University of Connecticut OpenCommons@UConn Doctoral Dissertations University of Connecticut Graduate School 9-21-2014 "Truth Itself in the Supremeness of Its Perfection": The nflueI nce of Photography on Edgar Allan Poe's Writing Tiffanie M. Itsou University of Connecticut,
[email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://opencommons.uconn.edu/dissertations Recommended Citation Itsou, Tiffanie M., ""Truth Itself in the Supremeness of Its Perfection": The nflueI nce of Photography on Edgar Allan Poe's Writing" (2014). Doctoral Dissertations. 572. https://opencommons.uconn.edu/dissertations/572 "Truth Itself in the Supremeness of Its Perfection": The Influence of Photography on Edgar Allan Poe's Writing Tiffanie May Itsou, PhD University of Connecticut, 2014 Edgar Allan Poe's literary successes in the late 1830's and early 1840's coincided with the invention and remarkable popularity of the daguerreotype. In this study I examine the profound impact the advent of photography had on Poe's writing. In an 1840 article for Alexander's Weekly Messenger Poe called photography "the most important, and perhaps the most extraordinary triumph of modern science." Through a close study of selected fiction, essays, and letters I argue that Poe was the first writer to explore the myriad possibilities of the newly emergent photographic world. "Truth Itself in the Supremeness of Its Perfection": The Influence of Photography on Edgar Allan Poe's Writing Tiffanie May Itsou B.A., University of Connecticut, 2001 M.A., University of Connecticut, 2003 A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Connecticut 2014 Copyright by Tiffanie May Itsou 2014 ii APPROVAL PAGE Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation "Truth Itself in the Supremeness of Its Perfection": The Influence of Photography on Edgar Allan Poe's Writing Presented by Tiffanie May Itsou, B.A., M.A.