Right up there with Shakespeare. A little darker but none the less a great author.

His poetry actually encouraged me to read poetry.  What junior high schooler could not be intrigued and maybe just a little scared  or melancholic when reading The Raven or Annabelle Lee?

He's actually a Romantic who invented the detective story (pre-dates Sherlock Holmes) Poe is, in my humble opinion, slightly underrated. . .

Delusionary gargle.

One of the great literary frauds of the 19th Century.

As a poet- all over the place, some great stuff, some dull stuff. My particular favorite is actually "A Dream Within A Dream" and not " The Raven," which seems to be the one that his fans love and the dissenters grudgingly praise. Really made his mark with the short story of course, and- though certainly acerbic and demanding- a hell of a literary critic in my view.

I learned about this cat in school once. For starters, this guy married a 13yr old girl, but dont trip, that was cool back then when I first heard that I was like dang, that guy needs to be in prison, but those were the standards back then so dont trip out. He was the original poet, without him there wouldnt be any songs because songs=poetry.

The greatest American poet of all time, easily. Also had enormous influence, good and bad: the French symbolist poets (Baudelaire, Verlaine, Rimbaud) were all inspired by Poe, and through them T.S. Eliot. His taste for the macabre puts a lot of people off, but it's hard to think of more than one or two American poets who shared his skill; not to mention, he was an accomplished critic, editor and short story writer as well.

Here is a great but misunderstood American poet. He must have had a terrible personal travel through this world when you gage his poetry and his prose. Poe's poetry figures largely in the movie "El Dorado" with John Wayne, James Caan, Robert Mitchum, Ed Asner, etc. Caan is always quoting the poem "El Dorado" that lo and behold is one of Poe's works. I enclose it for you, oh ye cultured RIA posters! Gaily bedight, A gallant knight, In sunshine and in shadow, Had journeyed long, Singing a song, In search of Eldorado. But he grew old- This knight so bold- And o'er his heart a shadow Fell as he found No spot of ground That looked like Eldorado. And, as his strength Failed him at length, He met a pilgrim shadow- "Shadow," said he, "Where can it be- This land of Eldorado?" "Over the Mountains Of the Moon, Down the Valley of the Shadow, Ride, boldly ride," The shade replied- "If you seek for Eldorado!"

Though sometimes one can find Edgar Allan Poe depressing, and creepy, but just like most great poets, they are just letting thier feelings out, and i think that is all that needs to be said about the legendary Edgar Allan Poe.

The Raven is very likely the greatest poem ever written in the English language. The intra rhymes in the third and fourth line of each stanza are marvelous. The poem may be dark and somber but the work that went into it is amazing. What a dark fellow Poe was...and what a bright and sparkling talent he had.

In my opinion, Edgar Allan Poe was the greatest poet ever. His poems and prose were all brilliant and fascinating. Even though his gothic tales were sometimes a little much, they were also inspiring to other young writers such as myself. He grants you the ability to explore your imagination through his writing and he's the best there is and the best there ever will be.

My all-time favorite author. I've already commented on him under the classic literature category, but since this is his listing under poets, I'll say a few things about his Poe-try specifically. The Raven, of course, is his poetic magnum opus, and one of, if not THE, most famous poem(s) in the world. "Annabel Lee" and "To Helen" are both beautiful examples of pure poetry, and "The Bells" is an interesting rhythmic experiment. Some of his longer poems such as "Tammerlane" or "Al Araaf" can get kind of dull, but that doesn't matter, because Poe's great works outnumber his dull or sub-par works a million to one.

Once upon a midnight dreary...muhahahaha! Who wasn't stunned by those words the first time they read them back in junior high? The Raven was Poe's gothically delicious masterpiece and one of the most well remembered and loved poems of all time. Call him a sick puppy if you will - but he had some really great short stories and delightful poetry!