Edgar Allan Poe, known for his tales of horror and “The Raven”, was a prolific American writer. His life was marked by tragedy, addiction, and mystery. His works include poems, short stories, and detective stories, exploring themes of evil, guilt, and madness. While some criticize his poetry, his tales remain popular and influential.
Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most prolific American writers of the 19th century. He is particularly known for his tales of horror and terror, and also for his long work in verse, “The Raven”. He remains an enigmatic figure in literature and many adore his work. There are Poe companies in virtually every state in the United States. Other horror writers, especially Stephen King, have been quite negative about writing him. In King’s novel The Shining, Poe is referred to as “the great American hacker.” However, since King’s stories can also be traced back to earlier attempts at storytelling, this statement needs to be taken with a grain of salt.
Poe was born to actor parents in 1809. When both of his parents died within a couple of years of his birth, a merchant, John Allan, raised him. In later years he would take Allan’s surname as a middle name. Poe lived for several years in England as a child, but returned to the United States in 1820.
In 1826, Poe attended the University of Virginia, but his unfortunate proclivities as a gambler and drinker had already begun to show. He was expelled for failing to pay gambling debts, causing a major rift between Poe and Allan. Using an assumed name and age, he joined the Army the following year and served as a soldier for two years.
Poe attended West Point Academy for a short time, but was dishonorably discharged in 1830. The next three years of his life are somewhat of a mystery to many, but most biographers trace them back to 1833, when the his first writing, “MS Found in a bottle”, won a prize in a short story contest.
This success has led him to contribute regularly to three journals. Some of these contributions have turned out to be some of his best known work by him. While gaining success as a writer in 1836, Poe married his cousin, Virginia Clemm, who was only 13 at the time. She later had what many think was an aneurysm or stroke, and was disabled for most of her married life.
Clemm died in 1842, and many credit his death with Poe’s descent into alcoholism and opium abuse. However, it is clear that the writer had issues with both before his death, and his path was clearly one of self-destruction even before marrying Clemm. Poe survived Clemm by seven years and his death remains mysterious. Historians know that he attempted suicide in 1848, but by the following year he seemed somewhat recovered. He disappeared from a birthday party in 1849, and was later found delirious in a gutter, dying shortly after being found. No one can explain what happened to him between the moment he left the birthday party and finding him in such serious condition.
Edgar Allan Poe’s works are mainly composed of poems and short stories. The poem “Annabel Lee” is thought to be a tribute to Virginia Clemm, but was written several years after her death. His tales are fascinating examinations of evil, guilt and madness. No one reads a Poe story expecting a happy ending. Some of his most famous works include ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’, ‘The Pit and The Pendulum’, ‘The Mask of the Red Death’ and ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’. “The Black Cat” is considered by some to be one of his most disturbing pieces.
Many like Poe’s detective stories. Two of his most famous novellas are The Murders of the Rue Morgue and The Furloined Letter. His poetry, with the exception of some of his own, is considered amateurish compared to other writers of the time, especially the English romantic writers.
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