I prefer Shakespeare. I like funny and Poe is not funny.

That's a tough one. I'd have to go with Shakespeare, although Poe is not far behind IMO.

Edgar Alan Poe

I would go with Poe. More to my taste. I love Shakespeare, but Poe writes a little bit more "real life" than Shakespeare.

In my opinion, are both equally interesting in different ways. If you are in the mood for a little humor and romance (and perhaps tragedy) Shakesphere is for you. If you want to read something twisted that will scare your pants off, read a little Poe.

Shakespeare...brilliant on every level.

Edgar Allen Poe. Even though he write about death and mystery and evil, still he is a pretty good author. He may not be the best well-known like shakspeare, but he write quality literature like, The Raven.

It depends on the piece and it depends on my mood, but I usually find myself drawn more to Shakespeare. There's just something more cathartic (if that's even a word, lol) about Shakespeare's tradgedies that I never could find with Poe. I like Poe because he very skillfully depicts madness, and his narrative style is amazing, but Shakespeare just has that special touch with words and phrases that is very rare.

In most instances, I prefer Edgar Alan Poe. I've never really been able to get into Shakespear, I appreciate it for the brilliant work that it is, but I've always identified with Poe's works on a much deeper level.

It's like comparing apples and oranges, so given only these two choices Poe.

W. Shakespeare! E.A.Poe's work totally gives me the creeps, and I don't like having the creeps. Uck!

Edgar Allen Poe all the way!

I enjoy Edgar Allan Poe, but he's no Shakespeare. He has the benefit of being a more recent author in a more modern idiom, and I don't think he'll have the staying power of Shakespeare, whose work will live forever. It's sort of a matter of whether you prefer the Innovator or the Master. Poe did a lot of innovative stuff in both poetry and short story; he basically invented the detective story, for example. You could argue that Shakespeare was working in well-established forms in his plays and sonnets and just did it better than anyone else. But Poe has no memorable characters, and that's the kicker for me. Shakespeare has Hamlet, Lady MacBeth, and so many others that are so ingrained in our culture that they sneak into all our other stories in some form or other. Romeo and Juliet. Falstaff. Othello. And Shakespeare's language was SO BEAUTIFUL. Again, lines from Shakespeare slip into everything from TV to hiphop music to opera. It works everywhere, in any time, with the right people delivering it. And I probably just prefer tragedy and comedy to the macabre, though Shakespeare did a bit of that too. (Ever seen Titus? *shudder*)

I find it much more easy to read Poe, and I already read many of his tales. They inspired me. But I do not think I would like to read them again. I remember reading some plays of Shakespeare, but I did not understand many words. Today, using a commented edition, I think I could appreciate it more. But I would prefer to read a play if I were going to see it on stage.

Edgar Alan Poe, without a single doubt! He has so many wonderful short story and poems that convince me too read more and more of his work. The only think I read by Shakespeare was "Romeo and Juliet" for school and I wasn't very trilled about it.