Throughout history, there have been genius minds that have changed our lives, whether we know it or not. These masterminds, such as Isaac Newton, Leonardo Da Vinci, and Albert Einstein, have all contributed to society with their vast knowledge on different subjects. Some genius minds are not recognized for their effect on society until well after their lives have ended. One of the individuals in particular goes by the name of Edgar Allan Poe. Most people when asked what they know of the man conjure up images of horror and darkness that they have learned to associate with the man. Many thought of him as a tortured alcoholic and drug addict, but so much more is to be said of the man who single handedly created so much literary success, though he did not reap many benefits from it. He was ahead of his time with his inspiring looks into the human experience, delving into the world of dreams and the mind's eye and opening up a whole new world for readers. He was a literary genius, but that genius was a blessing and a curse. From his tortured life of loss through his constant failures, it has been said that he lived a mysterious life that led to an even more mysterious death. The story of Edgar Allan Poe can be
considered by some as a tragedy, but the man was a intellect whose work has lingered on for over a century after his death.
On January 19th, Edgar Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts to David and Elizabeth Poe, both of whom were actors. His father left the family in 1810 when Edgar was only one year
old. His mother died on December 8th, 1811 from tuberculosis, also known as consumption, surrounded by her children. He had very little memory of her, but the effects of her death stayed with him for many years to come. Poe was...
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...ly have a happy ending, but it is also perfectly acceptable to look into the darker side of the world. It is sometimes in those scary sides of the world where we become aware of the good that is still out there. He delved into the pain of the human experience and it can be said that by doing so showed the beauty in it. Without pain and suffering people could not see the beauty of life and
everything it has to offer. He was an exceptional writer that will be remembered for years and decades to come.
Works Cited
Silverman, Kenneth. Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 1991. Print.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_allan_poe
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Raven
Meyers, Jeffrey. Edgar Allan Poe: His Life and Legacy. New York: Cooper Square, 2000. Print.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6IiusT-Seo
On January 19, 1809, Edgar Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts. His mother, Elizabeth Arnold Poe, a beautiful English actress, died on December 8, 1811, in Richmond, Virginia. Poe believed he inherited his talent for reciting verse primarily from his mother. He perceived her in a nearly angelic light, and his many attempts to find a woman that could equate to her memory are etched into his poet...
Walker, I. M., ed. Edgar Allen Poe: A Critical Heritage. New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1986.
New York: A.C. Armstrong & Son., 1884. xv-xxvi. EPUB file. Sova, Dawn B. "Poe, Edgar Allan.
and his mother died of tuberculosis. Poe then went to a foster house where he
Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 19, 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts. Edgar’s parents, Eliza Poe and David Poe Jr, weren’t there through the entirety of his life. His father abandon his family before he was born while his mother took care of Edgar and his siblings on her own. His mother Eliza, made an honest living as an actress
Before the age of three, Poe was already an orphan after his Mother dying and his Father walking out on them (Frank 56). Poe was too young to remember his Mother since her death occurred when he was very young, but later in his life he grew resentful for being raised as a foster child. After the loss of his Mother, Poe would go on to experience the death of many more loved ones. This became the source of the terrible fear Poe would associate with death and dying, a common theme in many of his works.
Meyers, Jeffrey. Edgar Allan Poe: His Life and Legacy. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1992.
Thomson, Gary Richard, and Poe Edgar. The selected writings of Edgar Allan Poe. New York: Norton & Company, 2004
Kennedy, Gerald J. A Historical Guide to Edgar Allan Poe. Oxford: Oxford University Press 2001
Quinn, Arthur Hobson., and Shawn Rosenheim. "New York- "The Raven" and Other Matters." Edgar Allan Poe: a Critical Biography. Baltimore (Md.): John Hopkins UP, 1998. 405-50. Print.
May, Charles E. Edgar Allan Poe: A Study of the Short Fiction. Boston: Twayne Publishers,
Fisher, Benjamin F. The Cambridge Introduction to Edgar Allan Poe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008. Print.
Poe, Edgar Allan, Andrew Barger, Harry Clarke and Gustave Dore´. Edgar Allan Poe. [Memphis, Tenn.]: BottleTree Books, 2008. Print.
Quinn, Arthur Hobson. Edgar Allan Poe: A Critical Biography. New York: D. Appleton-Century Company, 1941. Internet.
Edgar Allan Poe led a strange and unusually hard life, but through his experiences he produced many outstanding and wonderful works which have with out a doubt contributed to American Literature in several different areas. His stories are treasured by an immense readership. Although, Poe was quiet popular for his gothic tales, he was also well known for being and accomplished humorist, which is seen in many of his short stories. Poe was credited for singlehandedly inventing the detective story. No other played a more crucial role in shaping and developing the aesthetic theory, in the nineteenth-century, than Edgar Allan Poe. Thus, Poe remains a permanent fixture of our literary culture.