ENCRYPTION IN EDGAR ALLAN POE’S FICTION: A TRANSACTIONAL READING OF SECRET WRITING
ENCRYPTION IN EDGAR ALLAN POE’S FICTION: A TRANSACTIONAL READING OF SECRET WRITING
Author(s): Bessem ChaouachiSubject(s): Studies of Literature, Other Language Literature, 19th Century, Theory of Literature
Published by: Editura Universităţii de Vest din Timişoara / Diacritic Timisoara
Keywords: cryptography; encryption methods; fiction; Poe; Transactional Reader Response theory;
Summary/Abstract: Not only was Edgar Allan Poe a writer and literary critic, but he was also one of the leading figures of cryptology. His essays on the art of secret writing, published in Graham’s Magazine between 1841 and 1843, popularized the notion of cryptography in the United States. Yet, Poe’s profound interest in encipherment had also permeated his literary composition. The present paper traces the different encryption methods employed in his crypto-fiction, in an attempt to examine the impact of his cryptographic experimentation with language upon the act of reading itself, through the lens of Transactional Reader Response theory.
Journal: B.A.S. British and American Studies
- Issue Year: 28/2022
- Issue No: 28
- Page Range: 97-104
- Page Count: 8
- Language: English