One of My Favorite Writers Edgar Allan Poe
Posted: Saturday, September 12, 2009
by Brant Reed
Like a lot of kids, one of my first, favorite writers was Edgar Allan Poe. His gothic short stories and poems about death were perfectly suited for my middle school literary tastes. The circumstances surrounding his death only add to the drama of an eventful life lived two hundred years ago.
Born Edgar Poe in Boston, Massachusetts in January of 1809, his father and mother were both performers. He was the middle child in a family of three kids. Poe only spent a short amount of time with his biological parents. At a young age, his father left the family, and his mother died of tuberculosis.
At the age of seventeen, Poe enrolled at the newly established University of Virginia to study languages. Poe had issues with gambling, and this caused problems between himself and his step-father John Allan; because of his gambling debts, he soon found himself ostracized from his foster family. He only lasted a year at the University of Virginia before dropping out and moving to Massachusetts. At this point, he tried, unsuccessfully, to make a living as a writer.
His poor financial situation forced him to join the U.S. Army in 1827. He enlisted using a different last name, and he claimed to be four years older than his actual age of eighteen. He was stationed at Boston Harbor for a short period of time before his regiment was transferred to Charleston, South Carolina . After serving two years, he decided to end his five year military commitment early; however, without support from his step father, his commanding officer wouldn't grant Poe's request for a discharge. Eventually, he reconciled with John Allan, and got his step father's support to leave the Army. Allan would only support Poe's discharge request if he accepted appointment to the United States Military Academy . Poe was discharged from the Army in 1829, and he entered West Point in 1830. Once again Poe wasn't happy with the military lifestyle, and he intentionally got court-martialed and was discharged from West Point in 1831. After the academy, he moved to New York, for a short period of time, before reuniting with family in Baltimore .
At this point, Poe concentrated on supporting himself with his poetry and writing. In 1833, he received an award for his short story MS. Found in a Bottle . With success also came failure as Poe struggled to keep jobs because of his drinking. In 1835 Poe married his thirteen year old cousin Virginia Clemm. He continued doing editorial work and published more poems and short stories. In 1839 he got an assistant editor position at Burton's Gentleman's Magazine and published Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque . In addition to other works, this two volume collection contained Poe classic short stories Morella and The Fall of the House of Usher .
He returned to New York and became editor, and eventually owner, of the Broadway Journal. His poem The Raven appeared in the Evening Mirror in 1845, and Edgar Allan Poe became a well known writer. Again, with success came failure as Poe was paid less than ten dollars for this classic poem, and in 1846 his Broadway Journal failed.
Like Poe's birth mother, his wife Virginia also became ill with tuberculosis, and she eventually died in 1847. Many people suggest Poe's themes of death, in his writing, came from the repeated loss of important women in his life. Once again unfortunate circumstances gave Poe more reason to continue abusing alcohol.
In 1849 Poe was found in a hallucinated state, wearing someone else's clothes, in Baltimore , Maryland . He obviously needed medical attention and was taken to Washington College Hospital where he later died. Poe was never able to explain to doctors what caused his medical condition. Although his death certificate has been lost, there is speculation he died from numerous causes ranging from alcoholism and rabies to cooping.
In the forty years Edgar Allan Poe lived, he suffered tremendous loss and heartache, but he also enjoyed many privileges and opportunities. Regardless of how he chose to live his life and use his talent, he will always be remembered, discussed and respected as a great American writer. From the loss of his biological parents, to the trials and tribulations of college and military life, to the constant struggle with finances and employment and finally the death of his young wife, Poe's life experiences forged some of America's greatest literary treasures. In my opinion, all of the triumph and tragedy in Poe's life is best described in his own words, " all that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream ".
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