摘 要

埃德加·爱伦·坡是美国文艺复兴运动最重要的先驱者之一，其独特的视觉美学创作手法赋予他的恐怖小说独特的魅力。本文以坡的四部代表性小说《黑猫》、《丽姬娅》、《莫格街凶杀案》和《厄舍府的倒塌》为例，基于视觉维度层面系统地、多角度地分析坡是如何将视觉艺术从视觉意象、视觉认知理论、图示美学三个角度融入恐怖文学创作当中，分析解读了作品中立体视觉机制与寓言性之间的内在联系, 探讨坡对视觉艺术文化的影响和小说中展现的哥特主题。

关键词：埃德加·爱伦·坡；恐怖小说； 视觉美学创作

Contents

1. Introduction...............................................................................................................1
   1. A brief introduction to Poe and his mystery stories................................................1
   2. A brief introduction to the “visual dimension” of contemporary Poe Studies........1
2. Demonstration...........................................................................................................2

2.1 An analysis of the visual images in The Black Cat..................................................2

2.1.1 A sign of change in personality..............................................................................3

2.1.2 A symbol of plot motivation and theme sublimation............................................4

2.2 An analysis of the visual cognition theory................................................................5

2.2.1 The visual anamorphosis theory adopted in Ligeia ..............................................6

2.2.2 Dupin’s visual discourse employed in The Murders in the Rue Morgue..............7

2.3 An analysis of the graphical aesthetics in The Fall of the House of Usher..............9

2.3.1 The description of the environment and supernatural phenomena........................9

2.3.2 The interspersed use of painting, poetry and music ...........................................11

1. Conclusion...............................................................................................................12

Works Cited..................................................................................................................14

Bibliography.................................................................................................................15

An Analysis of Edgar Allan Poe' s Mystery Stories

from the Visual Dimension

1. Introduction

1.1 A brief introduction to Poe and his mystery stories

Edgar Allan Poe, one of the foremost pioneers of the 19th century American Renaissance (1809-1849), has made remarkable achievements in novels, poems, literary criticism and other aspects. People regard him as the originator of the western decadence literature, the promoter of aestheticism literature, the explorer of abnormal psychology, and the pioneer of American detective novels. Among his various works, his mystery novels are currently being studied most widely and deeply. With the imagination of strange and horrifying story plots, he expressed the crisis of human nature through rhetorical devices such as exaggeration, metaphor and symbolism, aroused readers' interest in reading and provoked their deeper thinking.

In the past more than 100 years, the study of both Allan Poe and his works at home and abroad has been developing and deepening, ranging from the traditional academic research to the macro and micro, vertical and horizontal, diachronic and synchronic combinations of cultural perspective, with broader vision, more varied perspectives and more flexible means. History, politics, economy, art, race and gender have become the topics of researching Poe. In recent years, many domestic scholars have paid close attention to the spiritual world, Poe's death consciousness, and the thinking of humanity. Influenced by Western cultural studies, many scholars have discussed the works in the context of cultural factors in Poe' s works, showing a tendency of interdiscipline. Of course, compared with the study into Faulkner, Hemingway and other literary giants in recent years, the research about Poe is still lagging behind.