Edgar Allen Poe Life Poet Essay, Research Paper
Edgar Allen Poe Life Poet Edgar Allen Poe son of the actress Eliza Poeand actor David Poe Jr., was born January 19,1809.His father was from agood Baltimore family and drunk heavily.His mother however was a goodactress but she died of tuberculosis in Richmond Virginia in December of1811.After this at the age of 3,Edgar and his brother and sister wereorphaned.Edgar went to the home of John and Fanny Allan who lived inRichmond,VA.John Allan was a successful merchant.In 1815 they went toEngland for five years where he attended private school.Edgar was athleticand smart.As Edgar got older though he started feeling worse and more lowlythan the other boys.He fell in love with one of his friend’s mother whosename was Mrs.Jane Stanard.Her parents disapproved of the relationship sothey broke it off.Though his foster father wanted him to go into businesshe managed to go to the University of Virginia in 1826.He then studiedFrench,Spanish,Italian and Latin and could read Byron and Cambell.He was introuble from the day he stepped in.Mr.Allan had not given him enough moneyto pay for his expenses so he took to gambling and drinking.He reachedpoints where his debt was up to $2,000.His “father” refused to pay thesedebts so his education ended and he decided to leave for Boston in March1827.He there enlisted as a common soldier under the name Edgar A. Perry.Hewas stationed at Charleston for over a year,he adapted well to themilitary discipline and moved through the ranks quickly.He soon becamebored of military life and he wrote to his father reconciling with himafter the death of his mother in 1829.With his dad’s help he got dischargedto West Point on July 1,1830.At West Point the same thing happened.Mr.Allendid not give him enough money.He decided then to get expelled and he didso.In 1831 more desperate then ever he published a new set of poemsentitled Second Edition.Poe had many difficulties.He had settled in NY,buthe couldn’t find a job.He asked his dad for help but got no answer.Hefinally set up with his aunt,Mrs.Clem in Baltimore.He failed as a poet butturned to story writing .Now is when his short stories started tosurface.He competed for best short story with entries from the PhilidelphiaSaturday Courier. He did not win this contest but all the stories were eventuallypublished in the paper.In 1833 The Saturday Visitor of Baltimore announceda literary contest with prizes of fifty dollars for best short story andtwenty five for best poem.Poe sent in many stories and MS. Found in aBottle won the story prize and his poem would have won but they decided notto let the same person win both.It was not much money but a novelist tookan intrest to Poe and made friends with him by helping him to sell shortstoy to the new Southern Literary Messenger of Richmond.Poe joined thestaff of the magazine and soon became the editor.Many of his own storiesappeared in the magazine.Once his job was set he invited his aunt and herdaughter to come live with him.Later he married his cousin Virginia who wasmuch younger than him.He was good at his job making a name for himself andthe magazine.Poe had many problems ,he still drank heavily and wasdismissed from the magazine rehired and fired for the same reason
again.They then moved to NY where Mrs.Clemm opened up a boarding house tosupport them.Poe couldn’t find a job but he published a story called TheNarrative of Arthur Gordon Pym.This story was so convincing critics thoughtthat it was a record of a real voyage.They moved again to Philidelphiawhere he started editing Burton’s Gentlmen’s magazine.A contrct said he hadto write one story of suspense or horror per month.These stories werecollected and published under the title Tales of The Grotesque andArabesque in 1840.When Burton’s was sold Poe became the editor of the newone,Graham’s magazine.In this magazine was printed his first detectivestory The Murders in Rue Morgue.This story attracted attention for hisdetective Dupin and his method of “logical deduction”.In 1843 The GoldenBug won $100 prize from the Philidelphia Dollar Newspaper.A little later heleft his job to once again live in New York.At about this time he wrote thepoem The Raven.This is Poe’s best poem.It is haunting and theatrical.Withthis poem Poe reached the height of his fame.His reputation brought himlittle money though.Poe got another editorial job and wrote sketches forGodey’s Lady’s Book.He never kept these jobs very long though. Alcoholism and a mental disorder led to Poe being quarrelsome andunreasonable.One of his stories was titled The Imp of the Perverse.This impseemed to posess Poe.He had tantrums and gave verbal attacks that offendedthe people that could have helped Poe’s career the most.Throughout thistime in his life the two women,his wife and aunt were unconditionallyloving and caring.Virginia was sweet and gentle but kind of simpleminded.She did not understand Poe’s moments of genius.She did give him anadoring unquestioned love which helped him.She liked clipping and pastingthe long scrolls he wrote.Poe was at his best around these two,because theycatered to his every need.He was affectionate toward his aunt and rathertender around his wife Virginia.She was slowly dying of tuberculosis.Thisfamily finally made the move to a cottage in Fordham,a village aboutthirteen miles outside New York.Mrs.Clemm tidied the place up and calledthe master room “dear Eddie’s study”. They made it through summer but inautumn they ran out of fuel to warm the house.Virginia,his wife got worseas he sank into deeper and deeper sadness.In the middle of winter Virginiadied.With his wife gone,his last nerve went too.He worked vigorously on abook Eureka,which he believed was the truth.It was only a scientific theorywhich came from his disturbed state.He then wandered from one city toanother to Richmond and finally on to Baltimore where he died in 1849. Poe began the American short story in his lifetime.Poe perfected the art ofshort stories and many famous authors were influenced by him.He hasremained the best in creating a dreary atmosphere of horror andsuspense.This comes out most in The Pit and the Pendulum and The Tell-TaleHeart.This poetry has not yet been matched. Poe was a disturbed man withspurts of genius and great story tellin such as The Cask of Amontillado.Poegives a scary and sinking sensation in each story of the kind.Poe gives aneerie feeling best proved by The Fall of the House of Usher in which thestory is scary.Poe’s life is best described by the quotation from FrancisBacon which says “There is no exquisite beauty without somestrangeness in proportions”.