“Men have called me mad; but the question is not yet settled, whether mad is or is not the loftiest intelligence—whether much that is glorious—whether all that is profound—does not spring from disease of thought—from moods of mind exalted at the expense of the general intellect” (Poe); these are the words of a man born on January 19, 1809. As a child Poe’s parents had passed on making him an orphan. He then went on to live with the family of John Allan who was originally from Richmond, Virginia. During the period of 1815-1820, the family migrated to England. Living in England was beneficial to Poe for the reason that he gained his gothic style that appears so frequently in his work from this area. Although prior to his success challenges were in the forefront of his career, Edgar Allan Poe is a well-known poet who has made a huge impact on literature with his intriguing demonic thoughts and lines which are expressed in many of his most famous pieces such as, “The Raven,” and “The Tell-Tale Heart.”
Initially, Poe had a handful of difficulties that ruined the opportunity of many breakthroughs in his life as a poet. A biographer also noticed Poe’s economic status and verbalized that, “His financial circumstances were often desperate as he moved from one eastern city to another looking for work as a writer or editor of literary magazines” (Minor 9). Moving to discover work was very common for Poe due to the fact that he ran up numerous debts and Allan continually denied his requests for financial help which eventually forced Poe to drop out of school. Upon these occurrences Poe realized that he needed to find work in order to have some sort of stable income to make a living. His actions were definitely a leading factor to why he eith...
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... If Poe is mentioned among a group of people undoubtedly someone will make a remark about his creepy yet captivating ways.
Works Cited
Edwards, Clifford. “The Raven.” Masterplots II: Poetry, Revised Edition (2002): 1-3. Literary Reference Center. Web. 6 Mar. 2014.
May, Charles E. “The Tell-Tale Heart.” Masterplots, Fourth Edition (2010): 1-3. Literary Reference Center. Web. 6 Mar. 2014.
Minor, Mark. “Biography of Edgar Allan Poe.” Critical Insights: The Poetry of Edgar Allan Poe (2010): 8-12. Literary Reference Center. Web. 6 Mar. 2014.
Poe, Edgar Allan. “Edgar Allan Poe > Quotes > Quotable Quote.” Goodreads. Goodreads, n.d. Web. 7 Mar. 2014.
“Poe, Edgar Allan.” Gale Contextual Encyclopedia of American Literature. 3. (2009): 1316-1320. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 5 Mar. 2014.
Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Raven.” Poets.org. Poets.org, n.d. Web. 6 Mar. 2014.
Poe’s frightening stories acts as helpful inspiration for entertainment in the present, and for many years to come. The timeless relevance of his work, and its merciless scrutiny of the human condition, solidifies its place in history and its position of high admiration. In conclusion, the extraordinary-fleeting-tragic life of Edgar Allan Poe will forever remain on record as the tale of an orphan, a gentleman, a soldier, and one of the most prominent literary figures in American history.
Poe, Edgar Allan. The Cask of Amontillado. Mankato, MN : The Creative Company, 2008. Print.
Poe, Edgar Allan. The Cask of Amontillado. Online. Personal Computer. Simpatico. Internet. 18 March 1999.
Sova, Dawn B. "Poe, Edgar Allan." Bloom's Literature. Ed. Facts on File, Inc. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Bloom's Literature. Web. 23 Jan. 2014.
Meyers, J. (1992). Edgar Allan Poe: his life and legacy. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons Frank, F. S. (1997). The Poe encyclopedia. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press..
...binson, E. Arthur. "Poe's 'The Tell-Tale Heart'." Twentieth Century Interpretations of Poe's Tales. ED. William L. Howarth. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1971. 94-102.
Poe, Edgar Allan. "Introduction." Ed. Philip Pullman. The Raven and Other Poems. New York, NY: Scholastic, 2000. 6-7. Print.
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
Poe went through many hardships during his life that helped inspire his literary works. Many of his works seem pretty normal at first but then you realize there is an underlying tone of tragedy in his works, just like in his life. Many of his poems are inspired by his friends, family and real life experiences. This supports my thesis because it shows that the people and experiences in his life influenced his choices, his works and his outlook on things.
Poe, E. A. “The Raven.” Bedford introduction to literature: Reading, thinking, writing. 10th ed. Boston: Bedford Bks St Martin’s. 2013. 789-791. Print.
“The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe.” University of Virginia, n.d. Web. 27 March, 2014.
Quinn, Arthur Hobson. Edgar Allan Poe: A Critical Biography. New York: D. Appleton-Century Company, 1941. Internet.
Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Raven." The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Eds. Nina Baym, et. al. 4th ed. New York, London: W.W. Norton & Company, 1995: 648-51.
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.