Abstract

     Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849), a nineteenth century American writer, poet and literature critic, is a pioneer writer of American short stories. He is generally regarded as the father of detective stories and a master of Gothic stories. Well-known for his pursuit of beauty in literature, he also puts great emphasis on science, and is recognized as the father of science fiction.
     Poe’s science-related works can be roughly divided into four types: Gothic stories, detective stories, science fiction and science essay. An increasing portion of scientific knowledge can be found in these four types of works. In the first two types, science is just used as a tool, a decoration to achieve a certain effect. In his science fiction, science becomes the theme of the stories. Cutting-edge technologies at that time, such as hot-air balloon, are used as the main topic. However, the work that truly shows Poe’s systematic exploration of science is “Eureka”, a science essay written in his late years. In this essay, Poe discusses his opinions about the science of the material and psychological universe. These four types of works also reveal, in a chronological order, that Poe goes deeper into the exploration of science.
     This essay will focus on the scientific elements used in Poe’s different types of works. By putting his works against the scientific background of the nineteenth century, this essay will discover his overall attitude towards science.

Key words: Edgar Allan Poe, Science Fiction, Detective Stories, “Eureka”

摘要

埃德加·爱伦·坡(1809-1849)，美国十九世纪作家、诗人、文学评论家，被公认为侦探小说的鼻祖和哥特小说大师。他因在文学中对美的执着追求而闻名于世，同时他还十分关心科学，被誉为科幻小说的鼻祖。
坡涉及到科学元素的作品可以被大致分为四种类型：哥特小说、侦探小说、科幻小说以及科学随笔。科学知识越来越多地被坡运用于这些作品中。在前两类作品中，科学只被当成一种工具，是为了达到某种文学效果的装饰。在科幻小说中，科学已经变成了故事的主题，许多当时最先进的科学技术，例如热气球技术，就被用作了主要的话题。然而，真正显示爱伦·坡对科学领域系统探索的是他晚期的一篇科学随笔——《我发现了》。在这篇科学随笔中，他表达了自己对物质宇宙和精神宇宙的探索和理解。从这几类作品还可以看出，随着时间的推移，坡在自己的创作历程中越来越重视科学的作用，并且越来越以一种严肃的态度探索科学世界。
本文试图将坡的作品分类，将其作品放在十九世纪的历史背景下着力研究其中科学元素的运用以及坡的科学观。

关键词：埃德加·爱伦·坡，科学，科幻小说，侦探小说，《我发现了》