O papel da memória na produção ficcional de Edgar Allan Poe

Abstract

The purpose of this undergraduate thesis is to analyse how Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) deals with the concept of memory within his fictional production. The key idea for the analysis is the evaluation of memory as a cohesive element between archives and Literature. In this regard, it is a component from the cognition involved in the creation of fictional narratives. Through this, memory is embodied in these narratives. In order to solve this issue, the selected theoretical foundation is composed by articles and books which basis is on the tripod archives, literary aspects and studies on memory. For this purpose, the interlacing between studies on memory and literary analysis from the short stories “The Fall of the House of Usher”, “Berenice”, “Ligeia”, “The Pit and the Pendulum” and “William Wilson”, as well as “Chapter II” from the novel “The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym”, is applied. The outcome of this analysis pointed out the transferring physical and psychological characteristics and personal memories of Poe as a man who lived in depression and solitude to his own works, contributing to characterize him as the master of terror in the universal literary canon.