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Poe's Use of Ambiguity and Hallucination to Comment on Good and Evil in "Ligeia"

This literary analysis of Edgar Allan Poe's short story "Ligeia" questions the deeper meaning of the hallucinatory ambiguity of the narrative. The student concludes that the narrator's (and narrative's) vagueness allows Poe to project a more universal story on the themes of good and evil.
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This essay received an A by one of Kibin's paper graders. Click here to see what was done well and what needs improvement.

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This essay received an A by one of Kibin's paper graders. Click here to see what was done well and what needs improvement.

More essays like this:

good and evil
Not sure what I'd do without @Kibin
- Alfredo Alvarez, student @ Miami University
Exactly what I needed.
- Jenna Kraig, student @ UCLA
Wow. Most helpful essay resource ever!
- Chris Stochs, student @ UC Berkeley

View other essays like this one:

Bridget's feedback:

"This is an impressively detailed, thoughtful analysis of Poe's story. The use of sources to supplement and support your claims is very strong and shows mastery of the literature (though I suggest a different word choice than "professors"--perhaps "academics" or "critics," as appropriate). The writing itself has very good flow, creating a compelling reading experience.

My recommendations are mostly minor. The use of single space for such a dense text creates a barrier to readability, and I do see a number of areas that could easily stand up to some trimming or streamlining without losing impact or meaning; this recommendation is on the level of sentence and phrasing. For example, consider "suggests" in place of "seems to make it clear..." or rather than "but her evilness spreads throughout the narrator's being as the narrator becomes increasingly demonic," try out "but her evilness spreads through the narrator's increasingly demonic being" or even "...the increasingly demonic narrator" (or similar). Paring down the language will tighten up occasional meandering in the argumentation and make for more efficient prose. It's clear you are a strong writer, so this suggestion is mostly one of revision and refinement of language at these later stages of the writing process."

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