Edgar Allen Poe, the writer who had skills with paper and ink sharper than a sword. His life was full of anger, despair, and deaths of his loved ones, his own death, however, has remained a mystery. Many theories have been proposed, some blaming alcohol, and some newer ones accusing rabies as Poe’s killer. In the newspaper article “Poe’s Death Is Rewritten as Case of Rabies, Not Telltale Alcohol” from The New York Times, cardiologist Dr. R. Michael Benitez, writer of the article, believes in such a fate. Benitez argues that alcohol, the most popular killer of the famous writer, was not the real reason of his death, rather, it was rabies that led to Poe’s demise. The cardiologist has some good claims, but the evidence and logic point in the …show more content…
The evidence of such a claim comes directly from his own writing, not his famous works of art, but his personal letters to his family. The letter to Dr. Benitez “If Only Poe Had Succeeded When He Said Nevermore to Drink” by Burton R. Pollin and Robert E. Benedetto from The New York Times explains how Poe died due to alcohol rather than rabies, going againsts Benitez’s words. The authors state “Evidence from Poe’s chronic binges is strewn through his letters, in periodic admissions of ‘recoveries’ and promises to his wife, Virginia, and her mother to ‘reform’” (Pollin and Benedetto). His personal letters show that he was drinking excessively prior to his death, enough to cause violent and psychotic behavior. Many doctors, both past and present, agree that alcohol caused Poe’s death. In the biography “Poe’s Final Days’ by Kenneth Silverman from “Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-Ending Remembrance” the author explains how many people agreed. Silverman states “Many others who had known Poe, including the professionally trained Dr.Snodgrass, also attributed his death to a lethal amount of alcohol” (Silverman). Considerable amounts of people, even those who were with Poe, agreed that alcohol was his killer, rather than
It is evident that Poe had a problem with alcohol. Poe’s closest friends and local newspapers attributed his death to alcohol poisoning.
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
Even though Poe was completely addicted to alcohol, many times, he tried very hard to fight against his alcoholism. Right after his first long drinking experience, during college, he tried to stay away from it (Black, Jamee A. 3). His drinking times were intermittent and he stayed abstain from alcohol for months in some of those periods (Poe, Drugs and Alcohol 8). Promises were made and repeatedly times he said that would never drink again. As one side of Poe tells him that he should stop with alcohol, the other side tells that he should drink to relief his emotional pains and usually he followed this last side once is a lot easier to deal with it (Black, Jamee A. 6). In 1847, Poe’s get extremely hard into drinking, one of the worse times during his whole life, after the death of his young wife Virginia (Hennelly, Mark M. 1). After this event he could stop drinking alcohol anymore (Poe, Drugs and Alcohol 14).
To begin, many people believe Poe died of alcoholism, however he did not and there is no actual evidence of this. According to Jeff Jerome, by the time Poe was forty he almost always avoided alcohol (188). If Poe had stopped drinking as he aged, it is extremely unlikely that he would have returned to it and drank enough to kill him. The text states, "(Jeff Jerome) said that he had heard dozens of tales (of Poe dying a victim to his alcoholism) but that almost everyone that has come forth with a theory has offered no proof" (NY Times 188). Many people who attributed Poe's death to alcohol only
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.
This is why it cannot be alcoholism. “The writer is so sensitive to alcohol that a glass of wine would make him violently ill for days.” (New York Times pg.188). Therefore, he could not have died of alcoholism if drinking alcohol makes him that sick. Mr. Jerome, curator of the Edger Allen Poe House and Museum in Baltimore, said Poe may have had problems with alcohol when he was younger but by the time he died at forty he almost always avoided
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
The alcoholism theory cannot be true because the curator at the Poe museum said that Poe couldn’t touch alcoholism at his older age or he would get very sick. In all, I believe that Poe’s death was caused by rabies because Poe’s symptoms were of rabies when he died, two doctors, Dr. Pollin and Dr. Benedetto, tried disproving his theory but could only do it with false information, and another well known doctor, Dr. Benitez backs up his theory that Poe died of rabies with scientific support that can’t be refuted. At the end of the day though, none of us really know how Poe
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 contrast to both Emerson and Thoreau, Poe is famous for his writings that we filled with mystery and death. In one of his excerpts, “The Tell-Tale Heart”, he writes to prove a man’s sanity while describing a murder he committed. This is quite ironic, seeing that someone who committed a horrendous crime such as murder would be ever be categorized as sane. The first entry into his passage describes how the character in the story believes himself to be healthy and wise. Also, he knows he has a disease, or at least claims to have one. Maybe this disease could possibly be alcoholism, causing his vision and overall mentality to be distorted. “True!-nervous – very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad? The
Edgar Allan Poe, was especially antisocial, and some would say insane. His “insanity” was solely prompted by events in his life. On December 8, 1811, both of Poe's parents died from the dreadful disease, tuberculosis. Poe's foster mother, with whom he was close with, dies in Richmond on February 28, 1829 from a long sickness. Upon the date Aug 1, 1831, Poes older brother Henry dies of either tuberculosis or cholera at the age of 27. Poe's wife Virginia died of tuberculosis on Jan 30, 1847 (Poe Museum). Poe has been so despondent while the illness consumed the final months of Virginia's life that friends thought he was going insane. The loss of his wife extended Poes dependency on alcohol. Some of Poe’s beliefs were viewed as ludicrous, but truly were coherent. Poe expresses these beliefs throughout his stories.These beliefs include, alcohol can end and destroy one's life, there's nothing to stop death, and that true happiness is not possible as long as moral evil lurks within the darkness.