Sad Life of Edgar Allen Poe in his Poetry

1897 Words4 Pages

Edgar Allan Poe “I became insane, with long intervals of sanity.” -Edgar Allan Poe (BrainyQuote)

Edgar Allan Poe has become a household name since his poetic debut “The Raven”, his most well-known poem. However, many are unaware of his haunting past and the emotional disturbances he was forced to deal with over and over throughout his life. From the death of his parents to the rejection of his adoptive father, it seemed that the aspiring Poe could never catch a break. It was Poe's dark and haunting past that influenced the tone of his works to also be very disturbing.

Edgar Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1809. He was the second child of traveling actors Elizabeth and David Poe Jr. When Poe was just a year old, his father abandoned their family and is said to have died soon after. About a year later Poe's mother Elizabeth died from Pulmonary Tuberculosis, leaving poe and his siblings orphans. Poe was separated from his siblings and taken in by a successful tobacco merchant named John Allan and his wife, giving him the name Edgar Allan Poe.

The Allan Family never formally adopted Poe. Poe had next to no interest in the Tobacco business, and often wrote poetry lines on the back of Allan's ledger sheets. By the age of 13, he had written enough poems to write a book. However, his headmaster advised him not to. Poe moved many times with his unaffectionate new “father” and family, and attended a harsh boarding school in London. The family moved back to the United States and settled in Richmond, Virginia. Young Poe met Elmira Royster and they soon became engaged. Shortly aft...

... middle of paper ...

... of hope and the saving of the main character.

Edgar Allan Poe's writing style is very dark, mysterious, and disturbing. Death appears to be a recurring theme, along with taking a visit to the afterlife. His hypnotic and haunting rhymes have become a trademark of his. He played with and mastered suspense, terror, and reviving nightmarish visions of death and tragedy. Although many of his works do not have an obvious topic and are open to interpretation, it is easy to tell that he took inspiration from all the loss and tragedy that ruled his life. For example the death of his mother, abandonment of his father, rejection from his fiance, disowning from his adoptive father, diagnosis and death of his wife, chronic drinking problems, and the constant feeling of loss are rejection were all apparent throughout his poems. Although Poe had a sad life through many loses,

More about Sad Life of Edgar Allen Poe in his Poetry

Open Document