Poe was a truly prophetic genius! Two years before he died he wrote this long 'prose poem', Eureka, which anticipated one of the greatest discoveries of the 20th Century by 80 years - The Big Bang. Edgar Allan Poe believed that all matter had once been concentrated in a single particle which then expanded to fill space ~ a theory not accepted by science until 1931. Eureka, his 'prose poem', goes on to predict the general theory of relativity; parallel universes; & the structure of the atom. Pretty good going for a poem that doesn't even rhyme. ( )

Heaven knows what Poe's contemporary readers thought of this. Probably complete bafflement. I always find the famous photo of Poe amusing, his stunned gaze no doubt reflecting the total befuddlement with the ideas buzzing round in his brain. Eureka is nothing less than a Theory of Everything 150 years or so before it became in fashion. I'm not well up on the state of mid-nineteenth century astronomy, but this must have been radical stuff for the period.

Poe appears to be anticipating such theories as the Big Bang, the Big Crunch and multiple universes. He almost conceptualizes black holes with 'non-luminous' stars and that a massive one resides at the heart of the Milky Way. Eureka's downfall is that it's theories are couched in some of Poe's most flowery prose (which is saying something) which is great to read but utterly redundant for any scientific reasoning. Hence its sub-title 'A Prose Poem.'

Was Poe serious when he wrote this? Who knows? That he hit a few targets is quite remarkable. Needless to say its totally barmy and that, I think, is its strength. I'm glad I read it. ( )