--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If there was ever a dissenter from the…" description: "\"If there was ever a dissenter from the national optimismit was surely Edgar Allan Poe--without question the bravest and mostoriginal, if perhaps also t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69b/h-l-mencken-245_allan-poe_if-there-was-ever-a-dissenter-from-the-n_3162847.png" --- # If there was ever a dissenter from the national optimismit… ![“If there was ever a dissenter from the national optimismit was surely Edgar Allan Poe--without question the bravest and mostoriginal, if perhaps also the least orderly and judicious, of all the critics that we have produced.” quote by H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69b/h-l-mencken-245_allan-poe_if-there-was-ever-a-dissenter-from-the-n_3162847.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69b/h-l-mencken-245_allan-poe_if-there-was-ever-a-dissenter-from-the-n_3162847.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69b/h-l-mencken-245_allan-poe_if-there-was-ever-a-dissenter-from-the-n_3162847.png) > “If there was ever a dissenter from the national optimismit was surely Edgar Allan Poe--without question the bravest and mostoriginal, if perhaps also the least orderly and judicious, of all the critics that we have produced.” [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Mencken praises Poe as a bold, original critic, noting his lack of order and judgment among his peers. **In simple terms:** Poe was a daring, unique critic, though not always orderly. Key Takeaway Value originality but balance it with critical judgment. Themes literature criticism originality Mood thoughtful analytical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing - academic study - creative work - public discourse Key Concepts aesthetic theory individualism critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - How does originality affect credibility? - Can disorder be a strength in critique? A Different Perspective Poe’s lack of order may limit his influence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-literature/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) ## Related quotes > [What counts alone is the innovator, the dissenter, the harbinger of things unheard of, the man who rejects the traditional standards and aims at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/what-counts-alone-is-the-innovator-the-dissenter-the-harbinger-of/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [How could I be anything but a dissenter? Who wants the opinion of a group?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/how-could-i-be-anything-but-a-dissenter-who-wants-the-opinion-of-a/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [It is the dissenter, the theorist, the aspirant, who is quitting this ancient domain to embark on seas of adventure, who engages our interest.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/it-is-the-dissenter-the-theorist-the-aspirant-who-is-quitting-this/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I am myself a dissenter from all known religions, and I hope that every kind of religious belief will die out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/i-am-myself-a-dissenter-from-all-known-religions-and-i-hope-that-2/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [It is hard for any one to be an honest politician who is not born and bred a Dissenter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/it-is-hard-for-any-one-to-be-an-honest-politician-who-is-not-born-and/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [“I am myself a dissenter from all known religions, and I hope that every kind of religious belief will die out. I do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/i-am-myself-a-dissenter-from-all-known-religions-and-i-hope-that/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [The dissenter is every human being at those moments of his life when he resigns momentarily from the herd and thinks for himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/the-dissenter-is-every-human-being-at-those-moments-of-his-life-when/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) > [More truly characteristic of dissent is a dignity, an elevation, of mood and thought and phrase. Deep conviction and warm feeling are saying their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-cardozo/more-truly-characteristic-of-dissent-is-a-dignity-an-elevation-of/) [Benjamin Cardozo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-cardozo/) > [So that's the dissenter's hope: that they are writing not for today but for tomorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-bader-ginsburg/so-that-s-the-dissenter-s-hope-that-they-are-writing-not-for-today/) [Ruth Bader Ginsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-bader-ginsburg/) > [“But it would be about tolerating dissent. Now, movies or plays, pieces of art about dissent, they always, I think, flatter the author and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-e-woods-jr/but-it-would-be-about-tolerating-dissent-now-movies-or-plays-pieces/) [Thomas E. Woods Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-e-woods-jr/) > [The chief arguments that are urged against an established religion, may be used with equal force against an established charity. 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I could read his prose on salary, but… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/to-me-edgar-allan-poe-s-prose-is-unreadable-like-jane-austin-s-sic-no/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Man, you should have seen them kicking Edgar Allan Poe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lennon/man-you-should-have-seen-them-kicking-edgar-allan-poe/) [John Lennon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lennon/) ## More by H. L. Mencken > [Alimony - the ransom that the happy pay to the devil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/alimony-the-ransom-that-the-happy-pay-to-the-devil/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [A bad artist almost always tries to conceal his incompetence by whooping up a new formula.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/a-bad-artist-almost-always-tries-to-conceal-his-incompetence-by/) [H. L. 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There was first, the liberty of the people as a whole to determine the forms of their own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/liberty-was-a-two-headed-boon-there-was-first-the-liberty-of-the/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [To the extent that I am genuinely educated, I am suspicious of all the things that the average citizen believes and the average pedagogue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/to-the-extent-that-i-am-genuinely-educated-i-am-suspicious-of-all-the/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [Philosophy first constructs a scheme of happiness and then tries to fit the world to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/philosophy-first-constructs-a-scheme-of-happiness-and-then-tries-to/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [For it is the natural tendency of the ignorant to believe what is not true. 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