Renowned for his poems and short stories, Edgar Allan Poe is widely considered one of the central figures of literary romanticism movement that occurred, and spread around the United States during the late 1810's. Trademarked for his employment of often dark, gothic, and psychologically unsettling imagery, Poe is hailed by critics and historians as the pioneer, and inventor of detective fiction, along with putting forth rhetorical innovations that would lead to the emergence of science fiction.

Through the years, Poe's continues to leave a profound impact on literature, music, and various mediums of pop culture, with the scope of its influence spanning into cosmology and cryptography. For his efforts, The Mystery Writers of America created an award in his honour -- The Edgar Award -- an accolade designed to honour the very highest accomplishments in mystery fiction, non-fiction, television, film, and theatre. Here are 5 of the most profound, maddening lines delivered by the founding father of stories grounded in murder and mystery, and one of the first practitioners of the short story form in the United States:

With a legacy of horror and beauty that endures as much as the words that prescribe within it, such that is its beauty and horror, Edgar Allan Poe's words, perched upon bookshelves like ravens awaiting for the dark, and inevitable end that awaits us all, forever linger to drive us insane. But through it, to discover within it, much beauty, and much love--that which no sanity can contain.