We’re going to take a deep dive into the enigmatic world of one of America’s most influential and unique writers, Edgar Allan Poe. He was a not just a writer but also a poet, author, a critic and a wonderful editor. Get ready to be enthralled by the life of the only man who knew how to break down his tales and macabre into short stories. Read the biography of the king of Romanticism and Gothic fiction.
Edgar Allan Poe’s Early Life and Education
Edgar Allan Poe was born on the 19th of January 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America to traveling actor parents. Became an orphan at the age of 3 and was taken in by the wealthy Allan family in Richmond, Virginia. This became the beginning of Poe’s struggles as against what many believe that growing up in a life of privilege would set a kid up for an easy life.
His life was from a troubled childhood to a military struggle as he had a rocky relationship with his foster father that led him to briefly join the Army in 1827 under an alias. After a stint at West Point, Poe decided that embracing his true calling as a writer and poet was more his style.
Edgar Poe received some early education in England, he attended a grammar school for a short period in Irvine, Ayrshire, Scotland before the family relocated to London, where he studied at a boarding school in Chelsea until summer 1817.
Upon returning to Richmond, Virginia in 1820, Poe later served as a lieutenant in the Richmond youth honor guard in 1824 when the city celebrated the visit of the Marquis de Lafayette.
In February 1826, at age 17, Poe enrolled at the University of Virginia to study ancient and modern languages. However, he struggled with gambling debts and lack of financial support from his foster father John Allan. Poe was forced to withdraw from the university after just one year.
Despite his truncated formal education, Poe was an autodidact who became well-versed in multiple languages and subjects through prolific reading and self-study. His formative educational experiences in childhood laid the foundations for his remarkable literary accomplishments later in life.
Edgar Allan Poe’s Personal Life
Edgar Allan Poe was married to Virginia Eliza Clemm Poe who was born in 1836 and pass on in 1847. Eliza Clemm Poe died from tuberculosis. He was influenced by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Charles Dickens, Thomas De Quincey and E.T.A Hoffman.
The Start of a Literary Legend
With the publication of his first poetry collection “Tamerlane and Other Poems” in 1827, Poe launched what would become a prolific but turbulent career. He jumped from one literary journal to the next, making his mark as a trailblazing literary critic while continuing to craft his own haunting works. Some of his collections that where printed with his permission while he was alive are listed below:
- The Raven and Other Poems – 1845
- Tales – 1845
- The Prose Romances of Edgar A. Poe – 1843
- Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque – 1839
- Poems – 1831
- Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane and Minor Poems – 1829
- Tamerlane and Others Poems – 1827
Pioneering Genres and Bending Minds
What made Poe’s writing so captivating? For starters, he practically invented entire genres like detective fiction with stories like “The Murders in the Rue Morgue.” His Gothic horror tales like “The Fall of the House of Usher” haunted readers, and poems like “The Raven” achieved instant fame for their dark, lyrical genius.
But Edgar Allan Poe didn’t just give us the creeps – he blew our minds with pioneering works like “Eureka: A Prose Poem,” filled with groundbreaking cosmological theories that foreshadowed the Big Bang and black holes. His brilliant cryptography tricks displayed in stories like “The Gold-Bug” make it clear he was one smart cookie.
Master of the Macabre and So Much More
While his life was plagued by poverty, depression, and a penchant for the bottle, Poe’s literary talents shone through in every supernatural tale, satirical sketch, and eerie poem he penned. Think of him as the original emo goth kid, if those emo goth kids wrote brain-bending, genre-defining works of art.
Whether he was exploring themes of death and reanimation, critiquing the “frog-pondian” transcendentalists, or laying the foundations for science fiction, Poe proved himself a literary force to be reckoned with.
You can get to see Edgar Allan Poe’s poetries, tales, essays and plays by reading the complete Edgar Allan Poe’s biography.
Death: The Mysterious End and Enduring Legacy
Poe died on 7th October 1849 with his cause of death and circumstances leading to his death at the age of 40 remaining mysterious. Found delirious on the streets of Baltimore in 1849, Was it alcohol, disease, a cooping conspiracy?? We’ll probably never know for sure.
So many persons have been asking How did Edgar Allan Poe’s life end? but this question remain unanswered though diseases have been proposed as been the possible cause of his death. These diseases include epilepsy, diabetes, tuberculosis and heart disease.
What we do know is that Edgar Allan Poe’s dark genius left an indelible mark on literature and popular culture around the world. From influencing literary legends like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to having his works endlessly adapted and referenced in film, TV, music and more, his legacy as a master storyteller seems to only grow stronger with time.
Preserving Edgar Allan Poe for the Ages
Speaking of his enduring legacy, literature fans have ensured that Edgar Allan Poe’s former homes and key sites are preserved as museums and historical landmarks. You can visit places like the Edgar Allan Poe Cottage in the Bronx, his house in Baltimore, and even his birth site (sort of) in Boston.
The eccentric tradition of the “Poe Toaster,” who paid an annual tribute at Poe’s grave for decades, added an extra dash of mysterious flair. And let’s not forget the prestigious Edgar Awards for mystery writers – proof of Poe’s lasting impact on the genres he helped shape.
So Why Does Poe Still Captivate Us?
I think what draws us to Poe’s works, even today, is his ability to tap into the darker corners of the human psyche in a way that’s perversely enthralling. He understood humanity’s morbid fascination with the macabre, our fears of premature burial and the supernatural. Yet he also celebrated beauty, passion, and the eternal struggle of the artistic soul.
In a way, Edgar Allan Poe was the original tortured artist we can’t get enough of. He lived hard, fought personal demons, and poured all his brilliance and tumult into poetry and prose that still haunts our imaginations nearly two centuries later.
Connect with the Master of the Macabre
So there you have it, an inside look at the one and only E.A.P. – the original goth genius of American literature. Whether you’re a diehard fan or new to his weird and wonderful world, I highly recommend diving deeper into his life’s works. Brands.
And hey, if you ever find yourself strolling through Baltimore, maybe stop by the burial site and leave a rose and a nice Amontillado for the master of the macabre himself. Just don’t go too deep into those underground vaults…you never know what you might awaken!
Let me know your thoughts on Edgar Allan Poe in the comments. Any particular tales or poems that keep you up at night? I’d love to hear your take on literature’s most delightfully dark mind.