Sentence Style Analysis of Edgar Allan Poe's Short Stories
Category
Topical Literature Review
Department
English, Creative Writing Emphasis
Student Status
Undergraduate
Research Advisor
Dr. Chris Anderson
Document Type
Event
Location
Student Center Ballroom
Start Date
10-4-2025 2:00 PM
End Date
10-4-2025 4:00 PM
Description
How people use grammar and writing has changed over the years. Someone who wrote around 1800 would not use the same technique as they use today, yet their writing is still understandable. This study uses modern grammar techniques to investigate the sentence structure and writing style used by Edgar Allan Poe in his short stories. The Reed-Kellogg system, the sentence traditional diagramming as seen and used in the undergraduate course English Grammar and Usage (ENGL202), and the textbook Grammar by Diagram by Cindy L. Vitto were used to help visualize Poe's writing style and understand his writing. This system helps break up the data to better understand Poe's sentence style and the types of sentences Poe utilizes. For data collection, I used The Essential Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe, published by Sweet Water Press. Analyze the sentences and their type, pattern, moods, tense, and voice was completed using a table to map them out. The study shows that Edgar Allen Poe mostly uses complex indicative in the past perfect tense and active voice. Poe's most used sentence pattern is pattern seven, Subject + Transitive Verb + Direct Object. Most of Poe's stories are set as tales being told by a character about their past, being put in the first-person point of view.
Sentence Style Analysis of Edgar Allan Poe's Short Stories
Student Center Ballroom
How people use grammar and writing has changed over the years. Someone who wrote around 1800 would not use the same technique as they use today, yet their writing is still understandable. This study uses modern grammar techniques to investigate the sentence structure and writing style used by Edgar Allan Poe in his short stories. The Reed-Kellogg system, the sentence traditional diagramming as seen and used in the undergraduate course English Grammar and Usage (ENGL202), and the textbook Grammar by Diagram by Cindy L. Vitto were used to help visualize Poe's writing style and understand his writing. This system helps break up the data to better understand Poe's sentence style and the types of sentences Poe utilizes. For data collection, I used The Essential Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe, published by Sweet Water Press. Analyze the sentences and their type, pattern, moods, tense, and voice was completed using a table to map them out. The study shows that Edgar Allen Poe mostly uses complex indicative in the past perfect tense and active voice. Poe's most used sentence pattern is pattern seven, Subject + Transitive Verb + Direct Object. Most of Poe's stories are set as tales being told by a character about their past, being put in the first-person point of view.
