Name: Edgar Allan Poe

Birth date: January 19th, 1809

Death date: October 7th, 1849

Education: University of Virginia, U.S. Military Academy at West Point

Place of Birth: Boston, Massachusetts

Place of Death: Baltimore, Maryland

"Much of what we know about Poe is wrong, the product of a biography written by one of his enemies in an attempt to defame the author’s name." (5)

Best Known For: Poe was an American short-story writer and poet, known for poems like The Raven and Annabel Lee. His writings were often dark, mysterious, and depressing, earning the nickname "Father of the Detective Story", and he is said to have been a mystery himself.

Early Life: Poe never really knew his parents, who were traveling actors. His other brother William Henry Leonard Poe was also a poet before his early death, and his sister Rosalie Poe grew up and taught penmanship at a Richmond girls’ school. His mother died when he was only three years old, and his father left the family very early on. Poe lived with John Allan, a successful tobacco merchant, and his wife Frances, who lived in Richmond, Virginia. Poe was quite fond of Frances, but never grew as close with John.  The Allans also had some money issues. Poe did not receive nearly enough money from Allan when he went to the University of Virginia in 1826. He tried to gamble to settle the difference, but ended up in debt. To make matters worse, he also found out that his neighbor and fiancee Elmira Royster (or Elmira Shelton) was engaged to someone else, which probably had to do with her father's disapproval and Poe's leave to the University of Virginia in 1826. At this point, Poe left the Allans after an altercation with John over taking a position in the Allen's business and ran away to Boston (5).

Early Career: Poe published his first book, Tamerlane and Other Poems in 1827, and then published a second collection, Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane, and Minor Poems in 1827. He then won a spot at U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1830. Poe was kicked out of West Point after a year. He was a phenomenal student, however, he handled his duties poorly. It is speculated that maybe he was seeking to be court-martialed. During this time, ties with John Allan were severed after fighting. Once Poe left the Academy, he focused solely on his writing. He lived in many places, including New York City, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Richmond. During his time in Baltimore (from 1831 until 1835), he stayed with his aunt Maria Clemm and her daughter Virginia. Poe was inspired and smitten with Virginia. The two were married in 1836, and it is unclear whether she was 13 or 14 years old at the time, however, he would have been 27. Around this time, Poe also began working for a magazine called the Southern Literary Messenger. He was a vicious critic, although he also published some of his own work. His only novel ever written, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym was included in the magazine. However, Poe's aggressive attitude, as well as his problems with alcohol, caused him to leave the magazine in 1837. He later worked for two other magazines, Burton's Gentleman's Magazine and The Broadway Journal.

Major Works: In the late 1830s, Poe published a collection of stories called Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque. It contained several of his most gruesome and mysterious works, including "The Fall of the House of Usher," "Ligeia" and "William Wilson." Poe also may have began a new form of detective fiction in 1841, when he wrote "The Murders in the Rue Morgue." Poe then went on to win a literary prize in 1843 for "The Gold Bug," a story of hunting treasure.

Poe became "a literary sensation" in 1845 when the poem "The Raven" was published. The poem is still considered a great American literary work, and one of the best of Poe's whole career. In the poem, Poe explores some of his usual themes, like death and loss. His narrator mourns over the demise of his love, Lenore, and the phrase "quoth the raven, nevermore," encompasses the mournful tone of the piece. That same year, Poe was under attack for criticizing his fellow poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Poe claimed that Longfellow, who was hugely popular, was a plagiarist, and this accusation may have been a setback for Poe.

Other notable works, in many forms, include"The Philosophy of Composition," "The Poetic Principle" and "The Rationale of Verse." He also wrote another thriller tale, "The Cask of Amontillado," and more poetry, including "Ulalume" and "The Bells."

Spotlight on The Raven (11):

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore--
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
"'Tis some visiter," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door--
Only this and nothing more."

Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December,
And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
Eagerly I wished the morrow;--vainly I had sought to borrow
From my books surcease of sorrow--sorrow for the lost Lenore--
For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore--
Nameless here for evermore.

And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain
Thrilled me--filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;
So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating
"'Tis some visiter entreating entrance at my chamber door--
Some late visiter entreating entrance at my chamber door;
This it is and nothing more."

Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,
"Sir," said I, "or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;
But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping,
And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door,
That I scarce was sure I heard you"--here I opened wide the door--

Later Life: Poe lived out a dream of his, running his own magazine, when he bought out the owners of the Broadway Journal. It only lasted for a brief while, and was considered a failure. At this time, his wife also had contracted tuberculosis, and her health was deteriorating. Poe seemed to be haunted by tuberculosis his whole life, as it also took the lives of his mother, brother, and foster mother.  Among the issues with illness in his marriage, there were also rumors spreading about Poe’s relationship with another woman, Frances Sargent, who was married. These rumors drove him out of the city in 1846. He then moved to a little cottage in the country. There, in the winter of 1847, Virginia died at twenty four years old. Poe was devastated and heartbroken, and gave up writing for months. Poe only lived another two years. He spent much of that time traveling from city to city, giving lectures and finding backers for his latest proposed magazine project to be called The Stylus. During this time, he also saw many women. Nancy Richmond, a married woman, inspired some of his greatest poetry, including “For Annie.” Since she was married, and unattainable by him, Poe attempted to marry another poet, Sarah Helen Whitman in Providence, but the engagement only lasted for a month. In Richmond, he found out that his first fiancée Elmira Royster Shelton was now a widow, so began to court her again. 

Mysterious Death: "Was Poe drunk when he was found on the street in Baltimore on October 3, 1849? Dr. J. Evans Snodgrass, the man who sent Poe to the hospital in a carriage, said in 1856 and 1867 that Poe was indeed intoxicated. Dr. John J. Moran, however, Poe’s attending physician for the final few days of his life, insisted in 1875 and 1883 that Poe had no trace of alcohol in his system and had probably been beaten by thugs. Both of these men, having endured whatever passed as medical training in those days, are equally credible witnesses. Moran has the advantage of having spent more time examining Poe, but he has partially discredited himself by leaving us at least three romanticized and somewhat contradictory accounts. Snodgrass, having left a more coherent account, has generally been accepted by biographers, but he was a radical temperance man and saw in Poe’s death a means of persuading others to abandon alcohol entirely. He may have exaggerated his claims to bolster his own moral position. (Indeed, his first article was written for the Woman’s Temperance Paper of New York City.) He may also simply have been wrong. Curiously, Snodgrass misquoted Walker’s important note describing Poe’s condition, changing “a gentleman, rather the worse for wear” first to “deep intoxication” and later to “beastly intoxication.” Whichever account you accept depends more on bias and whim than reason." (4)

Another possible cause of Poe's death is described as a "acute congestion of the brain", possibly attributed to rabies. 

After Death: Poe's literary rival Rufus Griswold wrote an obituary of Poe in an attempt of revenge for some of the offensive things Poe had said and written about him. Griswold then wrote a memoir where Poe was portrayed as a drunken, womanizing madman with no morals or friends.  Griswold wanted to public to dismiss all of Poe's life and works because of his negative image, but the biography had exactly the opposite effect. Sales of Poe’s books rose higher than they had ever been during his lifetime. Griswold’s distorted image of Poe created the Poe legend that lives to this day.

Poe and Women: Poe had a very complicated relationship with women throughout his life.  Edgar's mother and father separated when he was very young. Edgar never truly knew his mother, who had died when he was around three. He was separated, for the most part, from his sister after being placed in the Allen's home following his mother's death. He laments in letters later how he wished he could have known her. As he was taken in with the Allen's, he had anxiety concerning his adoptive mother. During this time, Poe also found motherly support in a classmates mother, Mrs. Stanard (an inspiration for "To Helen").  He saw her as the embodiment of beauty and fell in love with her. Yet, soon she died after swiftly falling ill and suffering from delusions. Mrs. Allen, too, later perished  while he was attending West Point and out of the house, leaving him with regret and sorrow.As a young man, Edgar also pursued a young woman, Sarah Royster.  The two courted for quite some time, but her father ultimately cut off their entanglement. Following his stint away at West Point and having a strained relationship with Mr. Allen, Poe went to live with his Aunt Maria and his grandmother. Though his grandmother was paralyzed and was most likely unable to interact with him, his Aunt Maria played an important role in his life (the woman behind "Eleonora"). Though she caused many troubles for him (some even say hindered his career), she helped care for him from his twenties to his forties and was one of the most supportive people in his life. During this time, he also fell in love with his cousin, Virginia, and was wed to her. However, she soon died (emphasized in "Annabel Lee") at the age of 25. Following his wife's death (which would mark the beginning of some extreme emotional turmoil for Poe), he reunited with the recently widowed Sarah Royster. He fell for her again and soon asked for her hand in marriage to which she said she was not ready. Soon, Edgar turned his attentions to Sarah Whitman. Their relationship was quick, they became engaged and soon broke it off (on Christmas no less). Following his death, she became one of his most ardent supporters. Finally, he once again tried again with Royster. They reunited, and it was likely they were planning for marriage. However just two weeks after their relationship picked back up, Poe was found dead. (12)

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Literary Influences: Critics suggest that Poe was greatly influenced by Lord Byron, John Keats, and Percy Bysshe Shelley. Poe imitates Byronian heroism in his early works, then later develops his style with influence from Keats' pictorial imagery and Shelley's ideas of hope and individualist-centered writings (3).

Movement/Style: Poe is considered one of the most influential writers during the Romantic Movement in America. His works often include unreliable narrators that suffer from a mind-altering addiction and/or abnormal psychological afflictions . Often grotesque, dark, and melancholy in nature; Poe's works often fall under the Gothic Tradition of writing (7).  

Influence/impact: Poe is very much credited for introducing American literature to the genres of fantasy, science fiction, and mystery. Poe has inspired many authors including (but not limited to): Arthur Conan Doyle (2), Ambrose Bierce (1), Charles Baudelaire, and Stephen King. 

Adaptations:

• Film: Numerous adaptations have been made for Poe's works, including in short film, animation, and feature-length films (Janisgoody). "The Fall of the House of Usher" was one of the first to be adapted into film in 1928. Later on, in 1960, the same story was adapted into a feature-length film and the director won a Golden Globe. Some of his mystery works were adapted, including "Murders in the Rue Morgue" (1932, 1986), "Mystery of Marie Roget" (1942), and "Phantom of the Rue Morgue" (1954). Other works, such as "The Pit and the Pendulum," "Masque of the Red Death," and "The Tell-Tale Heart" have multiple adaptations. The most recent adaptation is "Extraordinary Tales" released in 2013 which uses 5 of Poe's short stories. Regarding Poe himself and not just his works, some filmmakers have sought to capture the man behind the story in recent years. In 2004 accredited animator Michael Sporn began work on Poe, an animated feature about Edgar Allen Poe’s life, but it did not see completion as Sporn passed away in 2014. "Edgar Allan Poe: Buried Alive" was released in 2017 as a biographical documentary that followed the many mysteries and curiosities of Poe in his life and death. 
• Television: Allusions to Poe and his work have also been featured in various television shows such as Boy Meets World, Gilmore Girls, South Park, Spongebob, and multiple episodes of The Simpsons. In fall of 2023 Netflix released a mini-series, The Fall of the House of Usher, titled after and loosely based off one of his short stories.

Quotes:

"The death of a beautiful woman is unquestionably the most poetical topic in the world." -- Edgar Allan Poe

"The object, Truth, or the satisfaction of the intellect, and the object, Passion, or the excitement of the heart, are, although attainable, to a certain extent, in poetry, far more readily attainable in prose." -- The Philosophy of Composition

"All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream." -- A Dream Within a Dream

"I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity."- Edgar Allan Poe

"Beauty of whatever kind, in its supreme development, invariably excites the sensitive soul to tears."- Edgar Allan Poe

List of Works:

Tales

• "The Black Cat"
• "The Cask of Amontillado"
• "A Descent into the Maelström"
• "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar"
• "The Fall of the House of Usher"
• "The Gold-Bug"
• "Hop-Frog"
• "The Imp of the Perverse"
• "Ligeia"
• "The Masque of the Red Death"
• "Morella"
• "The Murders in the Rue Morgue"
• "The Oval Portrait"
• "The Pit and the Pendulum"
• "The Premature Burial"
• "The Purloined Letter"
• "The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether"
• "The Tell-Tale Heart"

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Poetry

• "Al Aaraaf"
• "Annabel Lee"
• "The Bells"
• "The City in the Sea"
• "The Conqueror Worm"
• "A Dream Within a Dream"
• "Eldorado"
• "Eulalie"
• "The Haunted Palace"
• "To Helen"
• "Lenore"
• "Tamerlane"
• "The Raven"
• "Ulalume"

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Other Works

• Politian (1835) – Poe's only play
• The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket (1838) – Poe's only complete novel
• "The Balloon-Hoax" (1844) – A journalistic hoax printed as a true story
• "The Philosophy of Composition" (1846) – Essay
• Eureka: A Prose Poem (1848) – Essay
• "The Poetic Principle" (1848) – Essay
• "The Light-House" (1849) – Poe's last incomplete work

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 Reception:

• “The forms which his lively curiosity takes are those in which a preadolescent mentality delights.”-T.S. Elliott (9). 

• “More than any romantic poet, here or in England, either of the preceding generation of Coleridge, Wordsworth, and Bryant, or of his own, he became the type … of the alienated poet, the outcast…” and “There are … poems by Poe that I believe everybody can join in admiring.”-American Poet and Critic, Allen Tate

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Further Reading

• Quinn, Arthur Hobson. Edgar Allan Poe: A Critical Biography. New York: D. Appleton-Century, 1941. 
• Punter, David. The Literature of Terror: A History of Gothic Fictions from 1765 to the Present Day. London: Longman, 1980.
• Ackroyd, Peter. Poe: A Life Cut Short. London: Chatto & Windus, 2008.

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Videos

Edgar Allan Poe- The Raven-Read by James Earl Jones 

The Tell-Tale Heart by Annette Jung 

Works Cited

2. Eckert, Mallory. “Edgar Allan Poe.” Oswego.edu. Web. 15 Oct 2015. < http://www.oswego.edu/~meckert/Poe/inspiration>

 6.  “Matthew Perales Top 10 Books Inspired By Edgar Allan Poe.” The Guardian. Fiction Top 10s, 22 may 2006. Web. 15 Oct 2015.           <http://www.theguardian.com/books/2006/may/23/top10s.poe >

7. Perkins, George., and Barbara Perkins. The American Tradition in Literature. Vol 1. Twelfth Ed. New   York, NY, 2009. Print.