Strengths And Weaknesses Of Edgar Allan Poe

In Edgar Allan Poe's last days, he was supposed to reach Baltimore, Maryland, and eventually New York City. He never made it. There are many theories on how Poe died on October 7,1849. Many people believe that Poe had contracted the Rabies virus. However, Poe died of alcohol dependence because he lost all care for himself, and guzzled himself to death. Many people believe Poe died of Rabies, however he died by drinking himself to death. "I do not "admit" that the lack of bite or scratches is a weakness in my theory (R. Michael Benitez 190)". This shows there was no evident marks on Poe and the writer admits to that. Robert Benedetto and Burton Pollin, professors of English at the City University of New York, state in their letter to the editor of the New York Times that symptoms of Rabies back in that century were itching and other sensations that could affect an entire limb or side of the body. The symptoms do not match up from what Poe was experiencing and the symptoms were. "There is no evidence that a rabid animal had bitten Poe (Dr. R. Michael Benitez 187)". According to the assistant professor of

"Apparently flooded with drink, he may also have been ill from exposure- Joseph Walker (Kenneth Silverman 184)". Joseph Walker the first Person to find Poe outside a tavern could tell that Poe had been drinking. Kenneth Silverman wrote a biography about Poe's last days he wrote that Poe received a private room, reportedly in a section reserved for cases involving drunkenness. For Poe to receive a private room he must have been very drunk or ill. "According to Moran, one of its senior physicians diagnosed Poe's condition as encephalitis (Kenneth Silverman 186)". Encephalitis is a brain inflammation brought on by being exposed, that shows Poe had not been taken care of himself. All of the above show how either Poe had relapsed from being sober or how he quit caring about