Biography of Edgar Allen Poe

Edgar Allen Poe is an influential force in the literary world. Poe is known for his horrific, depressing and dark writing style commonly seen in the way he presents his work. Many of Poe’s poems harbor unlikely plot twists and are mysterious, depressing and often based around human psychology. Readers often question Poe’s sanity and question the meaning of his intricate and complex poems. In order to understand Poe’s mindset and the reason behind why he presented and wrote his poetry in such a specific fashion, one must understand Poe himself, his lifestyle and what motivated his dark writing. Poe’s writing presents readers with an array of situations requiring careful analyzation of the writing in order to uncover some of the common themes in which Poe writes about which is death, love, and (how the) human mind works under pressure.

Edgar Allan Poe was a descendant of versatile people. “Edgar Poe’s ancestors were agriculturalists and artisans on one side, actors on the other side; and the paternal branch of the family had some claim to military distinction (Meyers, 1).” Poe’s father and mother were both successfully people until Edgar’s father began to face criticism and favoritism in which then he left his family. “David Poe made his last stage appearance in October 1809; by July 1811—when Edgar was two and a half years old—he had deserted his wife and children and vanished forever….David, after many mediocre performances and harsh reviews, was discouraged, frustrated and professionally jealous (Meyers 5.)” Shortly after his father had left the family, his mother became sick and died. “The desertion of her husband, the arduous demands of her profession... the sole responsibility for her young children, her life of hardship and p...

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...ired his poems and made him a great poet.

Works Cited

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Meyers, Jeffrey. Edgar Allan Poe: His Life and Legacy. New York: Cooper Square, 2000. Print.

Poe, Edgar Allan. "Annabel Lee." Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation, n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2014.