Edgar Allan Poe

800 Words2 Pages

"Lord help my poor soul."(Neurotic Poets)The departing words of the 40-year-old American author, Edgar Allan Poe, on Sunday October 7, 1849. In Massachusetts on the 19th day of January in the year 1809, Edgar Poe was born to actress Elizabeth Arnold Hopkins Poe and actor David Poe Junior, making him an older brother to Rosalie Poe, and a younger one to William Henry Leonard Poe. Poe may, perchance, have been named after a character in the play that his parents were performing that year. He was never formally adopted, however, Edgar Poe was renamed Edgar Allan Poe when the John Allan family took him in after his mother deceased and his father forsook the family. The purpose of this paper is to examine the disheartening life of such an amazing poet, critic, editor and author and show how influential his success even after death can inspire us to try our hardest despite the circumstances.

Considered to be a member of the American Romantic Movement, and best known for his mysterious tales and symbols of death, Edgar Allan Poe was the first notable American writer to try to support oneself through only writing, unfortunately, this caused him to experience a financially difficult life because his works weren't truly appreciated until after his death. Poe attended grammar school in Irvine, a boarding school in Chelsea, Reverend John Bransby’s Manor House School, and at the age of 17 he registered at the University of Virginia. However, this was short-lived as well as him working as a clerk and newspaper writer, because at 18 Poe enlisted in the United States Army under the false name Edgar A. Perry, but failed at being a and shortly thereafter, Poe began his writing career by anonymously publishing a collection of his poems, Tamerla...

... middle of paper ...

... his work lives on, so does the mystery of his death. The purpose of this paper was to examine the disheartening life of such an amazing poet, critic, editor and author and show how influential his success even after death can inspire us to try our hardest despite the circumstances. Poe's life is one of dismay but also of triumph, and we could all learn a great deal from him.

Works Cited

1."Neurotic Poets - Edgar Allan Poe." Neurotic Poets - Neurotic Poets - The Link Between Creativity And Madness. Web. 18 May 2011. .

2."The Raven." Poets.org - Poetry, Poems, Bios & More. Web. 18 May 2011. .

3."Virginia Eliza Clemm Poe: Facts, Discussion Forum, and Encyclopedia Article." AbsoluteAstronomy.com. Web. 18 May 2011. .

Show More
Related

  • Comparing Masque of the Red Death and Hop Frog

    893 Words  | 2 Pages

    Kennedy, Gerald J. A Historical Guide to Edgar Allan Poe. Oxford: Oxford University Press 2001

    Read More

  • Edgar Allan Poe Obituary

    1737 Words  | 4 Pages

    Edgar Allan Poe was inarguably one of the most well known American poets. His criticisms, stories, and poems far out lived the man, but not his reputation. Even today any search of the poet Edgar Allan Poe will bring up facts that are dark, disputable, disgusting, and at times tragic. Mr. Poe wrote words of love, despair, anger, and mystery. He wrote what he knew best and he left behind a legacy that is unique, riveting, and thought provoking, even today. The question is did Edgar Allan Poe deserve the scathing final review that was his obituary? Are his beautiful and disturbing words the ravings of a mad man? It is generally accepted that he suffered from alcoholism and that was the reason of his death. However, his reputation was such that

    Read More

  • Was Edgar Allan Poe A Rebel?

    1711 Words  | 4 Pages

    According to Poe's values, the only productive thinkers were both educated and imaginative, and he described poets as people who do not understand the mechanics behind the Universe's laws, but they can obtain these principles intuition (Osipova 25). Poe wrote his poetry according to his beliefs, and every poem he wrote was a reflection on his intuition's insights and his state o...

    Read More

  • “Because I could not stop for Death” and “Annabel Lee”: Similarities, Differences, and Their Authors

    1506 Words  | 4 Pages

    New York: A.C. Armstrong & Son., 1884. xv-xxvi. EPUB file. Sova, Dawn B. "Poe, Edgar Allan.

    Read More

  • Edgar Allen Poe

    938 Words  | 2 Pages

    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).

    Read More

  • Poe’s Life… At the Tip of a Pen

    2200 Words  | 5 Pages

    Roderick, Phillip L. The Fall of the House of Poe and Other essays. New York Lincoln: iUniverse, Inc., 2006. 2,3,10. Print.

    Read More

  • The Life of Edgar Allan Poe

    859 Words  | 2 Pages

    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..

    Read More

  • The Fascinating Edgar Allan Poe

    1294 Words  | 3 Pages

    Poe’s frightening stories acts as helpful inspiration for entertainment in the present, and for many years to come. The timeless relevance of his work, and its merciless scrutiny of the human condition, solidifies its place in history and its position of high admiration. In conclusion, the extraordinary-fleeting-tragic life of Edgar Allan Poe will forever remain on record as the tale of an orphan, a gentleman, a soldier, and one of the most prominent literary figures in American history.

    Read More

  • The Mysterious Death of Edgar Allen Poe

    1944 Words  | 4 Pages

    In July of 1849, while on a lecture tour, Poe became reacquainted with a woman he had been very fond of as a young man. Her...

    Read More

  • Symbolism and analysis of "The Fall of the House of Usher"

    837 Words  | 2 Pages

    Thomson, Gary Richard, and Poe Edgar. The selected writings of Edgar Allan Poe. New York: Norton & Company, 2004

    Read More

  • Poe

    1007 Words  | 3 Pages

    Born in Boston, Massachusetts on January 19, 1809, Edgar Allan Poe faced many hardships in his life beginning at nine months old, when his alcoholic father abandoned his mother and other two siblings. Once Poe had lost his wife Virginia to illnesses, his poems were noticeably growing darker and more gruesome, and her death “haunted Poe until the end of his life” (Erica). These are only a few hardships Poe faced throughout his life, and each one led him to become a more dramatic and disturbing person. Every suffering he faced was used as a prompt for his writings, and throughout his work he places his hurt and depression into each piece based off his own life. His famous poems are the results of his insanity based off his unfortunate life. Even though Poe lived a challenging and stressful life, his poems ...

    Read More

  • Edgar Allen Poe

    1080 Words  | 3 Pages

    Best known for his poems and short fiction, Edgar Allan Poe deserves more credit than any other writer for the transformation of the short story into a respected literary work. He virtually created the detective story and perfected the psychological thriller. He also produced some of the most influential literary criticism of his time. Although he contributed so much to the writing world, little is known about the Poe himself. Historians have been trying for years to piece together the life of this literary genius. In almost every biographical publication Poe’s life is divided into three sections: his early life, his career, and his death.

    Read More

  • The Black Cat Analysis

    1101 Words  | 3 Pages

    Silverman, Kenneth. Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-Ending Remembrance. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1991. book.

    Read More

  • A Comparison Of Poe's Personal Life In The Raven By Edgar Allan Poe

    1302 Words  | 3 Pages

    For poets, it is essential that they write about what they know and what they feel, as the substance of what they are revealing will enhance their work and ultimately attract audiences. Edgar Allan Poe is one poet whose personal endeavours can be extracted from his poems. His works such as The Raven, Annabel-Lee and Ulalume are just a few of his most celebrated poems that reflect diverse aspects of Poe’s own life. Poe’s reoccurring themes of death in conjunction with love, the subconsciousness of self and ambiguity attracted audiences to become entranced in his work (Spark Notes, 2014). Adjacent to these intriguing themes is how Poe’s personal life was inexplicitly perceived in his poems, in particular The Raven.

    Read More

  • Edgar Allan Poe

    4000 Words  | 8 Pages

    Edgar Allan Poe is one American author whose name is known to almost everyone. Edgar is known for his elegant poems and for being a tough critic of refined tastes, but also for being the first master of the short story form, especially tales of mystery. He has a talent of having an extraordinary hold upon the readers imagination and not letting lose. Many advents of Edgar’s life has probably led to the strange, but successful and renowned pieces of American literature.

    Read More

More about Edgar Allan Poe

Open Document