Alcoholism: The Death Of Edgar Allen Poe

Later Dr R. Michael Benitez found out that the anonymous patient E.P was in fact Edgar Allan Poe. For the first time in history someone looked at Poe’s death from an objective view. The doctors at this conference had no preconceived notions of Poe’s death. Many of Poe’s symptoms lined up with those of a patient suffering from rabies,

Many people believe Poe died of rabbies however, there is more then enough evidence that supports he died of alcohol. In "Poe's Final Days"the author says '' Many others who had known Poe, includuing the professsionally trained Dr. Snodgrass, also attributed his death to lethal amounts of alcohol." (Silverman 186). I believe this quote means that even his family knows he had gained his drinking problem back. If he did possibly get his drinking problem back then possibly he could not stop himself from drinking a lot at once. "Poe was found outside a Baltimore saloon in an alcohlic stupor on October 3, 1849, and died four days

1). Poe went so far that he got into a point that he drank absinthe and brandy which is a really dangerous mixture (Poe, Drugs and Alcohol 27). Between the many possible causes of Edgar Allan Poe’s death, his problem with alcohol is really considerable as one important reason of his early death (Scharf, Douglas 1).

The New York Times states, "By the next day (Poe) was perspiring heavily, hallucinating, and shouting at imaginary companions" (NY Times 187). Based on these descriptions of Poe's behavior, it is clear he was suffering from rabies. As stated in the New York Times, "In the brief period when he was calm and awake, Poe refused alcohol and could drink water only with great difficulty" (NY Times 187). This evidence is significant because later in the article it explains that people who have rabies often exhibit hydrophobia, or fear of water. According to a New York Times article, on his fourth day at the hospital, Poe again reached a state of confusion and aggression before he calmed down again and died (187). This supports the other strange behavioral traits Poe was showing, which all lead back to rabies. Given these points, it is clear that Poe died as a result of

There are many theories of how Edgar Allan Poe died. One of the theories is alcohol. Poe was a heavy drinker as a young man so it is possible. Another theory is rabies. This is also a possible theory because of the symptoms he had in the hospital.

Dr. R. Michael Benitez explains that one fourth of rabies victims cannot remember being bitten (Pg. 187). There is no evidence that Poe was bitten, but it can take up to a year for symptoms to appear. “When symptoms do appear the disease is a swift and brutal killer. Most patients die in a few days.” (New York Times pg. 187). Poe was only alive for four days at the hospital and was confused and belligerent most of the time. “Rabies victims frequently exhibit hydrophobia, or fear of water, because it is painful to swallow.” (New York Times pg. 187). For that reason, he could drink water only with great difficulty.

There are many pieces of evidence that support Poe mostly likely dies of rabies. For one Michael Benitez states in his letter that rabies can incubate in a human for up to a year. This proved why Poe did not have a bite at the time if it indeed did happen about a year ago. Also in Poe’s biography it says Poe was semi-conscious stuck in a stupor. This also

The death of Edgar Allen Poe is quite the mystery. No one knows what really happened to the failed poet that cold night, while he lay on the street. Many theories suggest that Poe was murdered by one of his many enemies or that he has brain cancer and died on the street. One theory I support is that Poe died from alcohol poisoning, there is quite a bit of evidence that supports Edgar Allen Poe passed from alcohol poisoning such as he became addicted to alcohol after his wife passed, he was found near a pub, and he had brain symptoms that pointed to alcoholism.

On Oct. 7, 1849, Edgar Allan Poe died mysteriously. While there are many theories about why or how he died, I believe that it is a unknown illness or cholera. First, a document by Poe it suggest that Edgar Allan Poe had contracted cholera weeks before arriving in Richmond and had a manic episode. Next, According to Susan Archer Talley, Poe was pale and trembling. His condition was serious enough that two doctors though he was in “imminent danger” and that another “attack would kill him. Then, in addition, John Moran claims that Poe had arrived at the hospital unconscious and remains in that condition from 5:00 pm until 3:00 am. When he wakes up he trembles and sweats profusely until the following day. Although no one will ever know for certain

According to another New York Times article written by Burton R. Pollin and Robert E. Benedetto,”If Only Poe Had Succeeded when He Said Nevermore To Drink”, Dr. Benitez was wrong to assign Poe’s death to a case of rabies. They claim that Edgar Allan Poe died from too much alcohol in his system, not from an animal attack. Dr. Benitez never stated that Poe was not drunk, yet it is true that Poe has a history of extreme alcoholism. This is evident not only in his works, but strewn throughout his relationships with false admissions of recovering. Another key evidence is the lack of a bite or scratch. Even if Poe could not recall the attack, another symptom of rabies is itching or a rash being evident on an entire limb. I find it surprising that no doctor would notice that. Whitewashing his death doesn't make the reality any different, he was

According to the CDC, over 88,000 people die every year due to the excessive use of alcohol in the United States. Now this proves that alcoholism is a very serious and common issue in our country. Poe’s death to this day has been thought of as a great mystery, most believing he died from either alcohol or rabies. According to several sources saying that Poe was sent to the hospital after being to drunk, not being able to tell doctors the names of his family members/where he lived, and the fact that his cat, Caterina, was proven to not have rabies, I believe he died from alcohol.

“Mr. Poe could not possibly send forth a book without some marks of his genius, and mixed up with the dross we find much sterling ore.” — (From a review of Poe’s Tales, September 6, 1845.) In 1845, Poe, 27, and Virginia, 13, married, and were happy for a time. In 1842, Virginia ruptured a blood vessel; the first sign of the ill health that plagued her short life. Poe turned to alcohol to cope with her illness and the stress of his dying wife. Two years later, Virginia died of tuberculosis, and Poe’s own death would follow shortly two years after that.

In “The Shining”, written by Steven King, the reader is exposed to an issue that a lot of families face in the real world that of which is alcoholism. The story’s main character, Jack Torrance, struggles from this issue due to his troubled past regarding an abusive and alcoholic father as well as his struggle of becoming the very man he loved, yet hated as a child. By exposing the reader to alcoholism, they are instantly aware of the outcomes of it and how it can affect someone. King uses this method to help enhance the story, to allow the contents of the book to become real and relatable to the reader, and most importantly, to allow the reader to actually sympathize with the main characters.

Substance abuse plays a role in more than one of Poe's works. In the black cat alcohol drives the narrator to rip out his cats eye with with a pen and then hang the cat in guilt of what he had done. The narrator was a kind hearted man who loved animals and would do nothing to hurt them until he started to drink. He became an angrier person, always getting enraged with the people and creatures around him and his personality changed for the worse. Substance abuse changed him and drove him to be a different person than he really was. After killing the cat he felt little to no remorse for the deed he had committed and went back to his drinking and partying.Eventually his drinking led him to kill his wife, substance abuse changed him into a

In Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado,” one of the main details involved in the plot is alcoholism. Fortunato thoroughly enjoys good wine and drank a lot. Not only did he drink often, but he also was extremely knowledgeable about “fine wines” as Poe writes. Fortunato liked to think of himself as a judge of whether a wine was good or not. Based on all this, Montresor decided to tap into this weakness of Fortunato’s to seek his revenge after Fortunato mocked Montresor’s family name. Montresor then caused Fortunato to become drunk. In this and other stories, alcoholism and drug usage are very prevalent in Poe’s writing, but the references always seem to reflect his own life addictions and show us how truly depressed he was.