SOURCE: "Ernst Jünger's Concern With E. A. Poe," in Comparative Literature, Vol. X, No. 2, Spring, 1958, pp. 144-49.

In the following essay, Peters considers thematic affinities in the works of Edgar Allan Poe and Ernst Jünger, while noting their different attitudes toward salvation.

Frequent references to E. A. Poe in the works of Ernst Jünger, particularly in those written during and after World War II, raise two questions: First, what is it that attracts Jünger and Poe? And second, has Jünger's interest in Poe influenced his own writings? This paper addresses itself to the first question. Concerning the second, let me simply say that I do not think it is possible to trace any direct influences of Poe on Jünger. Undoubtedly Jünger sees in Poe more than the expert craftsman of grotesque tales and romantic fantasies, although the role of the romantic...