Edgar Allan Poes Famous Life And Works

Edgar Allan Poes famous life and works has somehow eluded me all these years. I was very aware of him, of course. I was shocked however, when I sat down and really explored the man's life. I was saddened with what I found out! Poe is truly the American author that Americans can claim for their own. In researching his life, by all accounts, he was as poor as can be, in spite of all the excellent written works he produced. Tragedy? Poe endured tragic deaths of the young women he loved amidst the destitute financial condition he was in during his forty some years of life (1809-1849). I've heard that the toll of life can bend, shape, and refine a person, particularly if a person goes through hard times. So I can say that probably we can owe the excellent poems, detective, and horror stories that E.A.Poe wrote to the very conditions of his tragic life.

Poe	E.A. Poe	Edgar Allan Poe

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Edgar Allan Poes famous mother Elizabeth, (who was an actress in the Eastern United States) died of consumption in Richmond, Virginia, December 1811. A beautiful woman, and talented, her death was just one of many black marks in the life of young Edgar. The Allan’s, John and Frances, friends of Elizabeth, took Edgar in after his mother's death. John was a merchant who was doing well, but he and Edgar butted heads throughout the years and by all accounts never got along. Possibly the man didn't show affection for Edgar like his wife Frances did. Perhaps he was a jackass. The Allan’s sent Edgar to all the best schools, however. Even so, Edgar Allan Poe did say once to the effect that John Allan was never sober. It was good, though that Poe was received by the Allan’s, for who knows what his fate would've been?

John Allan	Frances Allan

In 1826, Edgar enrolled at the University Of Virginia, then in its second year. Edgar was serious on being a writer. which was balked at by the traditionalist students of that day; it just wasn't real work. At that time, John Allan cut off the funds that Edgar was receiving for his schooling. Apparently Edgar had enough money to get into school, but Allan provided nothing for him to live on while he was there! After a year of University and debt, John Allan cut him loose to be on his own. What did Allan see? We don't know. Perhaps Edgar was ungrateful, or apathetic. All we can understand is that the two did not get along.

Poe left and joined the US Army as "Private Perry", doing away with the Poe name, maybe to elude gambling debts. He continued with his writings. Those must've been exciting and vibrant times to be alive! He excelled in the Army and eventually got accepted at West Point as an officer cadet. His foster mother, Frances, died during this time and Poe couldn't tolerate his whoring around foster father, John Allan. In February 1831, Poe was dismissed from West Point (Poe created the circumstances) in part because Allan left him hanging once again financially. Meanwhile, Edgar Allan Poes famous poems were being published at that time! He never quit writing, for that was his gift.

Most Well Known Works:

Edgar Allan Poes Famous The Masque of the Red Death
The Cask of Amontillado
The Black Cat
Edgar Allan Poes Famous The Tell-Tale Heart
The Premature Burial
The Raven
The Pit and the Pendulum
The Murders in the Rue Morgue
Edgar Allan Poes Famous The Fall of the House of Usher

He sought out some of his relatives. He found Maria Clemm, in Baltimore; his Aunt from his father's side. She had a young daughter named Virginia, whom Poe eventually came to love and marry. She was his cousin, but that wasn't uncommon during those days to be involved with relation. Here, Poe kept on writing and won some awards for his poems! The he landed a job at The Messenger in Richmond, where he had moved, and he eventually got fired for being drunk. It should be explained here that Poe had problems with alcohol. The are theories that he had some kind of condition that when he took a small drink, it was elevated because of that condition. He worked on short stories in the meantime, in which he was a master at.

He and Virginia move to Philadelphia. She and Edgar did well there, entertaining people while Poe kept writing. During this period Virginia developed consumption and Poe went off the deep end, drinking and despairing. His mother-in-law, of all people, got him a job in New York at the New York Mirror. Edgar Allan Poes famous poem, The Raven which was written there, was printed by the Mirror. He became a success; not financially, but popular.

Edgar Allan Poe's Famous Poem

One Poe's most famous poems, The Raven (January 1845), is now symbolized by this astonishing

Raven pendant of blackened pewter which would look lovely with that walking cane/black cape combination!

Virginia died (January 30, 1847) at the house in Fordham, where Poe, out of work from the Mirror's bankruptcy, agonized in grief. He wrote still. In 1849, fleeing to Richmond and then Baltimore, he was found in the street, wearing clothing to small for him, drunk, and ill. He died two days later. His death is still a mystery, after all these years and filled with speculation.

Edgar A. Poe	Edgar Allan Poe

The Mysterious Death Of Edgar Allan Poe: What Do You Think?

Feel free to comment on E.A. Poe's death; what caused it, etc. Have some feelings or thoughts about his extensive work? Talk about it here!

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Comments On Poe's Untimely Death Or Works

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Comments On Poe... 
I think E.A.Poe died because he drank to much.
He was beaten up that election night he died and
that did not make his condition better.
To bad as he ...

How Poe Died 
I think that Edgar Allan Poe died because he drank too much. Since he drank a lot, he must have gotten sick and his immune system could not handle the ...

The Tell-Tale Heart  Not rated yet
It was really good and suspensful.

I have read almost all of his books, but not just yet.


Tell him he did a good job, lol!

Insanity  Not rated yet
I think that he died because he drove himself insane.*Note from the Webmaster, Trex: Ryan, would you like to elaborate on that statement a little? It is ...

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