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The Genius Of Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven

Decent Essays

In his youth, Edgar Allan Poe was a very creative man; he was the first writer to create a detective storyline. He originally wrote a short story titled The Murders in the Rue Morgue which he would later follow with two other stories similar in theme. These stories would be studied for years to come, unbeknownst to Poe himself. He often incorporated the human psyche, another one of his original ideas he incorporated into his work. None of these works, however, would see Poe famous. What would bring him fame would be The Raven, arguably his best and most famous work of all. Eventually, The Raven would become his nickname and people by the masses would gather to see Poe perform renditions of this piece. However, Poe’s life was not full of fame …show more content…

Allan was a fan of Mrs. Poe’s which probably had a part in her and Mr. Allan taking Edgar in. Mrs. Allan loved Edgar and shower him with all the love and affection he needed (and wanted) from a mother figure. On the other hand, Mr. Allan was not fond of Edgar. He was the reason they never adopted Edgar. Had it been up to Mrs. Allan, she would’ve done it in a heartbeat. However, Edgar’s upbringing was relatively good; the Allan’s weren’t lacking money so all of his basic needs were met and he received a good education. Despite being athletic in his teenage years he had a very sensitive nature. This made him seek out women who were also sensitive. Poe’s first love was an older woman by the name of Jane Stanard. She was the mother of one of Poe’s classmates. He would often read to her, but they didn’t know each other for long before she died of brain cancer when Poe was fifteen. Stricken with grief Poe would often go and cry at her grave. While still in mourning, Poe would learn of his foster mother’s condition: consumption. While on her deathbed, Mr. Allan was having affairs in the family home. Upon discovering this, Edgar stood up to Mr. Allan. This resulted in Mr. Allan sending Edgar to the University of …show more content…

His writing would go downhill and he would often wander to Virginia’s grave and lie there. In the last year of Poe’s life, he would search for another soul mate. He would romance several women at once writing them all similar letters. The first woman he would get engaged to was Helen Whitman. She was beautiful, wealthy, a socialite, and was also a writer. After pursuing her unceasingly Poe proposed to her in a cemetery, after some reluctance she accepted. Poe thought he had been rescued, but his reputation preceded him. He wasn’t aware of this until Helen’s mother had a prenuptial agreement drawn up stating that Edgar would have no claim on Helen’s assets. Poe could not accept this, therefore, breaking off the engagement. Prior to their break Poe had begun writing love letter to Annie Richmond a married woman in Massachusetts. Much to Poe’s dismay Mrs. Richmond’s husband didn’t die. Poe’s drinking became much worse during this time and caused him to have bouts of insanity. Poe’s last ladylove was a woman he had once been engaged to when he was seventeen. Poe rekindled his relationship with her and they became engaged. Poe wanted to go visit Mariah Clemm and tell her the good news. So he left for New York, but he never arrived there. Disappearing for several days he was found on October 3rd on a Baltimore street. He was delirious and no longer wearing clothes of his

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