Edgar Allan Poe

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Edgar Allan Poe

• 1809-1849

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His Family and Tragic Life

• Born in Boston
• The son of traveling actors
• Tragic and unhappy life

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Tragic and Unhappy Life

• Mother died of tuberculosis and his father
  deserted him at the age of two
• Fostered by a wealthy merchants, Mr. and Mrs.
  John Allan
• Constant disagreements with his step-father
  developed in his teenage years

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. . .continued

• Studied briefly at the University of Virginia
• Drinking and gambling problems kept him from
  continuing at UVA
• Moved back to Baltimore to stay with his widowed
  Aunt Maria Clemm, her daughter, Virginia, his
  brother Henry, and his invalid grandmother
• Poes brother dies of tuberculosis

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. . .continued

• Received an appointment to West Point, but he
  provoked his own dismissal
• Caused a final separation between Poe and his
  step-father

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. . .continued

• In 1836 married his 14 year old cousin, Virginia
• In 1845, The Raven was published and was
  enormously popular
• In 1846 wife died of tuberculosis after a long
  illness

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. . . continued

• Lived in poverty stricken conditions
• Last 12 years of life worked as a journalist,
  editor, and creative writer

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Addiction???

• Sometimes strange special effects have been
  linked addiction to opium
• Addiction was not uncommon in the 1800s, because
  of frequent use of laudanum, an opium based
  medicine, to treat headaches and stomach pains

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Addiction???

• Died in Baltimore of unknown causes
• Much of what we know today about Poe death
  came from a biography published shortly after his
  death by another writer who hated Poe

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Addiction???
Every January 19, Poes birthday, in the early
hours of the morning, the man makes a toast of
cognac to Poe's original grave marker and leaves
three roses

• Adding mystery surrounding Poe's death, an
  unknown visitor referred to as the "Poe Toaster"
  has paid homage to Poe's grave every year since
  1949

Likely that the "Poe Toaster" is actually several
individuals
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Poes Legacy

• Known for
• Tales of mystery/suspense and terror stories
• Introducing the modern detective story

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Just a Few Titles

• Poems
• The Raven
• Annabel Lee
• To Helen
• The Bells

• Short Stories
• The Tell-Tale Heart
• The Cask of Amontillado
• The Fall of the House of Usher

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Gothic Elements

• Supernatural horrors and an atmosphere of unknown
  terror pervades the action
• High emotion, sentimentalism, but also pronounced
  anger, surprise, and especially terror
• Use of words indicating fear, mystery, etc.
  apparition, devil, ghost, haunted, terror,
  fright, fainting

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