Edgar Allan Poe

1809 - 1849

The Early Years• Parents were itinerant actors and often down on their

luck• His father deserted the family early on• His mother died when he was just three• Taken in by Frances (mother’s friend) and John Allan• They raised him lovingly, sending him to the best

schools • He was a model scholar and a popular leader among

his schoolmates

Growing Up• In his teens began exhibiting traits that eventually

made him a great writer– Reciting poetry aloud– Taking risks– Falling into daydreams and romantic pining– Distinct aversion to follow in his father’s footsteps into the

worlds of business and law• Fearing Poe was ungrateful and not serious in his

studies, John Allan cut off Poe’s tuition payments causing Poe to gamble to earn school fees

• Francis Allan died in 1829, and John Allan remarried cutting off all financial support

Becoming a Professional Writer • 21 years old, two of his volumes of poetry had been

published• Poe worked as an editor on literary magazines in

Philadelphia and New York City while also writing stories and poems

• 1845, Poe achieved much fame and recognition as he would ever achieve– “The Gold Bug” – sold 300,000 copies– “The Raven” – became an instant success

• As a literary critic, Poe unknowingly made a lifelong enemy when he gave a bad review to Rufus Wilmot Griswold

Personal Life • Always yearning for a home and family, Poe moved in

with his aunt Maria Clemm and her daughter, Virginia• Married Virginia, his cousin, in 1836• This threesome wandered city to city, always

impoverished by Poe’s tendency to run up debts• Finally settled in New York City• In 1847, Virginia died of tuberculosis

The Final Days • 1849, became engaged to childhood sweetheart,

Sarah Royster Shelton• Set out to get his aunt on September 27, Maria

Clemm, so that she could attend the wedding• No one knows what happened during that time; he was

found unconscious, rushed to a hospital, but could not be revived

• Poe died on October 7

Poe’s Reputation • His reputation as a drug addict and alcoholic was

created by Rufus Griswold because Poe had given him bad reviews early on

• Poe seldom drank because he was allergic to alcohol, probably died from diabetes or a brain tumor

• Through is work, Poe remains the inventor of the detective story, the critic who set standards for evaluating literature, the poet who captured mood through rhyme and rhythm, and the story writer who dared to delve into the deepest recesses of our dreams