The Purloined Letter

American Romanticism:

a movement of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that marked the reaction in literature, philosophy, art, religion, and politics from the neoclassicism and formal orthodoxy of the preceding period

Holmon, C. H., and William Harmon. “Definitions of Romanticism.” Virginia Commonwealth University. VCU, n.d. Web. 2 Oct. 2014.

The Purloined Letter:

Forerunner of the detective story

 a. third of Poe's detective stories
 b. published in 1845
 c. made Poe $12

Pryor, Megan. “The Purloined Letter by Edgar Allen Poe: Summary, Characters & Analysis.” Education Portal. Education Portal, n.d. Web. 2 Oct. 2014.

Characters:

C. Auguste Dupin
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   a. The main detective
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G—
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   b. the Prefect of Police in Paris
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Minister D—
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  c. The prime suspect
```

Unnamed Narrator

  d. Dupin's friend, who is telling the story

Unnamed Woman of royal status

   e. it was her letter that was stolen. the letter has compromising information, and she really needs it back.

Unnamed man of royal status

   f. has no idea about the letter, and the owner of the letter intends to keep it that way.

“The Purloined Letter.” Cummings Study Guide. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Oct. 2014.

Dupin is a clever man. G-, however, is not. While G- thinks that Minister D- would hide the letter under a pillowcase, Dupin knows that the Minister is much smarter than that. Dupin knows that the letter would have been hidden in plain sight.

Poe, Edgar A. The Purloined Letter. N.p.: n.p., 1845. Web. 1 Oct. 2014

Dupin also appears in The Murders in the Rue Morgue

Definition of “purloin”:

verb (used with object)

to take dishonestly; steal; filch; pilfer. verb (used without object)
to commit theft; steal.

“Purloined.” Dictionary.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Oct. 2014.

<———- Following this definition
one could conclude that the title could be “The Stolen Letter”, however this goes back to the Puritain writing with the Ye Olde English vernacular

The setting is in Paris. This helps give the story a sense of involving the glamorous royal people. Although this was written in the 1800’s, the noble families were still widely followed. The scandal adds a sense of excitement that a person whose move is always followed would have anything that could be used as blackmail.

Poe, Edgar A. The Purloined Letter. N.p.: n.p., 1845. Web. 1 Oct. 2014.

Suspense (1949): “The Purloined Letter”. Prod. Robert Stevens. YouTube, 1952. Web. 2 Oct. 2014

YouTube video link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHcM9DdYJhk

http://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/p/poes-short-stories/summary-and-analysis/the-purloined-letter