Offtopic, but I had a thought today that there is so much science in Lovecraft that he is more like a successor of Verne than Poe. Critics always compare him to Poe, but I don't buy it.
While it is true that Lovecraft's later work is proto-sf, and very important proto=sf, at that, there is a period of his work that is fairly recognized for its likeness to Poe, just as there is a period that bears a striking resemblance to Dunsany. It is clear from Lovecraft's own writing that he was imitating much of Poe, consciously, and even the sf still carries a great deal of Poe's influence. I don't see much reason for comparison with Verne, except that Verne helped to father the sf tradition that Lovecraft eventually moved towards (but the same could be said for Wells et al.).
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Date: 2008-05-16 09:07 pm (UTC)Offtopic, but I had a thought today that there is so much science in Lovecraft that he is more like a successor of Verne than Poe. Critics always compare him to Poe, but I don't buy it.
While it is true that Lovecraft's later work is proto-sf, and very important proto=sf, at that, there is a period of his work that is fairly recognized for its likeness to Poe, just as there is a period that bears a striking resemblance to Dunsany. It is clear from Lovecraft's own writing that he was imitating much of Poe, consciously, and even the sf still carries a great deal of Poe's influence. I don't see much reason for comparison with Verne, except that Verne helped to father the sf tradition that Lovecraft eventually moved towards (but the same could be said for Wells et al.).
And yes, that was waaaaaaaay off topic. ;-)