Edgar Allan Poe's Life and "The Raven"

Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 19, 1809, in Boston, Massachusetts. His parents David and Elizabeth Poe were professional actors. They had three children: Henry, Edgar, and Rosalie. When in 1817, Mrs. Poe died, Henry was taken to be raised with his grandmother, Edgar was adopted by the wealthy couple, Frances and John Allan, and Rosalie was taken by another couple. The luckiest one became Edgar because his new parents were very wealthy people, so he was able to go to different schools. When he was seventeen, he entered the University of Virginia, but because of his gambling and drinking problems he was dismissed from there.

Even though he had drinking problems, he joined the U.S. army and became a sergeant-major. Later, he entered the West Pont and became a cadet, but because of John Allen didn’t send him money he had to break some rules and ignore the duties, so he got dismissed. He lived in New York, where he tried to find a good job that would fit him; unfortunately, he never was able to find one. In 1845, Poe became an editor of The Broadway Journal, but a year later the ...