Dark romanticism is a literary subgenre which, unlike transcendentalism, emphasizes the defects and weaknesses of human beings and their human nature and places a great emphasis on sinful behaviors and capacities for evil. Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most recognized authors of the modern generation and one of the foundational writers of the Dark Romantic style; indeed his catalog of works has become ubiquitous in literature collections used to teach the subgenre, and his stories and poems have influenced a plethora of popular culture, including: episodes of “The Simpsons,” the “Sherlock Holmes” novels " by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and music such as Bob Dylan's song "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" which references "Rue Morgue Avenue". Poe led an exceptionally tragic life, experiencing the tragic deaths of his loved ones several times in his youth, and Poe's work had a constant theme of death and grotesque detail, resulting in numerous critics, such as Scott Peeples, referring to Poe as " a tortured romantic artist” (Meyers, 1993), attributing Poe's dark romantic style to his tragic life. Killis Campbell even went so far as to suggest that in all "Poe's stories[...]the central figure, however disguised, is always the image of the novelist himself", suggesting that Poe was unable to distance himself from the his work (Campbell, 1933). Poe, however, is also credited with inventing the "detective" and "science fiction" genres, and he didn't just write morbid and grotesque works. There are a number of other factors that might be considered when asking why Edgar Allan Poe preferred dark-romantic literature, such as public literary preferences in the nineteenth century and Poe's desire to prove himself.... middle of paper ... ...His works: The Bicentenary. (Bern: Peter Lang). Ostrom, J. W (1948), The Letters of Edgar Allan Poe (Cambridge: Harvard University Press). Parks, E. W (1964), Edgar Allan Poe as Literary Critic (Georgia: University of Georgia Press).Person, L. S (2001), Poe and Nineteenth-Century Constructions of Gender. In J. G. Kennedy, A Historical Guide to Edgar Allan Poe (pp. 129-165). (New York: Oxford University Press). Poe, E. A. (1966). The Letters of Edgar Allan Poe. (J. Ward, ed.) New York: Gordian Press.Poe, EA (1839) Letter to Washington IrvingRans, G (1965), Writers and Critics: Edgar Allan Poe (Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd Ltd).Regan, R ( 1967), Poe (New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc). Wagennecht, E (1963), Edgar Allan Poe: The Man Behind the Legend (New York: Oxford University Press). Walker, I. M. (1986). Edgar Allan Poe: The Critical Legacy. (London: Routledge).