Edgar Allan Poe was an author with great writing ability. His writing would have no substance if it had not been for the horrific life that he lived. Poe's writings completely encompassed the major disasters in his life, especially the many deaths he experienced in his family and his struggle with alcoholism.
Edgar Allan Poe’s life was full of many difficulties especially in his early years. He was born in Boston on January 19, 1809. From his father deserting the family, to his mother dying of tuberculosis, young Edgar seemed to have experienced it all just at the age of three. Not to mention, Poe had been separated from his other siblings after the death of his mother. Poe was then orphaned and later became a ward of the Allans. The Allans were part owners in a merchandising firm known as “The House of Ellis and Allan.” They were quite wealthy, but emotionally were less rich. Poe accompanied the Allans to London at the age of six. In London the Allans opened a new branch, but later when the tobacco market collapsed they had to return to America (Silverman 1). After returning from London, where Poe attended a border school, he began study at the University of Virginia. Financial difficulties caused him to drop out soon after starting school. Around this time Poe heard about the death of Frances Allan, who was his foster mother, and he published Poems by Edgar A. Poe. This volume included some of his most significant works, including “To Helen” which speaks specifically about death, which is a usual theme in most of his works. He attended West Point in 1830 and later served in the U.S. Army. Poe was discharged in 1831 and then began work as an editor and journalist. Poe settled in Baltimore where he lived with ...
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... Fact On File, Inc. Home Library, Little Rock, Arkansas. 3 Feb. 2014 .
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Edgar Allan Poe is and was an amazing American poet and writer. He wrote many famous poems. Poe has been marked as the origin of both horror and detective fiction categories and many anthologies credit him as "The Architect" of the modern short story(Academy of American Poets). Poe was also part of the genre American Romantic movement which involved many other writers(Poemhunter).
Edgar Allen Poe was born on January 19, 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts. His mother and father where both actors, David and Elizabeth Arnold. They had financial difficulties, which soon caused the father to abandon the family. Poe's mother soon had another child; however, she was having physical conditions causing her death on December 8, 1811. Becoming orphans, both Poe and his sister were split up in family friend’s houses. Poe went to live with the Allan's. As Poe grew up he started having problems with his John Allan, his foster father, which caused future problems. Poe's first step to start a career was attending the University of Virginia in 1826. "Allan failed to provide Poe with enough money for necessities such as furniture and books and Poe soon ran up a tremendous gambling debt and began drinking, despite his very low tolerance for alcohol" (Loveday 2). After a time he moved to Boston, "The Great Literature Capital." What was helping Poe start of his career, where the big hopes of one day becoming a writer despite the harsh life he had since he was little. Poe's work has had an impact on literature. Throughout his most famous pieces of literature, "The Fall of the House of Usher," "The Raven," and "The Cast of Amontillado," we see common factors that influenced these types of works through his plots and characters. "Madness, alienation, and mankind's long love affair with morbidity were the his subjects, and he didn't mind admitting to being more to being more than half in love with easeful death, to mangle a line from his favorite poet, Tennyson," (Allen 2).
Meyers, J. (1992). Edgar Allan Poe: his life and legacy. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons Frank, F. S. (1997). The Poe encyclopedia. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press..
Ingram, John Henry. Edgar Allan Poe: His Life, Letters, and Opinions. New York: AMS Press, Inc., 1965.
Poe, Edgar Allan. Edgar Allan Poe: a collection of stories. New York: Tom Doherty associates, LLC, 1994
Many people label Edgar Allen Poe a horror writer, plain and simple others refer to Poe as the father of the detective story, but over all he´s one Americas greatest writers. His ability of expressing the world in gothic ways, really captures the reader´s attention. Even though he lead a tough life and was known as a sadistic drug addict and alcoholic, he still managed to produce great pieces of literature. Three of his greatest works were The Tell Tale heart, The Fall of the House Usher, and The Raven. All of these are very known troughout the world and are considered three of Poe´s greatest pieces.
Kennedy, Gerald J. A Historical Guide to Edgar Allan Poe. Oxford: Oxford University Press 2001
As written by the Academy of American Poets, Poe began losing loved ones at the very young age of three. By this age, both of his parents who were actors at the time have died, thus leaving him to have to find another family. Afterwards, he moved to Richmond, Virginia to live with his new family Frances and John Allan. Edgar was sent to University of Virginia by his new father, John Allan, and excelled academically. Within less than a year, Poe lacked the funds from his father needed for his education, so he t...
Iorillo, Joseph. Edgar Allan Poe in the Shadow of the Raven. N.p: Dark Realms Magazine, 2002.
Quinn, Arthur Hobson. Edgar Allan Poe: A Critical Biography. New York: D. Appleton-Century Company, 1941. Internet.
Shulman, Robert. Poe and the Powers of the Mind. Vol. 37. N.p.: The John Hopkins