Edgar Allan Poe Accomplishments

Edgar Allan Poe is one of the best known poets of his time. His work was known for being bold, dark and thrilling. The majority of Poe’s literature is full of despair, heartbreak and tragedy. However, his work was not just sad. They were literary masterpieces, packed full of many different literary devices. That is why everyone knows the name of Edgar Allan Poe.

To truly understand Edgar Allan Poe’s work, you must understand some of the hardships he had to go through. When Poe was just two, his mother died of tuberculosis. Long before his mother died, his father had left his mother, his siblings and him to fend for themselves. His two siblings and he, were left with nobody when their mother died. The children were separated from each other.

Each child was sent to live with a new adoptive or foster family. Edgar was sent to live with John and Frances Allan, in Richmond Virginia.
Edgar Allan Poe’s new foster father was very strict, causing Poe to have a rough upbringing.

Although John and Edgar did not get along, Edgar Allan Poe was very close to his foster mother, Frances. Starting at a young age, Frances taught Poe all about ancient and modern literature. The education of their foster son was very important to John and Frances Allan. The Allan’s raised Edgar in London, England; so he could receive a high quality education. When Edgar turned 15, they moved him back to Richmond, Virginia. It was in Richmond that he first began to write poems.

By 1826, Edgar Allan Poe was enrolled at the University of Virginia. Poe was a very good student, however he developed a gambling problem. He acquired large amounts of debt over a short period of time. John Allan refused to pay off the debt. This upset Edgar very much, and the two ceased speaking to each other. Poe then left university, and moved to Baltimore. Once in Baltimore, he lived with relatives and took a year to focus on his

literature.
Many people don’t know that Edgar Allan Poe served in the United States army. He even achieved the rank of sergeant major. After serving for two years, he enrolled in the U.S Military Academy in West Point. However, he was soon kicked out of the academy. Some people say he got discharged on purpose. He quit attending class and chapel altogether. This could have been to be kicked out, or it could have been due to his severe depression. We will never be sure of his motives.
Soon after Edgar left West Point, he began to work for newspapers, magazines and editorials. He worked as an editor for a few months, until he worked his way up to contributor. Although Poe’s work was finally being published, his troubles were far from over. The newspapers gave him little or no pay for using his literature. He turned to his foster father for financial help, but John refused to give him a cent. Any money Poe made was used to purchase alcohol and opium, to feed his substance abuse issues. Edgar was soon left with no money for food or housing.
At the age of 26, poor troubled Poe fell in love.

The object of his affection was his thirteen year old cousin, Virginia Clemm. Edgar Allan Poe became infatuated with her, and decided to act on these feelings. He wrote his Aunt Maria, Virginia’s mother, a letter pleading to let him marry Virginia. In the letter he wrote “Ask Virginia. Leave it to her. Let me have, under her own hand, a letter, bidding me good bye forever. And I may die, my heart will break, but I will say no more.” After receiving the letter, Maria agreed to leave it up to Virginia. Virginia was quick to make her decision. She, too, was in love and wanted to marry Edgar Allan Poe. They started courting, and married almost immediately afterwards, in

1835.
While with Virginia, Edgar Allan Poe found true happiness. Although the couple never had much money, they thrived off their love for one another. Edgar continued to write, and his work continued to be published. His happiness, however, was over in a heartbeat. Just seven years into their marriage, Virginia contracted tuberculosis. Edgar Allan Poe nursed his wife, and remained at her side as her illness progressed. After five years of suffering, Virginia Clemm Poe died of tuberculosis in 1847.
After Poe’s sweetheart died, he moved back to Richmond. He wanted to convince his childhood love, Elmira Shelton, to marry him. She said yes. Poe then joined the Sons of Temperance, a club opposed to consuming alcohol. This helped Edgar to become sober. As soon as things started getting better again, Edgar Allan Poe’s life took a turn for the worse. During the early fall of 1849, Poe planned a trip to New York City. For reasons unknown, he decided to make a stop in Baltimore on the way to New York. What he did with his time in Baltimore, remains unknown to this day. It is suspected that he had an alcoholic relapse, after being sober for so long. His fourth day in Baltimore, he was found alone, intoxicated and unconscious on a park bench. People rushed him to the hospital, but his body was never able to recover. On October 7th of 1849, Edgar Allan Poe died at the young age of 40.
Although short, Edgar Allan Poe’s life was eventful. It was a rollercoaster of ups and downs, but mostly downs. All the tragic events in his life are directly reflected in his work. One example of this is his pieces about the various deaths of beautiful women. This is clearly related to the deaths of both his mother and his lovers. Evidently, Edgar Allan Poe drew copious amounts of inspiration from his dreary past.
Edgar Allan Poe’s work was considerably dark for its time. He lived during the early 1800’s, a time in which people were not very accepting of the unknown. His poems and short stories generally consisted of murder, death and mystery. This caused his work to be ignored or looked down upon for much of his life. It wasn’t until the release of the poem “The Raven” in 1845 that his work started receiving positive recognition.
During the mid to late 1800’s, Poe’s work finally started being recognized as the treasure it truly was. Readers began to realize how complex and thought through each of his poems and stories were. Edgar Allan Poe made use of many different literary devices. In his poem, “The Bells”, he uses personification, repetition, alliteration, parallelism, assonance, and rhyme, as well as many other devices. All of these devices help the poem to flow better. They also make it pleasing to the ears, as well as aesthetically pleasing when seen on a paper. As with much brilliant work, Poe’s was simply too far ahead its time to be appreciated.
It is a little known fact that Edgar Allan Poe wrote some lighter compositions. Most people think he strictly wrote horror. However, he wrote many love poems that consisted of romance and joy. On top of the poems, he wrote an essay titled “Desultory Notes on Cats” that was full of humor. Poe also wrote “The Gold Bug”, an amusing short story about adventure. Although the tone of most of his work was depressive, he did branch out a little and write some happier pieces.
Even if Edgar Allan Poe’s work was not appreciated during his lifetime, it certainly is in our day and age. His pieces shaped the the science fiction genre, as well as the mystery genre of literature. In fact, the short story “In the Rue Morgue”, is the first ever published detective story. Without Edgar Allan Poe’s help, these genres may not have developed to the point they are at today. Along with his influence over science fiction and mystery, he also influenced several individual authors. A few of these are Charles Baudelaire, H.P Lovecraft, Jules Verne and Jacques Lacan. It is crazy how much one man’s work could have influenced the future of literature as a whole.
Through all of his hardships, Edgar Allan Poe continued to write. He used writing as an outlet for feelings he had no other way to express. I believe he hoped that someone would read his poems, and be able to relate to them. This would help him to feel a little less isolated. Edgar Allan Poe was a lonely man, hoping to gain acceptance through his literature. It is a tragedy that this literary genius lived such a hard life. However, without the inspiration of his troubles, he may have never written.