Edgar Allan Poe and Washington Irving have been studied by lots of critics from different perspectives, including unity of effect theory, human nature, irony and so on.

Some scholars considered that A Tale of Ragged Mountain reflects human nature.

Shen Tingting noted that Bedloe can be totally identical with another person in that this man fulfills Bedloe#8217;s dream in the imagination that he can#8217;t realize in the reality. The experience he has in the ragged mountain revealed the harm of hypnotic regression to a person, which makes Bedloe lose control of his body gradually. With the development of hypnotic intervention, Bedloe#8217;s body is occupied by Deb gradually.(69)

Tian yi introduced the unity of effect theory in A Tale of Ragged Mountain. In the unity of effect, the author must take notice in the same effect no matter in the poem or the novel. The author has to notice the ending he set in the beginning, which will make the whole novel including every paragraph; every sentence and every word are all related to the ending. ”The aim of this design is to attract reader#8217;s attention and motivate the resonance of reader.”(202)

Wang Xiuying said that Edgar Allan Poe is an explorer who explores the cave of human nature and he supports that the ”art for art#8217;s sake#8217; doctrine. ”The terror of Allan Poe is from insane brain or the brain is with the power to decide the character of a person.”(33)

Li Minghui regarded that the novel of Edgar Allan Poe takes notice not only in the realistic life but also in the doubt of reality. （106）So the novel can be traced to the human nature and explore the plight of life.

Some other scholars analyses the method of irony applied in Rip Van Winkle.

Wu Yanfei considered that Rip Van Winkle is not only a famous role in American but also a typical role in the novel. Washington Irving builds the role by describing the realistic life and imaginative thought. This role is rich enough to have interesting experience.

Hu Li said that Rip is not a concept but a real person lives around us. He is not a purely lazy man, but a persistent man. He is not willing to do anything just for money. ”The original spirit that Rip owns is comparative to the luxury that most American people have.”(92) Unlike other American writers who focus on the story of the rich, Irving pays attention to the normal person, describing the normal life.

Huang He said that political irony is the most important way to understand the whole story. ”We can find something connected with political irony, which shows not only that the author#8217;s rich knowledge about history and policy, but also the phenomenon about American history and attitude.”(70)