Abstract:

Poe’s literary criticism, because of frequent reproaches, has not received enough attention from academia. Through investigation, it is found that Poe was brave enough to deconstruct the authority of Anglo-American celebrities under the discourse of literary nationalism in American 19th-century literary criticism, criticizing the commercial peddling and puffing by the coteries for their usurpation of literary criticism in the process of the commercialization of the American book market, denouncing the subservient attitude of the American literati, while advocating for unpopular literary geniuses. Poe did not stop at exposing and scolding the chaos of literary criticism in the 19^th-century American literary periodicals, but actively endeavored to construct the spirit and principles of literary criticism based on independence and self-discipline. The courage, conscience and sense of responsibility that Poe demonstrated in his literary criticism are of certain significance for current Chinese literary criticism.

Key words: Allan Poe, literary criticism, nineteenth-century American literature