Poe begins “The Purloined Letter” with an epigraph that translates to “Nothing is more hateful to wisdom than too much cunning.” What is the effect of reading this epigraph before reading the story? To whom does the epigraph refer and why?

Poe described “The Purloined Letter” as one of his best stories of “ratiocination,” or the process of exact thinking. How does the story represent ratiocination?

What elements of Romanticism and Dark Romanticism are found throughout the story? How do these elements affect the narrative?