The death of the famous poet, Edgar Allan Poe, may forever remain a mystery. There have been countless theories of Edgars’ death, but no one knows for sure what happened. Edgar Allan Poe was found dead on October 7th, 1849 after being found delirious and incompetent on October 3rd, a couple of days before. No sort of autopsy was done on Edgar and he was buried two days after his death. This leads to the countless number of theories about the death of Edgar Allen Poe. One of the main theories was the alcohol theory. This is the main theory that most people think about when you talk about the death of Edgar Allan Poe. . Edgar Allan Poe was a major drunk all his life and it got worse after his young wife Virginia had passed away. Another reason that Poe had always been in the bottle is that his wealthy guardian cut him off and he got stricken with poverty. It has been suggested that poor nutrition and a weakened immune system that led to other illnesses could have allowed delirium to occur with fewer and less intense episodes of drinking. It was believed that Poe could not handle his alcohol and was often drunk after one glass of wine. Although the theory of Edgar Allan Poe being a drunk is the most popular …show more content…
This was one of the first theories that came about in 1867. There was a man by the name of Ruffian who had beaten a woman a few years before. According to the account, Poe had met with some of his friends. His friends pressured him to go out drinking with them knowing he couldn’t handle his alcohol. After a single glass of wine, Poe had become extremely drunk and delirious. After he had gotten drunk, Poe left without his friends to walk the streets. While drunk, it was reported that Poe had been beaten by Ruffian and left unconscious in the streets all night. Although this theory also doesn’t explain why he disappeared for five days and was in ill-fitting clothes that weren’t his, it was one that was considered a
Edgar Allan Poe was setting out for Baltimore. On October third a man named Joseph Walker had found Poe lying outside by Gunners hall, not normally dressed and unconscious. Poe was unaware of surroundings and was fatigue. Joseph had made contact with a doctor and had sent Poe to the hospital. Four days later Poe had died in the hospital. No scientist had figured out the true reason why Poe died, and we will never actually know because no one had an autopsy for Poe after his death. Many people believed he died of alcoholism, rabies, brain tumor, and the flu, but all of these add up to meningitis and encephalitis.
Edgar Allen Poe, a mysterious man, died in a mysterious way. He could have been murdered. He could have died from a some type of disease. He was found dead outside of a public house laying on the ground in an alleyway. This essay will explain the ways that Edgar Allen poe could have died. I believe he was murdered. More people believe that he was killed by disease.
This last theory is based on the fact that on November 5, 1848, he tried his hand in committing suicide with an overdose of Laudanum; an opium substitute. Poe is not a stranger to substance abuse and is more often found in gambling debts. He was an introverted character that seemed to have close to a few friends. This explains why only seven people were at his
Poe could have died of alcohol poisoning, but doesn't explain his five-day disappearance and his change of clothing. Since alcohol has been a big problem in his life, Edgar could have just been tempted to drink after not having it for a while and just got out of hand. The alcohol theory was propagated by Snodgrass after Poe's death. Snodgrass was a member of the temperance movement and gave lectures across the country. Snodgrass said binge drinking caused the death of Edgar Allan Poe.
More evidence that points to Poe dying of rabies is his behavior at the tavern and the hospital. Dr. Benitez explains that Poe was only semi-conscious at the tavern and was reported to have been wearing another person’s clothes. At the hospital, Poe was also reported to be exhibiting hydrophobia. Rabies victims commonly exhibit hydrophobia, since water becomes painfully hard to swallow. Poe also refused alcohol once brought to him at the hospital.
...of evidence points to the fact that he began to drink and fell into the hands of a gang of repeaters who probably gave him drugged liquor and voted him. On October third he was found by Dr. James E. Snodgrass, an old friend, in a, horrible condition at a low tavern in Lombard Street. Summoning a relative of Poe, Dr. Snodgrass had the now unconscious and dying poet taken in a carriage to the Washington Hospital and put into the care of Dr. J. J. Moran, the resident physician. Several days of delirium ensued with only a few intervals of partial consciousness. He called repeatedly for one "Reynolds," and gave vent to every indication of utter despair. Finally on Sunday morning, October 7, 1849, "He became quiet and seemed to rest for a short time. Then, gently, moving his head, he said, 'Lord help my poor soul.'" As he had lived so he died—in great misery and tragedy.
Substance abuse plays a role in more than one of Poe's works. In the black cat alcohol drives the narrator to rip out his cats eye with with a pen and then hang the cat in guilt of what he had done. The narrator was a kind hearted man who loved animals and would do nothing to hurt them until he started to drink. He became an angrier person, always getting enraged with the people and creatures around him and his personality changed for the worse. Substance abuse changed him and drove him to be a different person than he really was. After killing the cat he felt little to no remorse for the deed he had committed and went back to his drinking and partying.Eventually his drinking led him to kill his wife, substance abuse changed him into a cold hearted man who could rationalize killing his wife and getting away with it.
On October 3, 1849, Edgar Allan Poe was found dead lying by a gutter. On September 27 just a week earlier. Poe left Richmond, Virginia for Philadelphia to edit a collection of poems for minor figure in American poetry at the time. Poe's death was a mystery just like one of his own works. Some say he may have died from beating, alcohol abuse, carbon monoxide poisoning, heavy metal poisoning, and rabies, flu or brain tumor. It will always remain a mystery. Poe’s life was uncertain but his writing was very structured and his writing have been a huge contribution to
The life of Edgar Allan Poe, was stuffed with tragedies that all affected his art. From the very start of his writing career, he adored writing poems for the ladies in his life. When he reached adulthood and came to the realization of how harsh life could be, his writing grew to be darker and more disturbing, possibly as a result of his intense experimenting with opium and alcohol. His stories continue to be some of the most frightening stories ever composed, because of this, some have considered this to be the reason behind these themes. Many historians and literature enthusiasts have presumed his volatile love life as the source while others have credited it to his substance abuse. The influence of his one-of-a-kind writing is more than likely a combination of both theories; but the main factor is the death of many of his loved ones and the abuse which he endured. This, not surprisingly, darkened his perspective considerably.
Alcoholism is the addiction to the intake of alcoholic liquor or the psychological illness and neurotic behavior resulting from alcohol dependency. There is a time and place for alcohol consumption in every culture. It’s a growing problem in America’s society and culture today. Revenge and trust are an issue in this short story. In Edgar Allan Poe’s The Cask of Amontillado, Montresor symbolizes Poe’s alcoholism, whereas Fortunato represents himself, the man who is trying to reach satisfaction and eventually gets imprisoned by his minute habit. He is attempting to get revenge on someone else because of the insults he had been given. Revenge, trust, and alcohol are all apparent in today’s society, even though this was over 150 years ago, America’s population can still relate to it.
On September 28, 1849, Edgar Allan Poe arrived in Baltimore, Maryland to take a train to Philadelphia. What was supposed to be a brief stop over turned into an eternity. What caused the death of "the father of the detective story"? The possible scenarios surrounding the events that lead up to his death are the cause of many magazine articles, books, and even recent medical studies. Although no one really knows what happened to Edgar Alan Poe, there are over twenty different theories about what might have happened to him. I will discuss the four major theories of what Edgar Allan Poe's cause of death was.
Although there are several theories as to how Edgar Allan Poe died, I think he died from a practice called cooping which involved excessive alcohol ingestion as well. Cooping was a form of electoral fraud where victims are forced to wear disguises, do drugs and drink alcohol and then vote numerous times. Most of the theories involving Poe’s death have been discredited. The cooping theory is one of the most likely ones to have happened. In comparison to other theories, this one is considered likely to be true. There are just too many discrepancies in the other theories to be identified as true.
Edgar Allan Poe had a devastating childhood and a dark life as an adult. He was born January 19,1809, under the name of Edgar Poe. His father soon abandoned Poe and his fate is unknown. When Poe was two years old his mother died. John Allan who was part of the Ellis and Allan Tobacco Merchants then adopted him. Poe attended many schools because he could never manage to stay in one school very long. In 1826, he went to the University of Virginia for not even one year and was kicked out because he never paid his gambling debts. Poe started living a dark life after he was kicked out because he had to live on the streets. He married his 13-year-old cousin Virginia Clemm in 1836. He was happy until 1847 when Virginia Clemm died. He was so unhappy that a year later he attempted suicide. The circumstances of Poe’s death remain a mystery. But after a visit to Norfolk and Richmond for lectures, he was found in Baltimore in a pitiable condition and taken unconscious to a hospital where he died on Sunday, October 7, 1849. He was buried in the yard of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Baltimore, Maryland.
In the article “The Murder of Edgar Allan Poe”by Douglas MacGowan, it stated that the cooping gang would compel people to drink whiskey. Also sometimes the whiskey was mixed with other drugs .According to this evidence it shows that he could’ve been drunk from all the alcohol that the gang gave him.In addition it tells us that he may have been on other drugs that he wasn’t supposed to compel . Also in the article “Poe's Death Is Rewritten as Case of Rabies”by Dr.Bentiz, it says that Poe refused alcohol and could only drink water. It also says that Poe wasn’t drunk but, a glass of wine would make him violent. This evidence shows us that he doesn't like alcohol but, sulfur dioxide is in wine and that is a toxic gas. So it would make him act a lot diffrent then he should be acting like. Another article “Poe’s Final Days by K.Silverman” talked about how on October 4 he was unconscious and his face was pale. When Poe was drunk he was abusive and very ungrateful. In fact, Dr.Snodgrass also attributed his death to a lethal amount of alcohol. According to this evidence it shows that the ingredients of wine could possibly make him violent. It also shows us that wine is not good for your body and you shouldn’t drink it. It also could’ve been rabies since he had a cat he could’ve died from
There are many times where the narrator describes his actions towards his loved ones while under the influence of alcohol. Since the narrator is trying to draw the attention to his consumption of alcohol, he tries to make sure that his actions trace back to it. In the short story, the narrator says "But my disease grew upon me -- for what disease is like Alcohol !..."(Poe 23) which shows his addiction for alcohol becoming stronger. The narrator's madness seems to be heightened by the alcohol. He begins to chan...