EdgarAllanPoe



• **Personal Life** [|Edgar Allan Poe] was born in Boston January 19, 1809. His mother was an actress. His mother later died on December 8, 1811. After her death, Poe was placed in the care of John Allan. Poe grew up and in England and Richmond. Later he applied to the University of Virginia in February of 1826 and got in. While at the university, Poe joined the Jefferson Literary Society. Poe went on to make a good grades, but soon fell in debt because John Allan wouldn't give him the money that was needed for college. Allan wouldn't allow him return to the university. Poe then moved to Boston where he wrote a small book of poetry. While in Boston, Poe joined the army May 26, 1827. May 1829, Poe wrote another poetry book. Meanwhile, Poe and John Allan got in a fight and Allan refused to send money. Poe then got himself dismissed from the army March 1831. Poe started a 3rd poetry book. In 1838, he later went to Philadelphia and he lived there for 6 years. Looking at his personal life going downhill, Poe decided to take a career as a writer. The year of 1845, Poe was married to his 13-year-old 1st cousin, Virginia Clemms. The marriage brought his great joy and happiness to his life considering his career and other personal aspects of his life were not going good. Virginia later got tuberculosis and died on January 30, 1847. This caused Poe extreme pain and grief. He never got the happiness in his life again. On October 3, 1849, at 45 years old, Poe showed in Baltimore in drunken and in a pitiful state of being. He later died on October 7, 1849. His last words were "Lord, help my poor soul."

• **Professional Life** In [|1845], Poe's "The Raven" was published a became a huge success. Poe later wrote "The Tell-Tale Heart," "The Cask of Amontillado," "The Masque of the Red Death"; all of which were huge successes. "He wrote tons of articles on cryptography later wrote "The Gold Bug." While Poe's career as a terrific writer was going great, his personal life was falling deeper into saddness and embrassment. Poe's decline as a writer soon came about. Part of the reason being that Poe was having to compete with other popular writers. The main reason for this decline was that he had developed a drinking problem which caused him to fall away somewhat in his writings and making enemies with other fellow writers. This caused him to be looked down upon in the literary community of that time. He never seemed to have enough money to support himself and his young wife.

• **Major works** [|The Tell-Tale Heart]

[|The Raven] - His first big poem. It instantly won fame.

[|The Pit and the Pendulum]

[|The Cask of Amontillado]

[|Annabel Lee]

[|The Fall of the House of Usher]

• **Awards won** Awards that Poe wrote are unknown; however, "The Raven" was [|published] in the "The Evening Mirror", a New York newspaper. Critics saw his poem as a work of true genius, giving Poe a great reputation as a fantastic writer.

• **Period and/or Style** Poe was a gothic writer. He tended to sway his writing in the direction of death, pain, suffering, and spookiness. Edgar Allan Poe also broke all the rules and guidelines of poetry. In that period, people were used to reading poetry about happiness and great things, but Edgar Allan Poe stepped out of that mold of writing and wrote about things that weren't so nice to hear about.

• **Favorite Themes** Poe's favorite theme was [|death]. In all his poems and stories, death and pain is always mentioned somewhere in it.