)
"X-ing a Paragrab" (1849)
