Beginning of Essay
"I had but escaped death in one form of agony, to be delivered unto worse than death in some other." Tormented throughout his life by painful loss, bitterness, and depression, Edgar Allan Poe found escspe in writing stories and poems, in which he portrayed haunt ....

Middle of Essay
.... this in many of his stories and poems, like "The Pit and the Pendulum," and "The Raven," by showing the psychological effects of terror, evil and greif on the human soul. Ralph Waldo Emerson, however, had a somewhat different outlook. He was an optimistic Transcendentalist. Emerson saw the good in religion, nature, and philosophy. He, like most other Transcendentalists, felt that God was not to be feared but instead to be looked to for guidence. Ralph Waldo Emerson also thought humans should be at peace and in tune with nature. He also had optimistic outlooks about philosophy. He believed in intuition, individuality, and self-reliance. He al ....