Authors: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

100 Inspirational Quotes By Edgar Allen Poe That Will Help You See The Brighter Side Of Life

Famous As: Writer and Poet - Widely Regarded as a Central Figure of Romanticism in the United States
Born On: January 19, 1809
Died On: October 7, 1849
Born In: Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Died At Age: 40

Edgar Allan Poe was an American author who lived in the 19th century and is considered to be a pioneer in the field of short stories as well as detective fiction among others. In addition to being one of the most influential writers in the United States during his time, he was also a literary critic and an editor of great repute. Poe attended the University of Virginia but could not complete his education due to a shortage of funds and later on, he failed to become an army cadet at West Point. However, the failure at West Point futher pushed him towards literature and before long he became a celebrated writer. Some of his most notable and successful works include the poem ‘The Raven’ written in 1845, the stories ‘The Tell Tale Heart’ and ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ among others. It is often stated that Edgar Allen Poe’s works were far ahead of its time and hence it went on to influence the literary landscape for many years to come. Poe was also known as a witty and intelligent man who could deliver killing on-liners with ease and here are some of the choicest quotes by him. 

I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity.

I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity.

Edgar Allan Poe
All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream.

All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream.

Edgar Allan Poe
We loved with a love that was more than love.

We loved with a love that was more than love.

Edgar Allan Poe
Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night.

Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night.

Edgar Allan Poe
I have great faith in fools - self-confidence my friends will call it.

I have great faith in fools - self-confidence my friends will call it.

Edgar Allan Poe
I was never really insane except upon occasions when my heart was touched.

I was never really insane except upon occasions when my heart was touched.

Edgar Allan Poe
There is no exquisite beauty… without some strangeness in the proportion.

There is no exquisite beauty… without some strangeness in the proportion.

Edgar Allan Poe
Believe only half of what you see and nothing that you hear.

Believe only half of what you see and nothing that you hear.

Edgar Allan Poe
From childhood's hour I have not been. As others were, I have not seen. As others saw, I could not awaken. My heart to joy at the same tone. And all I loved, I loved alone.

From childhood's hour I have not been. As others were, I have not seen. As others saw, I could not awaken. My heart to joy at the same tone. And all I loved, I loved alone.

Edgar Allan Poe
Sleep, those little slices of death — how I loathe them.

Sleep, those little slices of death — how I loathe them.

Edgar Allan Poe
Years of love have been forgot, In the hatred of a minute.

Years of love have been forgot, In the hatred of a minute.

Edgar Allan Poe
Never to suffer would never to have been blessed.

Never to suffer would never to have been blessed.

Edgar Allan Poe
Words have no power to impress the mind without the exquisite horror of their reality.

Words have no power to impress the mind without the exquisite horror of their reality.

Edgar Allan Poe
All religion, my friend, is simply evolved out of fraud, fear, greed, imagination, and poetry.

All religion, my friend, is simply evolved out of fraud, fear, greed, imagination, and poetry.

Edgar Allan Poe
If you wish to forget anything on the spot, make a note that this thing is to be remembered.

If you wish to forget anything on the spot, make a note that this thing is to be remembered.

Edgar Allan Poe
The best things in life make you sweaty.

The best things in life make you sweaty.

Edgar Allan Poe
I wish I could write as mysterious as a cat.

I wish I could write as mysterious as a cat.

Edgar Allan Poe
Deep in earth my love is lying
And I must weep alone.

Deep in earth my love is lying And I must weep alone.

Edgar Allan Poe
It is by no means an irrational fancy that, in a future existence, we shall look upon what we think our present existence, as a dream.

It is by no means an irrational fancy that, in a future existence, we shall look upon what we think our present existence, as a dream.

Edgar Allan Poe
I felt that I breathed an atmosphere of sorrow.

I felt that I breathed an atmosphere of sorrow.

Edgar Allan Poe
I have no faith in human perfectibility. I think that human exertion will have no appreciable effect upon humanity. Man is now only more active - not more happy - nor more wise, than he was 6000 years ago.

I have no faith in human perfectibility. I think that human exertion will have no appreciable effect upon humanity. Man is now only more active - not more happy - nor more wise, than he was 6000 years ago.

Edgar Allan Poe
And so being young and dipped in folly I fell in love with melancholy.

And so being young and dipped in folly I fell in love with melancholy.

Edgar Allan Poe
Beauty of whatever kind, in its supreme development, invariably excites the sensitive soul to tears.

Beauty of whatever kind, in its supreme development, invariably excites the sensitive soul to tears.

Edgar Allan Poe
Invisible things are the only realities.

Invisible things are the only realities.

Edgar Allan Poe
Science has not yet taught us if madness is or is not the sublimity of the intelligence.

Science has not yet taught us if madness is or is not the sublimity of the intelligence.

Edgar Allan Poe
The true genius shudders at incompleteness — imperfection — and usually prefers silence to saying the something which is not everything that should be said.

The true genius shudders at incompleteness — imperfection — and usually prefers silence to saying the something which is not everything that should be said.

Edgar Allan Poe
And all I loved, I loved alone.

And all I loved, I loved alone.

Edgar Allan Poe
The death of a beautiful woman is, unquestionably, the most poetical topic in the world.

The death of a beautiful woman is, unquestionably, the most poetical topic in the world.

Edgar Allan Poe
Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before.

Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before.

Edgar Allan Poe
With me poetry has not been a purpose, but a passion.

With me poetry has not been a purpose, but a passion.

Edgar Allan Poe
There are some secrets which do not permit themselves to be told.

There are some secrets which do not permit themselves to be told.

Edgar Allan Poe
I remained too much inside my head and ended up losing my mind

I remained too much inside my head and ended up losing my mind

Edgar Allan Poe
I dread the events of the future, not in themselves but in their results.

I dread the events of the future, not in themselves but in their results.

Edgar Allan Poe
Poetry is the rhythmical creation of beauty in words.

Poetry is the rhythmical creation of beauty in words.

Edgar Allan Poe
That which you mistake for madness is but an overacuteness of the senses.

That which you mistake for madness is but an overacuteness of the senses.

Edgar Allan Poe
Now this is the point. You fancy me a mad. Madmen know nothing. But you should have seen me. You should have seen how wisely I proceeded...

Now this is the point. You fancy me a mad. Madmen know nothing. But you should have seen me. You should have seen how wisely I proceeded...

Edgar Allan Poe
To elevate the soul, poetry is necessary.

To elevate the soul, poetry is necessary.

Edgar Allan Poe
I intend to put up with nothing that I can put down.

I intend to put up with nothing that I can put down." [Letter to J. Beauchamp Jones, August 8, 1839]

Edgar Allan Poe
The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins?

The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins?

Edgar Allan Poe
There are chords in the hearts of the most reckless which cannot be touched without emotion.

There are chords in the hearts of the most reckless which cannot be touched without emotion.

Edgar Allan Poe
Every moment of the night
Forever changing places
And they put out the star-light
With the breath from their pale faces

Every moment of the night Forever changing places And they put out the star-light With the breath from their pale faces

Edgar Allan Poe
Yet mad I am not...and very surely do I not dream.

Yet mad I am not...and very surely do I not dream.

Edgar Allan Poe
Even in the grave, all is not lost.

Even in the grave, all is not lost.

Edgar Allan Poe
It is a happiness to wonder; -- it is a happiness to dream.

It is a happiness to wonder; -- it is a happiness to dream.

Edgar Allan Poe
Convinced myself, I seek not to convince.

Convinced myself, I seek not to convince.

Edgar Allan Poe
Men have called me mad; but the question is not yet settled, whether madness is or is not the loftiest intelligence.

Men have called me mad; but the question is not yet settled, whether madness is or is not the loftiest intelligence.

Edgar Allan Poe
Stupidity is a talent for misconception.

Stupidity is a talent for misconception.

Edgar Allan Poe
And I fell violently on my face.

And I fell violently on my face.

Edgar Allan Poe
To die laughing must be the most glorious of all glorious deaths!

To die laughing must be the most glorious of all glorious deaths!

Edgar Allan Poe
True, nervous, very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am, but why will say that I am mad?! The disease had sharpened my senses, not destroyed, not dulled them. Above all was the sense of hearing acute.

True, nervous, very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am, but why will say that I am mad?! The disease had sharpened my senses, not destroyed, not dulled them. Above all was the sense of hearing acute.

Edgar Allan Poe
A short story must have a single mood and every sentence must build towards it.

A short story must have a single mood and every sentence must build towards it.

Edgar Allan Poe
And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all.

And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all.

Edgar Allan Poe
Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore...

Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore...

Edgar Allan Poe
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?

Is all that we see or seem But a dream within a dream?

Edgar Allan Poe
Every poem should remind the reader that they are going to die.

Every poem should remind the reader that they are going to die.

Edgar Allan Poe
Leave my loneliness unbroken

Leave my loneliness unbroken

Edgar Allan Poe
Experience has shown, and a true philosophy will always show, that a vast, perhaps the larger, portion of truth arises from the seemingly irrelevant.

Experience has shown, and a true philosophy will always show, that a vast, perhaps the larger, portion of truth arises from the seemingly irrelevant.

Edgar Allan Poe
The ninety and nine are with dreams, content, but the hope of the world made new, is the hundredth man who is grimly bent on making those dreams come true.

The ninety and nine are with dreams, content, but the hope of the world made new, is the hundredth man who is grimly bent on making those dreams come true.

Edgar Allan Poe
Mysteries force a man to think, and so injure his health.

Mysteries force a man to think, and so injure his health.

Edgar Allan Poe
Villains!' I shrieked. 'Dissemble no more! I admit the deed! Tear up the planks! Here, here! It is the beating of his hideous heart!

Villains!' I shrieked. 'Dissemble no more! I admit the deed! Tear up the planks! Here, here! It is the beating of his hideous heart!

Edgar Allan Poe
In criticism, I will be bold, and as sternly, absolutely just with friend and foe. From this purpose nothing shall turn me.

In criticism, I will be bold, and as sternly, absolutely just with friend and foe. From this purpose nothing shall turn me.

Edgar Allan Poe
Even with the utterly lost, to whom life and death are equally jests, there are matters of which no jest can be made.

Even with the utterly lost, to whom life and death are equally jests, there are matters of which no jest can be made.

Edgar Allan Poe
Art is to look at not to criticize.

Art is to look at not to criticize.

Edgar Allan Poe
A man's grammar, like Caesar's wife, should not only be pure, but above suspicion of impurity.

A man's grammar, like Caesar's wife, should not only be pure, but above suspicion of impurity.

Edgar Allan Poe
The rain came down upon my head - Unshelter'd. And the wind rendered me mad and deaf and blind.

The rain came down upon my head - Unshelter'd. And the wind rendered me mad and deaf and blind.

Edgar Allan Poe
We gave the Future to the winds, and slumbered tranquilly in the Present, weaving the dull world around us into dreams.

We gave the Future to the winds, and slumbered tranquilly in the Present, weaving the dull world around us into dreams.

Edgar Allan Poe
The idea of God, infinity, or spirit stands for the possible attempt at an impossible conception.

The idea of God, infinity, or spirit stands for the possible attempt at an impossible conception.

Edgar Allan Poe
When, indeed, men speak of Beauty, they mean, precisely, not a quality, as is supposed, but an effect - they refer, in short, just to that intense and pure elevation of soul - not of intellect, or of heart.

When, indeed, men speak of Beauty, they mean, precisely, not a quality, as is supposed, but an effect - they refer, in short, just to that intense and pure elevation of soul - not of intellect, or of heart.

Edgar Allan Poe
...that fitful strain of melancholy which will ever be found inseperable from the perfection of the beautiful.

...that fitful strain of melancholy which will ever be found inseperable from the perfection of the beautiful.

Edgar Allan Poe
Blood was its Avatar and its seal.

Blood was its Avatar and its seal.

Edgar Allan Poe
Either the memory of past bliss is the anguish of to-day; or the agonies which are have their origins in ecstasies which might have been.

Either the memory of past bliss is the anguish of to-day; or the agonies which are have their origins in ecstasies which might have been.

Edgar Allan Poe
When a madman appears thoroughly sane, indeed, it is high time to put him in a straight jacket.

When a madman appears thoroughly sane, indeed, it is high time to put him in a straight jacket.

Edgar Allan Poe
There is an eloquence in true enthusiasm

There is an eloquence in true enthusiasm

Edgar Allan Poe
Lord help my poor soul.

Lord help my poor soul.

Edgar Allan Poe
For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise but i feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee.

For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams Of the beautiful Annabel Lee; And the stars never rise but i feel the bright eyes Of the beautiful Annabel Lee.

Edgar Allan Poe
Where the good and the bad and the worst and the best have gone to their eternal rest.

Where the good and the bad and the worst and the best have gone to their eternal rest.

Edgar Allan Poe
I was a child and she was a child,
 In this kingdom by the sea;
 But we loved with a love that was more than love-
 I and my Annabel Lee;
 With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven
 Coveted her and me.

I was a child and she was a child, In this kingdom by the sea; But we loved with a love that was more than love- I and my Annabel Lee; With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven Coveted her and me.

Edgar Allan Poe
In one case out of a hundred a point is excessively discussed because it is obscure; in the ninety-nine remaining it is obscure because it is excessively discussed.

In one case out of a hundred a point is excessively discussed because it is obscure; in the ninety-nine remaining it is obscure because it is excessively discussed.

Edgar Allan Poe
All that we see and seem is but a dream within a dream.

All that we see and seem is but a dream within a dream.

Edgar Allan Poe
I would define, in brief, the poetry of words as the rhythmical creation of beauty.

I would define, in brief, the poetry of words as the rhythmical creation of beauty.

Edgar Allan Poe
From childhood's hour I have not been
As others were - I have not seen
As others saw - I could not bring
My passions from a common spring -

From childhood's hour I have not been As others were - I have not seen As others saw - I could not bring My passions from a common spring -

Edgar Allan Poe
And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door, 
That I scarce was sure I heard you

And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door, That I scarce was sure I heard you"— here I opened wide the door; — Darkness there, and nothing more.

Edgar Allan Poe
That is another of your odd notions,

That is another of your odd notions," said the Prefect, who had a fashion of calling every thing "odd" that was beyond his comprehension, and thus lived amid an absolute legion of "oddities.

Edgar Allan Poe
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor, Shall be lifted -- Nevermore!

And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor, Shall be lifted -- Nevermore!

Edgar Allan Poe
I was never kinder to the old man than during the whole week before I killed him.

I was never kinder to the old man than during the whole week before I killed him.

Edgar Allan Poe
Imperceptibly the love of these discords grew upon me as my love of music grew stronger.

Imperceptibly the love of these discords grew upon me as my love of music grew stronger.

Edgar Allan Poe
A million candles have burned themselves out. Still I read on. (Montresor)

A million candles have burned themselves out. Still I read on. (Montresor)

Edgar Allan Poe
True! - nervous - very, very nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad?

True! - nervous - very, very nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad?

Edgar Allan Poe
...the agony of my soul found vent in one loud, long and final scream of despair.

...the agony of my soul found vent in one loud, long and final scream of despair.

Edgar Allan Poe
You call it hope — that fire of fire!
It is but agony of desire.

You call it hope — that fire of fire! It is but agony of desire.

Edgar Allan Poe
A dirge for her the doubly dead

in that she died so young.

A dirge for her the doubly dead in that she died so young.

Edgar Allan Poe
Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practise to deceive

Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practise to deceive

Edgar Allan Poe
In our endeavors to recall to memory something long forgotten, we often find ourselves upon the very verge of remembrance, without being able, in the end, to remember.

In our endeavors to recall to memory something long forgotten, we often find ourselves upon the very verge of remembrance, without being able, in the end, to remember.

Edgar Allan Poe
I stand amid the roar
Of a surf-tormented shore,
And I hold within my hand
Grains of golden sand-
How few! yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep- while I weep!

I stand amid the roar Of a surf-tormented shore, And I hold within my hand Grains of golden sand- How few! yet how they creep Through my fingers to the deep, While I weep- while I weep!

Edgar Allan Poe
The depth lies in the valleys where we seek her, and not upon the mountain-tops where she is found.

The depth lies in the valleys where we seek her, and not upon the mountain-tops where she is found.

Edgar Allan Poe
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,

Edgar Allan Poe
I call to mind flatness and dampness; and then all is madness - the madness of a memory which busies itself among forbidden things.

I call to mind flatness and dampness; and then all is madness - the madness of a memory which busies itself among forbidden things.

Edgar Allan Poe
There was much of the beautiful, much of the wanton, much of the bizarre, something of the terrible, and not a little of that which might have excited disgust.

There was much of the beautiful, much of the wanton, much of the bizarre, something of the terrible, and not a little of that which might have excited disgust.

Edgar Allan Poe
There are chords in the hearts of the most reckless which cannot be touched without emotion, even by the utterly lost, to whom life and death are equally jests, there are matters of which no jest can be made.

There are chords in the hearts of the most reckless which cannot be touched without emotion, even by the utterly lost, to whom life and death are equally jests, there are matters of which no jest can be made.

Edgar Allan Poe