Edgar Allan Poe

In “Edgar Allan Poe: Rhetoric and Style”, Brett Zimmerman discusses Poe’s uses of counterbalancing negative and positive statements as part of his style in critiquing others’ work.  The technical term for this rhetorical figure is antanagoge, and the example Zimmerman selects involves Sir Walter Scott: “Although Sir Walter Scott is authority for the use of the word in this manner, we have always considered it a decided inelegance.  But such blemishes cannot seriously detract from the enduring excellence of the work”.  American author Edgar Allan Poe died on October 7, 1849.