In 1838, Edgar Allen Poe wrote a satirical essay, “How to Write a Blackwood Article.” It parodied the formulaic nature of 19th-century magazine writing by invoking one of the most popular periodicals of its day. After listing a variety of possible “tones” in which articles could be written (didactic, enthusiastic, elevated, diffusive and interjectional), the fictional editor advised:
The tone metaphysical is a … good one. If you know any big words this is your chance for them. Talk of the Ionic and Eleatic schools—of Archytas, Gorgias, and Alcmaeon. Say something about objectivity and subjectivity. Be sure and abuse a man named Locke.
Besides offering a good dose of contemporary criticism (as valid today as it was then), Poe’s article was a landmark in the history of programmable literature. It...
Andrew Piper is a professor at McGill University and the author of Book Was There: Reading in Electronic Times (University of Chicago Press, 2012).
Advertisement
Advertisement