十九世纪美国诗人,小说家、批评家爱伦·坡(1809——1849),其历史地位近半个世纪来在西方评论界直线上升。坡是欧美文学史上提出自成体系的短篇小说理论的第一人,就此而论,坡的短篇小说理论较其更为人们熟悉的诗学,某种程度上有更大的历史价值。在我国,这位曾对“五四”以来的现代文学产生过不小影响的美国作家,近年来相当一部分小说创作和诗论著述已经陆续同读者见面。不足的是,对他的短篇小说理论的评介,迄今基本上还是一块空白,远没有得到应有的重视。有鉴于此,本文拟就坡的短篇小说理论作一系统性专门评介。 考察坡的短篇小说理论得失,有必要明确它产生的历史环境。欧美短篇小说,作为文学类型最新的一个分支,大体经历了寓意、写实、象征三个发展阶段。假如以作家 Nineteenth Century American poet, novelist and critic Alan Poe (1809--1849), whose historical status has risen sharply in the Western critics for nearly half a century. Slope is the first person to come up with a system of short story theories in the history of European and American literature. In this respect, Poet’s short story theory has a greater historical value than its more familiar poetics. In our country, the American writer who had had a significant influence on the modern literature since the May 4th Movement has seen quite a number of novel writing and poetics writings in recent years meet with his readers. The downside is that the review of his theory of short stories has so far remained largely empty and far from being given due weight. In view of this, this article intends to make a systematic and special review of Poe’s short story theory. To investigate the pros and cons of short story theory, it is necessary to clarify the historical environment it produces. Short stories in Europe and the United States, as the latest branch of literary genre, have undergone three stages of development: morality, realism and symbolism. If by writer