Eureka: A Prose Poem

Eureka (1848) is a lengthy non-fiction work by American author Edgar Allan Poe which he subtitled "A Prose Poem," though it has also been subtitled as "An Essay on the Material and Spiritual Universe." Adapted from a lecture he had presented, Eureka describes Poe's intuitive conception of the nature of the universe with no scientific work done to reach his conclusions. He also discusses man's relationship with God, who he compares to an author. It is dedicated to the German naturalist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt.^[1] Though it is generally considered unscientific, many of Poe's theories predate later accepted scientific theories including Black Holes.^[2]

Eureka was received poorly in Poe's day and generally described as absurd, even by friends. Modern critics continue to debate the significance of Eureka and some doubt its seriousness, in part because of Poe's many incorrect assumptions and his comedic descriptions of well-known historical minds. Presented as a poem, many compare it with his fiction work, especially science fiction stories such as "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar." His attempts at discovering the truth also follow his own tradition of "ratiocination," a term used in his detective fiction tales. Poe's suggestion that the soul continues to thrive even after death also parallels with works in which characters reappear from beyond the grave such as "Ligeia." The essay is oddly Transcendental, considering Poe's disdain for the movement. He considered it his greatest work and claimed it was more important than the discovery of gravity.

Overview

Eureka is Poe's last major work and his longest non-fiction work at nearly 40,000 words in length.^[3] The work has its origins in a lecture Poe presented on February 3, 1848 titled "On The Cosmography of the Universe" at the Society Library in New York.^[4][3] He had expected an audience of hundreds; only 60 attended and were confused by the topic.^[5] Poe had hoped the profits from the lecture would cover expenses for the production of his new journal The Stylus.^[3]

Eureka is Poe's attempt at explaining the universe, using his general proposition "Because Nothing was, therefore All Things are."^[6] In it, Poe discusses man's relationship to God and the universe^[7] or, as he offers at the beginning: "I design to speak of the Physical, Metaphysical and Mathematical – of the Material and Spiritual Universe: of its Essence, its Origin, its Creation, its Present Condition and its Destiny."^[8] He says that matter and spirit are made of the same essence.^[9] Poe suggests that people have a natural tendency to believe in themselves as infinite with nothing greater than their soul - such thoughts stem from man's residual feelings from when each shared an original identity with God.^[10] Ultimately individual consciousnesses will collapse back into a similar single mass, a "final ingathering" where the "myriads of individual Intelligences become blended."^[11] Likewise, Poe saw the universe itself as infinitely expanding and collapsing^[12] like a divine heartbeat which constantly rejuvenates itself, also implying a sort of deathlessness.^[1] In fact, because the soul is a part of this constant throbbing, after dying, all people, in essence, become God.^[10]

Analysis

Eureka presents similar themes and sentiments as some of Poe's fiction work, including attempts at breaking beyond the obstacle of death^[6] and specifically characters who return from death in stories like "The Fall of the House of Usher" and "Ligeia." Similar to his theories on a good short story, Poe believes the universe is a self-contained, closed system.^[13] In coming to his conclusions, Poe, in effect, is utilizing his literary device of "ratiocination," perfected by his character C. Auguste Dupin, as if he was himself a detective charged with solving the mystery of the universe.^[14] Eureka, then, is the culmination of Poe's interest in capturing truth through language, an extension of his interest in cryptography.^[15]

Eureka seems to continue the science fiction traditions he used in works like "MS. Found in a Bottle" and "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar."^[7] He further emphasizes the connection between his theory and fiction by saying that the universe itself is a written work: "The Universe is a plot of God," Poe says, ^[16] and "the plots of God are perfect."^[17] Even so, Poe admits the difficulty in explaining these theories comes in part from the limitations of language, often apologizing for or explaining his use of "common" or "vulgar" terms.^[18]

Poe's decision to refer to the piece as a "prose poem" goes against some of his own "rules" of poetry which he laid out in "The Philosophy of Composition" and "The Poetic Principle". In particular, Poe called the ideal poem short, at most 100 lines, and utilizing the "most poetical topic in the world": the death of a beautiful woman.^[19] Poe himself suggested that the work be judged only as a work of art, not of science, possibly dismissing the seriousness of Eureka.^[12] Though he is using mathematical and scientific terms, he may really be talking about aesthetics^[20] and suggesting there is a close connection between science and art.^[21] This is an ironic sentiment when compared to his message in the poem "To Science" where he shows a distaste for modern science encroaching on spirituality and the artist's imagination.^[22]

The work ventures into Transcendentalism, relying strongly on intuition, a movement and practice he had despised.^[23] Despite his criticism of that movement's incoherent mysticism, Eureka is more mystical than most Transcendental works.^[7] Eureka has also been compared to the theories of Mary Baker Eddy, founder of Christian Science and Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of Mormonism.^[7]

The essay is written in a progressive manner that anticipates its audience. For example, Poe uses more metaphors further into the work in the belief that the reader becomes more interested.^[24] Poe's voice crescendos throughout, starting as the modest seeker of truth, moving on to the satirist of logic, and finally ending as the master scholar.^[24]

Allusions

• "Eureka" - The title itself references the famed remark made by Archimedes, meaning, "I have found it."^[25] Archimedes used the term after taking a bath and discovering the concept of displacement.
  • Epicurus - Poe refers to the Ancient Greek philosopher with the term "Epicurean atoms." Epicurus believed that atoms are attracted to one another in space. It has been suggested that Poe's exultation of the "false scientist" Epicurus is an indication that Eureka is really a satire.^[26]
    • Aristotle - Poe refers to the famous student of Plato as "Aries Tottle," who he claims is Turkish and whose ideas come out of his nose like sneezes.
    • Francis Bacon - The name "Hog" is a reference to the English philosopher and originator of the Baconian method.
    • Euclid - Referred to as "Tuclid," a student of Aries Tottle.
    • Immanuel Kant - Poe describes Kant as the "Dutchman" who originated Transcendentalism.

    The comical presentation of these well-known historical theorists, including the puns on their names, suggests Poe intended Eureka to be a burlesque.^[12] Alternatively, his criticism of these men indicate Poe's need to challenge their conclusions before making his own.^[1]

    Influence and significance

    Eureka has been read in many ways, in part because Poe's sincerity in the work is questionable. It has been considered prophetically scientific, intuitively Romantic, and even calculatingly ironic.^[21] Lacking scientific proof, Poe said it was not his goal to prove what he says to be true, but to convince through suggestion.^[12]

    Though modern critics have dismissed Eureka for having no scientific worth or merit,^[7][27] Poe's work presages modern science with his own concept of the Big Bang.^[28] He postulated that the universe began from a single originating particle or singularity, willed by a "Divine Volition."^[1] This "primordial particle," initiated by God,^[29] divides into all the particles of the universe. These particles seek one another because of their originating unity (gravity) resulting in the end of the universe as a single particle. Poe also expresses a cosmological theory that anticipated black holes and the Big Crunch theory^[2] as well as the first plausible solution to Olbers' paradox.^[30] Many of Poe's conclusions, however, are speculative due to his rejection of analytic logic and emphasis on intuition and inspiration.^[7]

    Eureka is full of scientific errors. In particular, Poe's suggestions opposed Newtonian principles regarding the density and rotation of planets.^[6] He also incorrectly says that Johannes Kepler came to his conclusions not through science but through guesswork.^[7] For this reason, it has been suggested that what Poe demands is true in Eureka is not actually about this universe, but a parallel fictitious one Poe creates.^[31] If this is the case, Poe is criticizing this world, suggesting it has fallen away from God by elevating scientific reason above poetic intuition, as suggested by poet Richard Wilbur.^[32]

    More modern critics also suggest Eureka is a sign of Poe's declining mental health at the end of his life.^[33] In the text, Poe wrote that he was aware he might be considered a madman.^[12] The lecture on which the essay was based was delivered only a few days after the anniversary of the death of his wife Virginia, suggesting a connection between the event and his new theories.^[1] Poe seems to dismiss death in Eureka, thereby ignoring his own anxiety over the problem of death.^[34]

    Some modern critics also believe that Eureka is the key to deciphering meaning in all of Poe's fiction, as if all his works involve similar theories.^[35]

    Critical reception

    Response to Eureka was overwhelmingly unfavorable. Poe's friend Marie Louise Shew, who had helped his wife Virginia on her death-bed, broke off their friendship because it offended her religious beliefs.^[10] After its publication, a vehement anonymous censure was published in the Literary Review. This was believed by Poe to have been written by John Henry Hopkins, Jr. (1820-1889), a young theological student, who had previously criticized the work as pantheistic and "a damnable heresy" that "conscience would compel him to denounce."^[36] Literary critic George Edward Woodberry in 1885 thought the essay was based on a crude understanding of the science a student learns in school "rendered ridiculous" by absurdity and the density of his ignorance.^[37] The lecture upon which Eureka was based also received negative reviews. Poe's friend Evert Duyckinck wrote to his brother that the lecture bored him to death and that it was "full of a ludicrous dryness of scientific phrase - a mountainous piece of absurdity."^[3] A local newspaper called it "hyperbolic nonsense."^[38] though one publication, the Courier and Enquirer, called it "a nobler effort than any other Mr. Poe has yet given the world."^[4] Audience members said it was not persuasive or simply too long.^[25] Even so, Poe considered Eureka to be his masterpiece.^[39] He believed the work would immortalize him because it would be proven to be true.^[1] In the Preface, Poe said: "It is as a Poem only that I wish this work to be judged after I am dead."^[3] After its publication he wrote to his aunt Maria Clemm saying, "I have no desire to live since I have done Eureka. I could accomplish nothing more."^[40] He confided in a friend that he believed his contemporary generation was unable to understand it but that it would be appreciated, if ever, two thousand years later.^[25] Some critics, however, respond favorably to Eureka. French writer Paul Valéry praised it for both its poetic and scientific merit, calling it an abstract poem based on mathematical foundations.^[32]

    Publication history

    Eureka was published in a small hardcover edition in March 1848 by Wiley & Putnam^[3] priced at 75 cents.^[25] Poe persuaded George Palmer Putnam, who had previously taken a chance on Poe by printing his only novel The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket in England, to publish Eureka after claiming this work was more important than Isaac Newton's discovery of gravity. Putnam paid Poe fourteen dollars for the work.^[39] Poe suggested an initial printing of at least one million copies; Putnam settled on 750, of which only 500 copies were sold that year.^[41] Other accounts say Poe only requested 50,000 copies and that 500 were printed.^[6][42] Poe was given in advance the full payment of $14 from the publisher.^[4]

    References

    1. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Silverman, Kenneth. Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance. New York City: Harper Perennial, 1991. ISBN 0060923318 p. 339
    2. ^ ^{a b} "Poe Foresees Modern Cosmologists' Black Holes and The Big Crunch" URL accessed July 14, 2007
    3. ^ ^{a b c d e f}
    4. ^ ^{a b c} Quinn, Arthur Hobson. Edgar Allan Poe: A Critical Biography. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998. p. 539. ISBN 0801857309
    5. ^ Krutch, Joseph Wood. Edgar Allan Poe: A Study in Genius. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1926. p. 180-1.
    6. ^ ^{a b c d} Sova, Dawn B. Edgar Allan Poe: A to Z. New York: Checkmark Books, 2001. p. 83. ISBN 081604161X
    7. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Meyers, Jeffrey. Edgar Allan Poe: His Life and Legacy. New York: Cooper Square Press, 1992. p. 214. ISBN 0815410387
    8. ^ Poe, Edgar Allan. Eureka]. (1848)
    9. ^ Hoffman, Daniel. Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe. Louisiana State University Press, 1972. p. 245. ISBN 0807123218
    10. ^ ^{a b c}
    11. ^ Whalen, Terence. "Poe and the American Publishing Industry," as collected in A Historical Guide to Edgar Allan Poe, edited by J. Gerald Kennedy. Oxford University Press, 2001. p. 90. ISBN 0195121503
    12. ^ ^{a b c d e} Meyers, Jeffrey. Edgar Allan Poe: His Life and Legacy. New York: Cooper Square Press, 1992. p. 215. ISBN 0815410387
    13. ^ Peeples, Scott. "Poe's 'constructiveness' and 'The Fall of the House of Usher'," as collected in The Cambridge Companion to Edgar Allan Poe. Cambridge University Press, 2002. p. 187. ISBN 0521797276
    14. ^ Hoffman, Daniel. Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe. Louisiana State University Press, 1972. p. 274-5. ISBN 0807123218
    15. ^ Rosenheim, Shawn James. The Cryptographic Imagination. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997. p. 199. ISBN 9780801853326
    16. ^ Peeples, Scott. "Poe's 'constructiveness' and 'The Fall of the House of Usher'," as collected in The Cambridge Companion to Edgar Allan Poe, Kevin J. Hayes, ed.. Cambridge University Press, 2002. p. 188. ISBN 0521797276
    17. ^ Tresch, John. "Extra! Extra! Poe invents science fiction!" collected in The Cambridge Companion to Edgar Allan Poe, Kevin J. Hayes, ed. Cambridge University Press, 2002. p. 121. ISBN 0521797276
    18. ^ Golding, Alan C. "Reductive and Expansive Language: Semantic Strategies in Eureka", collected in Poe Studies, vol. XI, no. 1, June 1978. p. 1.
    19. ^ Hoffman, Daniel. Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe. Louisiana State University Press, 1972. p. 272. ISBN 0807123218
    20. ^ Hoffman, Daniel. Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe. Louisiana State University Press, 1972. p. 279. ISBN 0807123218
    21. ^ ^{a b}
    22. ^ Kennedy, J. Gerald. "Introduction: Poe in Our Time," as collected in A Historical Guide to Edgar Allan Poe, edited by J. Gerald Kennedy. Oxford University Press, 2001. p. 11. ISBN 0195121503
    23. ^ Krutch, Joseph Wood. Edgar Allan Poe: A Study in Genius. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1926. p. 185.
    24. ^ ^{a b} Golding, Alan C. "Reductive and Expansive Language: Semantic Strategies in Eureka", collected in Poe Studies, vol. XI, no. 1, June 1978. p. 4.
    25. ^ ^{a b c d} Silverman, Kenneth. Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance. Harper Perennial, 1991. ISBN 0060923318 p. 338. ISBN
    26. ^ Holman, Harriet R. "[Splitting Poe's 'Epicurean Atoms'; Further Speculation on the Literary Satire of Eureka]" collected in Poe Studies, vol. V, no. 2. December, 1972. p. 33.
    27. ^ Krutch, Joseph Wood. Edgar Allan Poe: A Study in Genius. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1926. p. 181.
    28. ^ Grantz, David. "Edgar Allan Poe's Eureka: I have found it!" URL accessed December 1, 2007
    29. ^ Hoffman, Daniel. Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe. Louisiana State University Press, 1972. p. 282. ISBN 0807123218
    30. ^ Wrinkles in Time by George Smoot and Keay Davidson, Harper Perennial, Reprint edition (October 1, 1994) ISBN 0-380-72044-2
    31. ^ Peeples, Scott. "Poe's 'constructiveness' and 'The Fall of the House of Usher'," as collected in The Cambridge Companion to Edgar Allan Poe. Cambridge University Press, 2002. p. 188. ISBN 0521797276
    32. ^ ^{a b}
    33. ^ Krutch, Joseph Wood. Edgar Allan Poe: A Study in Genius. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1926. p. 180.
    34. ^ Kennedy, J. Gerald. Poe, Death, and the Life of Writing. Yale University Press, 1987. p. 209. ISBN 0300037732
    35. ^ Hoffman, Daniel. Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe. Louisiana State University Press, 1972. p. 274. ISBN 0807123218
    36. ^ Silverman, Kenneth. Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance. New York City: Harper Perennial, 1991. ISBN 0060923318 p. 341
    37. ^ Meyers, Jeffrey. Edgar Allan Poe: His Life and Legacy. New York: Cooper Square Press, 1992. p. 217. ISBN 0815410387
    38. ^ Meyers, Jeffrey. Edgar Allan Poe: His Life and Legacy. New York: Cooper Square Press, 1992. p. 218. ISBN 0815410387
    39. ^ ^{a b} Meyers, Jeffrey. Edgar Allan Poe: His Life and Legacy. New York City: Cooper Square Press, 1992. ISBN 0815410387 p. 219
    40. ^ Kennedy, J. Gerald. Poe, Death, and the Life of Writing. Yale University Press, 1987. p. 113. ISBN 0300037732
    41. ^ Tebbel, John. A History of Book Publishing in the United States – Volume I: The Creation of an Industry (1630-1865). New York City: R.R. Bowker Co., 1972. ISBN 0835204898 p. 306
    42. ^ Krutch, Joseph Wood. Edgar Allan Poe: A Study in Genius. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1926. p. 183-4.

    
    

    External links

    

    Wikisource has original text related to this article:

    Eureka: A Prose Poem
    • Eureka: A Prose Poem - Full text from the 1848 edition
    • The Thought of a Thought - MathPages article on the Science in Poe's Eureka

    
    

    v • d • e  Works of Edgar Allan Poe

    Poems Poetry (1824) • O, Tempora! O, Mores! (1825) • Song (1827) • Imitation (1827) • Spirits of the Dead (1827) • A Dream (1827) • Stanzas (1827) (1827) • Tamerlane (1827) • The Lake (1827) • Evening Star (1827) • A Dream (1827) • To Margaret (1827) • The Happiest Day (1827) • To The River —— (1828) • Romance (1829) • Fairy-Land (1829) • To Science (1829) • To Isaac Lea (1829) • Al Aaraaf (1829) • An Acrostic (1829) • Elizabeth (1829) • To Helen (1831) • A Paean (1831) • The Sleeper (1831) • The City in the Sea (1831) • The Valley of Unrest (1831) • Israfel (1831) • The Coliseum (1833) • Enigma (1833) • Fanny (1833) • Serenade (1833) • Latin Hymn (1833) • To One in Paradise (1833) • Hymn (1835) • Politician (1835) • May Queen Ode (1836) • Spiritual Song (1836) • Bridal Ballad (1837) • To Zante (1837) • The Haunted Palace (1839) • Silence, a Sonnet (1839) • Lines on Joe Locke (1843) • The Conqueror Worm (1843) • Lenore (1843) • Eulalie (1843) • A Campaign Song (1844) • Dream-Land (1844) • Impromptu. To Kate Carol (1845) • To Frances (1845) • The Divine Right of Kings (1845) • Epigram for Wall Street (1845) • The Raven (1845) • A Valentine (1846) • Beloved Physician (1847) • An Enigma (1847) • Deep in Earth (1847) • Ulalume (1847) • Lines on Ale (1848) • To Marie Louise (1848) • Evangeline (1848) • A Dream Within A Dream (1849) • Eldorado (1849) • For Annie (1849) • The Bells (1849) • Annabel Lee (1849) • Alone (1875) Tales Metzengerstein (1832) • The Duc De L'Omelette (1832) • A Tale of Jerusalem (1832) • Loss of Breath (1832) • Bon-Bon (1832) • MS. Found in a Bottle (1833) • The Assignation (1834) • Berenice (1835) • Morella (1835) • Lionizing (1835) • The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall (1835) • King Pest (1835) • Shadow - A Parable (1835) • Four Beasts in One - The Homo-Cameleopard (1836) • Mystification (1837) • Silence - A Fable (1837) • Ligeia (1838) • How to Write a Blackwood Article (1838) • A Predicament (1838) • The Devil in the Belfry (1839) • The Man That Was Used Up (1839) • The Fall of the House of Usher (1839) • William Wilson (1839) • The Conversation of Eiros and Charmion (1839) • Why the Little Frenchman Wears His Hand in a Sling (1840) • The Business Man (1840) • The Man of the Crowd (1840) • The Murders in the Rue Morgue (1841) • A Descent into the Maelström (1841) • The Island of the Fay (1841) • The Colloquy of Monos and Una (1841) • Never Bet the Devil Your Head (1841) • Eleonora (1841) • Three Sundays in a Week (1841) • The Oval Portrait (1842) • The Masque of the Red Death (1842) • The Landscape Garden (1842) • The Mystery of Marie Roget (1842) • The Pit and the Pendulum (1842) • The Tell-Tale Heart (1843) • The Gold-Bug (1843) • The Black Cat (1843) • Diddling (1843) • The Spectacles (1844) • A Tale of the Ragged Mountains (1844) • The Premature Burial (1844) • Mesmeric Revelation (1844) • The Oblong Box (1844) • The Angel of the Odd (1844) • Thou Art the Man (1844) • The Literary Life of Thingum Bob, Esq. (1844) • The Purloined Letter (1844) • The Thousand-and-Second Tale of Scheherazade (1845) • Some Words with a Mummy (1845) • The Power of Words (1845) • The Imp of the Perverse (1845) • The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether (1845) • The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar (1845) • The Sphinx (1846) • The Cask of Amontillado (1846) • The Domain of Arnheim (1847) • Mellonta Tauta (1849) • Hop-Frog (1849) • Von Kempelen and His Discovery (1849) • X-ing a Paragrab (1849) • Landor's Cottage (1849) Other works Essays: Maelzel's Chess Player (1836) • The Daguerreotype (1840) • The Philosophy of Furniture (1840) • A Few Words on Secret Writing (1841) • The Rationale of Verse (1843) • Morning on the Wissahiccon (1844) • Old English Poetry (1845) • The Philosophy of Composition (1846) • The Poetic Principle (1846) • Eureka: A Prose Poem (1848) Hoaxes: • The Balloon-Hoax (1844) Novels: The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket (1837) • The Journal of Julius Rodman (1840) Plays: Politian (1835) Other: The Conchologist's First Book (1839) • The Light-House (1849)

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