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The life of Edgar Allan Poe
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Poe's birth
Without Poe's birth, American literature would not be the same. "His stories mark him as one of the originators of both horror and detective fiction. Many anthologies credit him as the "architect" of the modern short story" (Poets.org). Without Poe, we might not have detective fiction like Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys, horror stories like The House of the Seven Gables, or the millions of short stories in the world today! -
First Poem
"Last night, with many cares & toils oppres'd,/ Weary, I laid me on a couch to rest" was Poe's first poem of many poems to come. "Poetry is the rhythmical creation of beauty in words" (Poe). -
Poe Joins the Army (and other events that happened at around the same time)
Poe joined the U.S. army under the name Edgar A. Perry after splitting with the Allans. He and his foster father, John Allan, got into an argument when John Allan refused to give him money to settle a gambling debt. Poe reacted by ditching college and the Allans. He moved to Baltimore to join relatives there, where he enlisted in the Army. Also around this time his first book, a collection of poems called "Tamerlane and Other Poems" was published. -
Poe's Foster Mother Dies
Poe's foster mother, Frances Allan, who he was still close to, dies.
Poe quotes, "The death of a beautiful woman, is unquestionably the most poetical topic in the world" (Poe). He certainly does write about women dying quite a bit, and women die in his life alot too. -
Poe gets hitched to Virginia Clemm
Poe married his 13-year-old-cousen, Virginia Clemm, when he was 27. Having a personal experience with romance probably led Poe to write more about romance in his works. -
First Novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym
This is the beginning of Poe's first novel: "My name is Arthur Gordon Pym. My father was a respectable trader in sea-stores at Nantucket, where I was born. My maternal grandfather was an attorney in good practice. He was fortunate in every thing, and had speculated very successfully in stocks of the Edgarton New Bank, as it was formerly called. By these and other means he had managed to lay by a tolerable sum of money. He was more attached to myself, I believe, than..." (Poe) -
Poe is Hired as a Magazine Editor
Poe is hired as an editor at Burton's Gentleman's Magazine, a job he holds until June 1840. Over this time I'm sure he improved his writing skills alot, reading other authors' work every day. This was probably one the the events in his life that led to him becoming a great author. "The nose of a mob is its imagination," he once wrote. "By this, at any time, it can be quietly led" (Shmoop). This is probably one of the reasons he was hired, he could really create a good story. -
His wife, Virginia, gets sick.
Here is a short story about Virginia's illness. One day Virginia is playing the piano and singing when she starts bleeding from the mouth, a symptom of untreated tuberculosis. Her illness grows progressively worse, to Poe's dismay. During this wife's sickness, Poe is still writing. I can see why Poe writes about depressing stuff, his whole life is depressing. -
The Raven is published
In 1845 Poe wrote and published "The Raven", which could possibaly be the most well-known poem of Poe's. "It is wildly successful, bringing the writer the fame and fortune that have long eluded him" (Edgar Allan Poe Timeline,
How It All Went Down). That has alot to do with him becoming the famous author that he turned out to be. -
Virginia dies
Just one depressing event in Poe's depressing life, Virginia dies of tuberculosis. Poe had been so low in spirits during the final months of her illness that friends thought he was going insane. The loss of his wife sent Poe into a downward spiral of alcoholism. "When his wife died Mr. Poe took it might hard. She was buried up in the old Dutch cemetery but they afterward moved her to Baltimore...He used to cry over her grave every day and kept it green with flowers." (Mrs. Rebecca Cromwell). -
Poe's death.
Poe died at the age of forty after being found drunk in a gutter. Poetic death, for a poetic guy, huh? His last words reportedly were "Lord, help my poor soul" (Shmoop). Poe took literature to a whole new level, and made an impact on America that will last forever. America still loves a good suspense story. According to Stephen King, an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction, he and his colleagues are all "the children of Poe." Thanks, Poe.
