Transcript Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar
Allan
Poe
Poet, Critic, and
Master of the Short
Story Form.
Early life
• Poe was born in Boston
on January 19, 1809.
• His parents were touring
actors and died when he
was 2.
• He was raised by John
Allan, a businessman, who
took him to England at Poe's mother, Elizabeth Arnold
age six.
Poe, died in Richmond on
December 8, 1811.
Chronology
• Poe went to private school until 1820 when he
returned to Richmond, VA to attend University
of Virginia. He only attended for 1 year.
• In 1827, his foster father, disgusted with his
drinking and gambling, refused to pay
his debts and forced him to be a clerk.
• Poe hated clerking and quit! He went
to Boston and wrote his first book
(published anon.)
Chronology Continued
• 1827- Poe enlists in U.S. Army for
2 years. He publishes his second
volume of verse in 1829.
• 1829- reconciles with foster father
and enrolls in West Point U.S.
military academy.
• Several months later Poe was
dismissed for neglect of his duty.
His foster father disowned him
completely.
• 1832- Poe moves to
Baltimore and lives with his
aunt and her 11 year old
daughter Virginia Clemm.
He married Virginia when
she was not yet 14.
• Through the next decade,
Virginia was ill. Poe
worked as an editor for
various periodicals until
Virginia died in 1847 from
tuberculosis and he became
ill himself.
The End for Poe
• Poe’s illness was an addiction to
alcohol and allegedly drugs.
• He had been missing for several
days when a man found him on the
night of Oct. 3, 1849, barely conscious and wearing
clothes that did not fit, and brought him to
Washington College Hospital for treatment.
• Poe died at the age of 40 on Sunday October 7, 1849
after a short and prison like hospital stay after being
presumed drunk when found in a local Baltimore bar
called Ryan’s 4th.
The Death Theories!
• Alcohol- Poe did drink during Virginia’s
long illness.
• “Congestion of the Brain”- It was thought
Poe had a brain tumor
• Disease- Tuberculosis, epilepsy, diabetes,
and rabies all suspected!
The Mystery of the Mystery Writer’s
Untimely Demise.
• The exact cause of Poe’s death
was never discovered. It was
assumed his alcohol addiction
was the cause of his death.
However, It was later
theorized he may have died of
Rabies! (Rabies is a deadly
disease that destroys nerve
cells. It is most often found in
and carried by animals.)
Poe’s Writings
POETRY
PROSE
• 1833- A MS. Found in a
Bottle (This tale won a
contest sponsored by the
Baltimore Sunday Visitor
• 1839- The Fall of the
House of Usher
While Poe considered himself a • 1842- The Tell Tale Heart
poet, economic necessity forced
him into prose, or short stories. • 1846- The Cask of
Amontillado
• 1827- Tamerlane and
Other Poems (written
anonymously)
• 1829- Al Aaraaf
• 1831- Poems