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Edgar Allan Poe's Death Research Paper

Decent Essays

“The Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe.” The moment everyone read this dreadful headline, tears were shed and questions had been asked. In reality, no one clearly understood why Poe passed away. People thought his death was influenced from his inconvenient childhood and spooky poems. But now, philosophers had come up with theories backed up by evidence, and yet most of them seem unsupportive. In contrast, one theory that has the most support is the death from alcohol. As a matter of fact, evidence that supports this says, “Poe drank excessively at times, and he was always in need of money” (A Haunted Life). In addition, considering that Poe was an alcohol addict because of his troubling life, the theory of him dying from alcohol is the most realistic.
When Poe left Richmond for Baltimore, he was found by a printer named Joseph Walker (If Only Poe). “If Only Poe” includes that Walker described Poe as “rather the worse …show more content…

Similarly, because of his drunken state mixed with the strong winds and heavy rain, Henry Herring, Poe’s uncle by marriage, suggested sending Poe to the hospital (If Only Poe). In addition, he was “in a section reserved for cases involving drunkenness,” as Kenneth Silverman explicitly stated (Poe’s Final Days). From this incident, it shows that the experienced doctors working with Poe have examined him and understood that he was ill from alcohol. Not to mention, Poe was also suffering from “the effects of a debauch” (Smithsonian Magazine Geiling). Essentially, Poe became corrupt from drinking too much alcohol (Smithsonian Magazine Geiling). In addition to the theory of Poe’s death, The Smithsonian Magazine contains the letter of J.P Kennedy, a friend of Poe. The letter says, “On

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