Promising Life of The Disheartened Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe manifested his life into what he wrote; the melancholic effects from living in poverty and his beloved wife dying, created hints of somberness that emanates throughout his work. Poe was an accomplished writer of many works such as The Tell Tale Heart and The pit and The Pendulum. Poe’s life pushed him to the limits of sanity as well as advancing his creative thinking processes to the fullest. Throughout the years of his young adult life, he suffered hardships that would shape the rest of his career as a promising writer. Following the deaths of his mother, and foster father, recurring themes of loss arose. Before the death of Virginia Clemm, this theme was present in The Raven when he addressed the maiden that was lost, as well as the door that the character was always near. “Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer, “sir,” I said, “or madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;...”(Deuban) The fear of losing someone possibly drove him to write about Lenore and the raven that watched her. …show more content…
On top of having no money and deteriorating mental status he was an alcoholic. Sorrow from losing his loved ones and poverty lead him to reflect some of the emotions onto paper, and into his poems. The inner thoughts of Poe crept out more and more when he wrote The Tell-Tale Heart, a grisly story that had paranoia and deception as its primary components. “True!--nervous--very,very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why would you say that I am mad?”(Tell-Tale Heart) Within the starting sentence of The Tell-Tale heart the sense of madness lingers, a sensation of a playful paranoia appears. Living alone and with all the pent up angst of his own self releases itself into the gothic style of writing he
When people have negative experiences in life, many need to express their feelings about them. Some may choose writing as their outlet of choice. One writer who expressed their feelings about certain subjects in their life through writing was Edgar Allen Poe. Edgar Allen Poe’s life was dark and he chose to write about his problems and sorrows through short stories and poems. Edgar Allen Poe’s stories relate to his life and include the themes of madness and paranoia, revenge, and alcohol abuse.
Introduced by tragedies early in his life, Edgar Allan Poe became one of the most successful writers, poets, and storytellers to ever live. Edgar Allan Poe had the intelligence to do anything he wanted to do, however, the pain of losing his loved ones always seemed to drive him towards a pen and paper. His emotions never failed to show through his writings, which helped the story line touch the readers. Poe became very close to several different women but each would die shortly after he came to love them. This only pushed him to write more emotionally. Poe had a natural talent for putting his real life experiences into a fictional story and making it seem as if it were really happening.
To start, Edgar Allan Poe suffered through tragedy, poverty, and failure most of his life, all trials that would mold him into a master of macabre literature. In January of 1809, Edgar Allan Poe, writer and poet, “…was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Poe’s father and mother, both professional actors, died before the poet was three years old, and John and Frances Allan raised him as a foster child in Richmond, Virginia.”(“Edgar Allan Poe”). Poe never truly knew his parents before they tragically passed on. Yet, being almost three years of age, he did have some sense of loss, an emotion often present in his short stories and poems. About thirty years later, Poe found himself burdened by poverty, and in 1842, his wife, the person who brought him peace at this time, was
Poe’s style of writing simply is one of the main factors that makes this story amazing. In the Tell-Tale Heart he uses his style to create what he intended, the sense of psychosis. Giving an example: “Object there was none. Passion there was none. I loved the old man", Poe used short sentence to capture the rapid thoughts of a mad old man. On the other hand, he uses long sentences trying to make the reader to imagine what and how is going on. For example: “It was open—wide, wide open—and I grew furious as I gazed upon it. I saw it with perfect distinctness—all a dull blue, with a hideous veil over it that chilled the very marrow in my bones; but I could see nothing else of the old man's face or person: for I had directed the ray as if by instinct, precisely upon the damned spot.”, analyzing, we can see how he uses the long sentences to give the reader the exact panorama of how is the event going on.
Edgar Allan Poe had a very hard childhood growing up and it even extended into his adult life with his mother, stepmother, and wife all dying from Tuberculosis. Poe’s father also died when he was a child. Poe uses the fact that he had a poor childhood to create characters in “The Tell Tale Heart” with characteristics that show that Poe is a Gothic literature writer. As Sara Constantakis says, “Like his natural father, Poe was an alcoholic.” (Constantakis). The state of mind he was always in helped him to create the dark and mysterious characters that appeared in his stories. The characters in “The Tell Tale Heart” is in a crazy state of mind and shows elements of
Poe, for inference, suffered from alcoholism and in some opinions, insanity. Several characters in Poe's writings exhibit signs of mental illness or disease. In “The Tell-Tale Heart”, the narrator illustrates how “The disease had sharpened” his senses. (Poe, “The Tell-Tale Heart”). Although it is not clear on what the disease is, it is presented that the narrator suffers some form of mental illness that could have been taken from Poe’s own life.
Since Virginia was his one true love, her passing reveals Poe’s purpose behind “The Raven.” In this composition, Poe incorporated the heartbreak he experiences when losing his wife. In the “Raven,” the narrator constantly searches for a godly reason to why Lenore died and if he would ever get to embrace his beloved one again in heaven: “By that Heaven that bends above us- by that God we both adore-Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn, It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore- Clasp a rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore.
Many go throughout life experiencing things like loneliness, heartache, and hardship. In the case of Edgar Allan Poe, the was a reoccurring theme from the beginning to the end of his life. Though several may only know Poe by his unique poetry, short stories, books and even essays others miss out on his interesting life experiences. Poe was put through many things that made him struggle but without these rough experiences we may not have the famous literature he has provided for us. Edgar Allan Poe was and still is one of the most memorable poets from the American Romantic Movement despite the hardships and struggles he endured throughout his life.
Edgar Allan Poe had lived a life of turmoil and tragedy, these melancholy events in his life where the biggest influences of all his works. While at a young age Poe had lost his mother and his father had left very early on, which lead to him living with John and Frances Allan in Virginia. He had a strong passion for writing, poetry more specific, but when it was time to go to college Poe was swamped with debt for his difference of what Allan paid which had made him resort to gambling. Around that time he had came home to find out that his neighbour who was also his fiancee was engaged to someone else leading Poe to leave and go off to the army which wasn't he particularly wanted to do. He soon after realised that writing was his passion and
One of Edgar Allan Poe’s most terrifying tales is “The Tell Tale Heart”. Poe’s life was tragic because many of the women that Edgar Allan Poe loved very much had died of tuberculosis- his mother, his foster mother, his wife Virginia, and the men in his life kept abandoning him, so that made him dark and depressed. That darkness shows in a lot of his stories, including this one. “The Tell Tale Heart” is a story about a murder the narrator commits. He kills an old man because the old man’s vulture eye makes him furious and annoyed. The narrator of “The Tell Tale Heart” is insane because he murdered the old man without a motive and because he was so paranoid in his actions.
The death of his wife had a significant impact on Poe’s life since he resulted to drinking and feminism as a distraction (Kopley 264). Poe also developed depression where he which later affected his mental state. Although Poe mother and wife had died of tuberculosis, did not get infected mainly because his mother passed on when he was only three years (Kopley 264). Poe’s biological father had also abandoned him and his mother. Poe’s relationship with his adopted father was unhealthy since he mistreated him. He spent most of childhood in loneliness and financial constrictions. Instead of suffering from tuberculosis, Poe’s poetry and short stories were a reflection of the inner disarray and insecurities that he had experienced since his childhood. Poe’s lifestyle also resulted to death wishes cited in his poems such as “The Black Cat” and “The Tell-Tale Heart.” He had agony and pain which he expresses through only in writing (Kopley 264). The impacts of his wife’s death are evident in his mental health, depression, alcoholism, and
It has been said that one cannot be truly great till they have experienced hardship. This, perhaps, is the reason that Edgar Allan Poe is thought to be one of the greatest story tellers in all of history. His life was not sprinkled with tragedy, but completely drowned in it. From the beginning of Poe’s life till the very end, he was, according to The Haunted Man by Phillip Lindsay, “born to live in nightmares” and that Poe’s life “might [as] well have been one of [Poe’s] own creations (Lindsay 2).” Death, hardship, and betrayal followed him wherever he travelled, causing him to become a depressed alcoholic along the way. It is widely believed by literary critics that “had he not been this tortured creature seeking a coffin for a
When hearing the name Edgar Allan Poe, it is simple to know who is being talked about, the mostly grim, melancholy, and dark poet. Along with many other people who have been through rough times, Poe expresses his past experiences and pain through a work specific to him, short stories and poems. Edgar Allan Poe uses his life’s story to write pieces that display the time period he lived in, the influences on his poetry, and solid topics that are critiqued.
Edgar Allan Poe is a well known American author whose works continue to influence literature today. His difficult life was impactful on his writing. He is mostly known for his dark writings, but he was also a talented adventure author. Poe’s past and the influence it had on his writing makes him an interesting author to research. “The Tell Tale Heart” as well as “The Pit and the Pendulum” are two of Poe’s well known short stories. “The Pit and the Pendulum” is written in a way that makes the reader feel as if he is a part of the story. “The Tell Tale Heart” is an extremely suspenseful story that keeps the reader intrigued. Edgar Allan Poe’s life illustrates that personal struggles can transform into great literature. His
Writing is a mirror of one's personality. When we write, we reveal a part of ourselves. We reveal our mind. We reveal our thoughts. If it is possible to exist, then it is possible to write, because writing is thinking, and thoughts are existence. This especially holds true to the mind of Edgar Allan Poe, who through writing time and time again about his love and loss through both poetry and general prose, generates the story of his life. In these pieces, not only does he create original plots, but deep within the fabric of these plots springs a background world of Poe's own life, deeper than any allegory he produces or any poem he completes. The dark corners of Poe's mind are distinctly represented in his entire work body. Experiences,