Similarities Between Edgar Allen Poe's Life and His Literary Works

Relations with Poe's adoptive father John Allan, however, were unsteady. Allan thought Poe to be “surly and ungrateful, and gradually seemed to have decided Poe was not to be his heir after all” (“Edgar Allan Poe” Biography in Context. 1998). This troubled Poe deeply. Poe depended on the hopes he would have Allan's legacy. This was the start of Edgar Allan Poe's long history with financial insecurity.

Edgar Allen Poe Edgar Allen Poe's life was bombarded with misery, financial problems, and death but he still managed to become a world-renowned writer. Although he attended the most prestigious of schools he was often looked over as a writer and poet during his career. His stories were odd and misunderstood during their time. However, now they are loved a read by millions.

Edgar Allen Poe was bone in Boston on January 19 1809 to David and Elizabeth Poe. He lost his parents at the age of two years and had to be adopted by John Allan and his wife Frances Valentine Allan. John Allan was a very wealthy man but he only gave Edgar a third of his school requirements and this alienated him from Edgar. When Allan’s wife dies Edgar also decides to move out because he could not put up with John Allan. Edgar loved poetry from a tender age. He even wrote verses to girls that he developed feelings for. He could have had his first poetry book published by the age of 14 years but there was no support both from his teachers and his adoptive parents. In the course of his life Edgar became an alcoholic and mentally disturbed and this enhanced his writing skills. He created his characters trough imagination to show mystery and adventure.

Edgar Allan Poe had a hard time growing up. He first lived with his mother, father, brother, and sister, although he did not know them very well because his father left very early in his life and his brother William and his mother died of tuberculosis when he was only three years old. He then went to live the Allan family and soon created a bond with his mother Frances Allan but had a harder time connecting with his father. His father brought him down to his writing and thought that he should do the family job because he needed the help and thought it would be more beneficial. Poe was

Edgar Allen Poe was a very troubled man throughout his life, but all these events affected his writing deeply and uniquely. Poe lost the people near and dear to his heart which of course made him very depressed. Poe was battling alcoholism during the middle years of his life, a hard battle for him to fight in his situation of poverty.

Poe’s troubled childhood contributed to many difficult relationships with others. He did not get along with his foster father John Allan, as their strong personalities conflicted often, leading to general distrust between the two. Allan described Poe as lazy, ungrateful, “miserable, sulky, & ill-tempered” (Allan, John. Received by Henry Poe, 1 Nov. 1824.). Allan could not provide enough money to support Edgar at university, so Poe resorted to gambling, and ended up in debt. This enraged his foster father, and he refused to help Poe financially. Later on, Poe’s foster mother, Frances Allan, died, separating a connection between the two men. Poe’s gambling and drinking that led to his deliberate expulsion from West Point also angered his father. Later, Poe became engaged in more family issues and eventually his foster father disowned him. However, the breaking point of their relationship occured when Poe wrote to Sergeant Samuel Graves, stating that “Mr. A[llan] is not very often sober” (Poe, Edgar Allan. Received by Sergeant Samuel Graves, Richmond, 3 May 1830, Richmond.). Allan learned of this and sent an undocumented letter to Poe, who replied accusing his father of abuse:  “I wrote to you for some more money, and for books — You replied in terms of the utmost abuse — if I had been the vilest wretch on earth you could not have been more abusive than you were” (Poe, Edgar Allan. Received by John Allan, West Point Military Academy, 3 Jan. 1831, West Point Military Academy).

A man famous for his darker writing styles. Almost all of his numerous poems and writings include a darker element. This can be contributed to his childhood. As he grew up his childhood was not as easy and laid-back as other children. His family was almost completely broke and living in Boston. On top of that, by the time the poet was three parents were both dead. His father had left him when he was two and his mother had died when he was three. He may have gotten his artistic influences from his parents, who were both professional actors. Poe was the put in the care of a man named John Allan and a woman named Frances. John was a prosperous tobacco trader and Poe had a well supported child hood. He went to the first rate boarding schools. He went above and beyond expectations in grades. He soon graduated and went to the University of Virginia. However, only one year of school he was forced to return home because John refused to pay his gambling debts. Because of this he fell into the habit of heavy drinking and married a 13 year old girl. He then lost his beloved wife and began writing more and more depressing stories. He tried to start up a magazine but he failed. As he grew more and more into the habit of drinking his writing grew slower. He soon died at the age of 40 from supposed alcohol

     Over the years, Poe’s works have endured much criticism as well as much praise. Many professionals who have researched Poe’s life and his writings feel that many of his writings strongly show reflections on Poe’s real life. One critic and friend wrote, “Poe’s attraction to the problem of death is so conspicuous that the reticence of modern criticism on

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.

Allan sent Poe to private academies in order to ensure that he was well educated. At age 11, Poe studied at Joseph H. Clarke where he began writing poetry. After reading some of his work, Allan considered having Poe published. However, out of fear that he may flatter the boys’ vanity, he decided against the idea despite his talent (Bloom 11).

Poe was born into a traveling family in 1809 and had two other siblings. His parents tragically lost their lives three years later and he had to live with a foster family, separated from his two siblings, who went to live with other families. In the home of Mr. and Mrs. Allan, Poe worked for his foster parents until 1926, when he decided to attend the University of Virginia at Richmond. His troubles began here because he lived in poverty due to inadequate education funds from his foster parents, and eventually returned home to begin his writing career. To worsen his state of being, Poe found his fiancée was seeing another man, and had lost interest in him. Disheveled by events, Poe set out to become a great poet, but not before he would be riddled with more grief.

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.

(Pruette, p 370) Since, his family was very poor, his birth was considered lowly. (Pruette, p370) However, more tragedies happened before he was three years old. When he was two years old, his father died of consumption and sooner later, his mother also died leaving her children being adopted to other families.(Pruette, p.370) Poe was adopted to John Allan, a Virginian planter. The education from Allans helped young Edgar to develop basis for great writer.

Poe's childhood years were filled with sadness because of awful tragedies dealing with his mother death and father's abandonment. Poe was then sent to live with another family, the Allans, where he enrolled in school. Poe, now 18, traveled to Boston where he published his first set of poems. His military career was cut short after his foster mother died. His foster father remarries and he moves away. Poe struggled financially for many years in some idealized, glorified quest for freedom.

Edgar Allan Poe’s writing had certainly been impacted by his life. Poe was born to his mother, Eliza Poe, in 1809. However, his alcoholic father, David Poe Jr., had left him. His mother later died of Tuberculosis when he was still young. Although he had joined the Allan Family, this absence of his parents brought him to be lonely. His foster father, John Allan, raised Poe as if he was his own, but Poe and his