Edgar Allan Poe Influences

Edgar Allan poe is one of the most incredible gothic writers, with a library of many famous works. He is famous for his dark and ominous way of narrating, as well as his brutal and obscure endings to his tales. Arguably his most famous works are the poem entitled “The Raven” published January 29th 1845, and his short story “The Tell-Tale Heart” published a few years earlier on January 1843. Both of these pieces of literature pulled the listener directly into Poe's mysterious world, with suspense and intensity in every line. “The Raven” and “The Tale-Heart’ written by Edgar Allan Poe both develop the gothic theme of madness by using dark imagery, similar symbolism, and torment.

He would often quote Cervantes or Shakespeare and add that he was envious of their literary genius. At the tender age of fifteen, someone offered to publish a book of his works. Allan would not allow it though, as he was afraid of Poe's ego swelling. Poe strived to excel in everything he did, swimming, long jump, running, and writing. This will to succeed showed up in his work later in life when he wrote constantly to keep up with the demand for his stories. Poe eventually broke away from Allan as a result of an argument between Allan and his second wife with Poe taking the wife's side. He did briefly reconnect with Allan to get his recommendation for West Point. Poe eventually purposely failed our of West Point by missing classes and lost touch with his father all together.(18) These tumultuous times had great highs and lows which greatly affected Poe's later writings.

“Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dreamed before” (Edgar Allan Poe). Darkness and sadness are strong characteristics of Edgar Allan Poe’s writing. The tragedies during his life, such as the death of his biological and adoptive moms, followed by the death of his young wife Virginia were important factors which formed his gothic style. Poe is known for his drinking problems and use of drugs. Those habits had a big influence in his life and in his works.

Edgar Allan Poe is the most morbid of all American authors. Poe made his impact in Gothic fiction, especially for the tales of the macabre of which he is so renowned for. “How can so strange & so fine a genius & so sad a life, be exprest [sic] & comprest in on line — would it not be best to say of Poe in a reverential spirit simply Requiescat in Pace [?]” — (Alfred Lord Tennyson’s reply to the Poe Memorial committee, February 18, 1876). Poe’s own life story sheds light on the darkness of his writings.

Poe probably made one of the biggest impacts in Gothic literature. Gothic Literature is considered to involve the horror or gothic element, but is mixed with romance, superstition, women in distress, and the occurrence of supernatural events. The history and beginning of this era is unknown. Poe analyzes the most controversial subjects and describes them in a meticulous and scientific way, which leads to terrible imagery that can attack a nervous man’s head and give him evil thoughts. (Szumski 33) Many people blame Poe for inspiring Jack the Ripper. His style

While Poe was believed to be mentally deranged he still is one of the greatest authors to date. He had no parents, and lived with a foster family. He never finished college and fell into great debt. As he became a rising author the fame was short lived as he was criticized by many. With some of the scariest stories to date and one of the best authors throughout history Poe is a very noteworthy author. As Poe had really began his career in debt he also ended his life in debt. For many years to come Poes various spine tingling stories shall live

Edgar Allan Poe once said, “We loved with a love that was more than love.” Poe was born January 19, 1809 and died October 7, 1849. Even though Poe died at a very young age he faced many tribulations. First, losing his parents at the mere age of three and being forced to live with his foster father whom he did not get along with. As a teenager Poe was heartbroken when his first love suddenly died. To add onto that Poe was a terrible alcoholic throughout his adulthood. His life finally looked like it was turning around when he married his cousin, Virginia, in 1836. Poe continued to struggle to make money in order to support his family, however he still continued to write. After 11 years of marriage Virginia died of tuberculosis, sending Poe in downward spiral that he

Another one of the most famous authors, Edgar Allan Poe, like Richard Connell his background has greatly impacted his writing. January 19, 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts Edgar Allan Poe was born to parents with careers with acting, and who unfortunately died when he was three years old. Being raised by John and Frances Allan he was their foster child, at the time they lived in Richmond, Virginia. John was a tobacco exported and Poe was sent to the best boarding schools and then went to the University of Virginia. He academically advanced, but soon was encouraged to leave after one year due to debt. This was because his foster father John, didn’t pay Poe’s debts of gambling (“Edgar Allan Poe”). Poe fell into a great deal of debt and sorrow from

Poe had a lot of bad experiences in his life, but he did have some good ones too. When his Mom died, he went to a foster home with a dad that hated him but a mom that loved him. This made his childhood good then. But it didn’t last long when she passed of TB and his dad sent him away to college with barely enough money to even get there. “The red death had a long devastating effect on the land, nothing had been so fatal or hideous.” This shows that he wanted to enjoy life but TB kept finding them. Poe had great moments in his life but also awful ones

Poe was actually quite a good soldier, and was promoted to be an officer. However, Francis Allan died, and Mr. Allen bought a release from the army for Edgar. Edgar decided on going to West Point. John Allen Payed for the first part, but then suddenly stopped paying Edgar’s tuition. “Poe tried hard to get kicked out of West Point, and in 1831, he succeeded. Rumor is that the final straw came when he reported for drill wearing belts for his cartridges, a smile and nothing else (Why was Edgar Allan Poe kicked out of West Point).” The Poe Family was said to have a curse, Alcohol.

Although Poe had a rocky childhood he was able to grow into a successful writer and inspiration to many today. Unique and unlike any other writer Poe was able to write his short stories and wasn’t hesitant about it either. “Poe had an extreme influence on two genres still being read to this day which would be Science fiction and Detective genres” (“biography of”). Poe later went on to be what some could say America’s first great writing critic. “Poe often called out authors that he believed were intimidating other authors” (“Spiridon”). “He was one of the first writers to really focus on Gothic themes and to make it okay to write about death in a new way” (“HRF”). This all started when “Poe had finally landed a job as an editor for a newspaper because, of winning a contest with his story “The Manuscript Found in a Bottle”” (“Biography of”). Later Poe became the manager of the paper. His first volume of short stories after that were, “Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque” (“Biography of”). The book was published in 1839, after that his career took

Edgar Allan Poe has a distinctive and dark way of writing (Poe & Kennedy, pp.22). His mysterious style of writing appeals to passion and sentimentality. Poe’s most prominent works of fiction are gothic. His stories tend to have similar recurring theme of either death, lost love or both. Poe’s psychologically thrilling stories examining the depths of the humanoid psyche earned him much fame throughout his lifetime and after his death. And this distinctive style of writing made him possess his own style of wiring (Arbor, pp.71). There is a psychological concentration which is an important characteristic of Poe’s literatures, particularly the tales of horror that encompass his best and well-known works, such as The Black Cat and The Raven which

This essay will discuss the themes in Poe’s writing that mirror his personal life and, in addition, the fear and supernatural motivators for his characters. First, I will discuss Poe’s background and explore how he became best known as a poet for his tales of mystery and macabre.

Although now seen as the father of the modern horror story, Edgar Allan Poe was previously viewed as a drunken failure. Within Poe’s writings much of his own life riddled with guilt, anxiety, alcohol, depression and death shines through resulting in works that appear unrelated yet once dissected prove similar. This is true for Poe’s works “The Raven” and “The Black Cat”. Poe’s examples of gothic fiction share the use of the color black and a rapid digression of the narrator 's sanity while seemingly unveiling Poe’s internal pain. Despite these similarities, Poe’s works also differ immensely. “The Black Cat” focuses around death while “The Raven” is fixed around discovering the reasoning for a bird 's arrival. Moreover, gothic themes seen within “The Raven” do not necessarily remain constant when compared to “The Black Cat”.

First of all, Edgar Allan Poe had a rough childhood. His mom, Eliza, was an actress and she died when he was only three years old. His father, David, was also an actor but he left them before his mom died. So, Edgar Allan Poe was left without his parents at the age of three years old. After his mother’s death he was adopted by John and Frances Allan and separated from his siblings. They raised him and when he was old enough sent him to the university of Virginia. After a year he was forced to leave because he had a drinking problem and had gambling debts that his adopted father wouldn’t pay. Ever since then he and his adopted father grew further and further apart. After that he joined the army and got the title of sergeant major. He then married and his wife died in 1847 leaving Edgar Allan Poe heart broken. Poe’s rough past played a major part in influencing his writing. His life was very depressing and you can see it in the way he writes and the darkness in his works. The dark events in his life come out in him creepy style of writing. (Benka)