The Genius of Edgar Allan Poe Essay

After his birth in 1809, Edgar Allan Poe suffered from a poor childhood upon the loss of his mother at age two and an evasive father. Parentless, his primary years were spent with the Allan family in England, during which he attended boarding school. He then later came back to Richmond and attended the University of Virginia for one year, and after oppressive gambling debts, Poe's foster father Allan, withdrew his support of Poe. After leaving for Boston, Poe published his first set of poems and joined the military for two years then went back to Baltimore with his aunt.

Neither of his first two collections attracted much attention. "Poe married his 13-year-old cousin Virginia Clemn. She burst a blood vessel in 1842, and remained a virtual worthless until her death from tuberculosis five years later" (online-literature, pg. 2). He addressed the famous poem "Annabel Lee" to her in 1849. In 1836, he received an editorship at The Southern Literary Messenger in Richmond. Around this time, Edgar began using drugs and dinking very heavily. He even showed up at events drunk. Still, he was writing incredible stories and poems. Poe received a large amount of recognition, not only for his poetry and fiction, but as an exceptional literary critic. He also achieved popular success, especially following the publication of his poem "The Raven." Edgar had fallen for Merrie next and she died of brain cancer. After a period in which he was involved in various romantic affairs, Poe planned to remarry, but in late September, 1849 he arrived in Baltimore for reasons unknown. "Poe suffered from bouts of depression and madness, and he attempted suicide in 1848" (online-literature, pg. 2). In early October he was discovered nearly unconscious in a Baltimore gutter. Edgar was taken to Washington College Hospital. Some say that Poe called out the name "Reynolds" on the night before he died. He died on early in the morning of October 7, 1849. He was buried in the yard of Baltimore's Wesminster Presbyterian Church. People said that his

For a basic understanding of who he was, Edgar grew up with two siblings, Henry and Rosalie. His mother Elizabeth Poe died in 1811, when Edgar was just two years old. Being separated from his father all of his life, Edgar and his siblings moved in with his grandparents and was eventually adopted by the Allen family, which is indicated in his name. Later in his life, he joined the army and eventually he got into poetry. At first he struggled greatly, with critics constantly rejecting him and eventually he had no job, no friends, no family members by his side, and no place to live. He eventually got a job from a newspaper company where he served as an editor and this was the point in which he blossomed as a writer. There are several stories in which there is

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 was born on January 19, 1809, and led a very traumatic life. Both of his parents died of consumption when he was two years old, and then “Mr. John Allan, a very wealthy gentleman of Richmond, Virginia, took a fancy to me, and persuaded my grandfather, General Poe, to suffer him to adopt me” (Symons 3). Though he never legally adopted him, John Allan gave him the name “Edgar Allan Poe.” Poe and his adoptive father never had a healthy

From the year 1832 to 1836, Poe spent his time with his aunt, Maria and cousin, Virginia Clemm, in Baltimore. During this time, Poe began writing and selling poems to journals in Baltimore and Philadelphia. At the age of 26, Poe became the editor for the Southern Literary Messenger in Richmond. A year later, he married his cousin, Virginia Clemm. They formed a home in Philadelphia and Poe appreciated most of these years because of his productivity. In 1847, Poe's wife, Virginia, died of tuberculosis, and Poe was devastated. Two years later, at the age of forty, Poe died of "acute congestion of the brain."

Poe soon began his career as a starving writer. Although his foster father, John Allan, had remarried a wealthy woman, he refused to help Edgar, who was always asking for more money. In 1831, he went to New York City. Edgar had submitted stories to multiple magazines in hopes that they would be published. His attempts were all rejected. Poe stated in his last letter to his foster father in 1833 that it had been more than two years since the last time they had spoken. He requested his foster father’s pity for not having any friends and not being employed. He wanted aid and pity to save him from further destruction. John Allan never responded. Allan later died on March 27, 1834 and took Poe out of the will completely. His cousin, Virginia became Poe's love interest and an inspiration to him as well (Biography Channel). He married Virginia in 1836. At the time, she was only 13. Some sources say that she was 14. Poe's literary talents only started to show in 1835 when he became an assistant editor at the Southern Literary Messenger in Richmond. After taking the position his literature started to become more popular and was published (Mystery Net).

One very in particular author and poet whose works we can find throughout our American Literature textbooks is Mr. Edgar Allan Poe. Edgar Allan Poe wasn’t your average author especially not during his time. Poe was famously known for his dark, mysterious, and macabre writings, poems, and short stories. Many people believe that his stories and their story lines came from tragic events that had happened in his life. There’s no doubt Edgar Allan Poe had a different style poetry and a mind of his own, but his work had a powerful impact on the nineteenth century and brought a new style to American Literature.

family. After five years, they moved back to Virginia. Poe made an abundant amount of friends and excelled in his classes (Loveday). Poe eventually found out his foster father was unfaithful, he then confronted him, which began a decade long feud between the two (Loveday). Poe enrolled at the University of Virginia, but dropped out only a year later because his foster father wouldn 't pay for his gambling debts. John Allan disowned Poe causing

The apparent dark cloud that seemed to surround and follow Poe through life was there since he was an infant. According to The Haunted Man by Phillip Lindsay, Poe was “born to live in nightmares” and Poe’s life “might as well have been one of Poe’s own creations (Lindsay 2).” Adversity and death seemed to follow him wherever he went. Poe’s father abandoned him and his family when he was just an infant. His mother died of tuberculosis only three years after that. After her death, Poe, his brother, and sister were separated. Poe went to live with his new foster parents, John and Frances Allan in Richmond, Virginia (Edgar Allan Poe Bio). He and Frances seemed to get along but he never quite connected with John. His relationship with John Allan was unstable and explosive. A conflict between the

After Poes parents passed away at the age of 3, the toddler was adopted by a wealthy couple in Virginia. At 13, Poe had thought of becoming a writer but never made that dream come true. In college, Poe attended the University of Virginia but was in debt. The writer began to gamble in order to pay the expenses. Later, with almost no money left, Poe burned his furniture being the only option to keep warm. Ashamed of being poor, Poe headed back home to see his soon to be wife. After arriving home, Poe was disturbed to know that Elmira Royster, the fiancé of Poes had become engaged to another man while the author had been away. Running away from the

Actors led a miserable life in those days, and the Poes were no exception. They died comfortless in Richmond; their three children were separated; and Edgar was adopted by John Allan, a wealthy tobacco merchant. It was in the luxurious Allan home that the boy began the drinking habits which were his bane ever afterwards.

Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, known as a poet and critic, however most popular as the first literary expert of the short story structure, particularly stories that were mysterious and horrifying. He exceeded expectations particularly in the categories of riddle, macabre, and repulsiveness. He in more recent time has been credited for coming up with the "Sci-Fi" and "Detective" genres. His work was so often so disturbing and dark that many tend to have a hard time reading it to completion. Since his death, the artistic characteristics of Poe 's compositions have been questioned, yet his works have continued to be famous as he impacted numerous American and European authors. Yet the question of Poe 's sanity is one that is

Though he was not close with his father, he was very attached to his mother who died presumably of some illness such as pneumonia or tuberculosis. After the loss of both of his parents, Edgar and his brother and sister were split up into separate foster homes. Edgar's foster father, Johnny Allan gave Edgar the middle name Allan, and not much more. This is one of many times in Edgar's life when he felt truly alone. As he grew up his foster parents sent him to private schools, moved him to England and to Baltimore, and eventually sent him to the University of Virginia. It was around this time that Edgar finally separated himself from his foster father who meant so little to him. When Edgar was at school he became actively involved in drinking, drugs and gambling. His foster father refused to help him pay his debts, so Edgar left his foster parents and went to find his family ( E. A. Poe Society of Baltimore Inc. "Poe Chronology" 1-4). Edgar's poem, "Alone", expresses his feelings of complete loneliness at this time in his life. The poem starts off, "From childhood's hour I have not been as others were- . . .." This illustrates Poe's trouble as a child, and his struggles through a time that most people are carefree and happy. The poem goes on to say ." . . Then - in my childhood - in the dawn/Of a most stormy life - . . .." This is a foreshadow into Poe's future that we now know will be even worse than his childhood. These two lines express how although Edgar

Separated from his brother William and sister Rosalie, Poe went to live with John and Frances Valentine Allan, a successful tobacco merchant and his wife, in Richmond, Virginia. Edgar and Frances seemed to form a bond, but he had a more difficult relationship with John Allan. By the age of 13, Poe was a prolific poet, but his literary talents were discouraged by his headmaster and John Allan, who preferred that Poe follow him in the family business. Preferring poetry over profits, Poe reportedly wrote poems on the back of some of Allan's business papers.