Ligeia as a triumph over patriarchy From the moment "Ligeia" was written, critics have searched for meaning in Poe's story of a beautiful woman who died and returned in the body of another . Although all critics have moved in different directions, many have probably found an allegorical meaning behind the tale. Because many literary theories depend on each other, contemporary critics tend not to limit themselves to any single theory. Many critics use multiple theoretical perspectives at once so that a text can be best understood. Many critics have attempted to understand Poe's relationship with women by combining biographical and feminist theory, while other critics use a variety of approaches, such as formalism and psychoanalysis, to develop their own understanding of what they believe to be allegory . The collection of literary criticism surrounding "Ligeia" is thorough and comprehensive, and readers have the opportunity to examine interpretations from many different branches of literary theory. By looking at how critics from five different fields of criticism approach “Ligeia,” readers can see how contemporary critics can interpret from a variety of perspectives in order to gain a deeper understanding of the work. One of the most widely used applications of literary criticism is formalism or, as it is often called, New Criticism. The formalist perspective treats each piece of literature as a self-contained work, placing all avenues of understanding in the text itself, ignoring the social and political contexts of the author and publication, the author's biography, and other works by the same author. Formalist critics believe that form and structure are essential to the effectiveness of...... middle of paper ......Linda J. "'Ligeia': The Facts in the Case." Studies in strange fiction. 21 (1997): 10-16.Howard, Brad. “‘The Conquering Worm’: Dramatizing the Aesthetic in ‘Ligeia’.” Poe Studies. 21.2 (1988): 36-43.Johanyak, Debra. "Poetic Feminism: Triumph or Tragedy." Journal of the university linguistic association. 39.1 (1995): 62-70.Jones, Daryl E. "Poe's Siren: Character and Meaning in 'Ligeia'." Studies in short fiction. 20.1 (1983): 33-37. Kennedy, J. Gerald. "Poe, 'Ligeia' and the Problem of Dying Women." New essays on Poe's most important stories. Ed. Kenneth Silvermann. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1993. 113-129.McEntee, Grace. "Remembering Ligeia." Studies in American Fiction. 20.1 (1992): 75-83.Poe, Edgar Allan. "Ligeia." The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Shorter 4th ed. Ed. Baym, Nina et al. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1995. 655-664.