Jane Doe
Professor Martin
American Lit. 1
18 October 2004
Scholarly Article Evaluation: “The Question of Poe’s Narrators”

In his article, James Gargano’s main argument is that there is a very clear distinction between what Poe’s narrators say and Poe’s own thoughts.  Gargano tries to refute Poe’s detractors, many of whom found fault in his work, saying that his stories are written in an “embarrassing Gothic style” (Gargano 177).  He argues that many of these critics mistakenly attribute the narrators’ styles of speaking for being Poe’s style of writing.

It seems like the problem Gargano has with these critics is their strict use of the New Criticism in interpreting Poe’s short stories and poems.  Because this particular method of criticism focuses solely on the style of language within the text, they completely ignore the author’s intention, and in doing so, can easily miss the point of the story.  It precisely this that Gargano says has happened with Poe’s works.  The unsuitability of New Criticism in this instance has lead him to conclude that Poe’s writings would be best interpreted by identifying the author’s own intent.  

The author of the article proposes his thesis which is that Poe’s use of over the top language and descriptions was a deliberate choice intended to convey the mental instability of his main characters, and does not signify mental instability on his part or immaturity as a writer.  This premise raises several questions about the writings.  When you take into consideration that what the narrators say might not be what Poe believes, the theme of Poe’s stories comes into question.  If we take Gargano’s theory a step further, even the genre of these writings becomes debatable.  Although he does not directly state it in his article, when seen in this light, Poe’s body of work can easily be seen as a satirical criticism of the Romantic style of writing that was so popular at the time.

The only problem with Gargano’s thesis is his lack of real evidence.  While it seems logical to  analyze the language and organization of a text in order to see how all of these elements contribute to the work as a whole, as is done in New Criticism, it does not seem equally adequate as a means of discerning the author’s intention.  Even though Gargano’s theory sounds like it is probably the correct way to interpret Poe’s works, the only way Poe’s intent could only be known for certain would be if he had stated it.  Since he didn’t, this means that both the New Criticism and Gargano’s perspectives are equally valid.