The Time Period of Poe

The Time Period of Poe

• Tuberculosis was still a leading cause of death, in fact, most of Poe’s close relatives who died, including his first wife, Virginia, died from this disease.
• As a result, life was very uncertain which likely contributed to Poe’s writings centering on the sudden appearance of wasting diseases and other bizarre afflictions.
• No drug/gambling rehab facilities or help available, so Poe was left to struggled with these issues entirely on his own, even more so when his step father, Allen, disowned him.
• Europe was seen as the place of higher learning and enlightenment so Poe traveled there to increase his knowledge where he encountered various other European writers.
• Poe also had a Gentle attitude towards women, seeing them as frail, delicate objects.
• Medical Science also was not as advanced as it is presently, so there persisted fears of being buried or entombed alive.
• Poe capitalized on these fears in his short stories The Fall of the House of Usher and The Cask of Amontillado. Both feature characters put prematurely into the ground, though the in Cask it is done deliberately as an act of revenge.

The Life of Poe (1809-1849)

• Poe was born on 19 January 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts, lived and worked in South.
• Parents were Elizabeth Arnold Hopkins and David Poe, both actors.
• Both parents died and Poe went to live with merchants.
• Went into Army for two years to pay off gambling debts.
• At one point he attended West point military academy but was dismissed a year later.
• Became estranged from his foster father during time at West Point
• Married twice. Spouses were his cousin Virginia and the teenage Elmira Poe. Both died before he did, it is likely that he wrote the Raven because of Virginia as she was wasting away at the time of its conception and the poem features a man bewailing the loss of his lover.
• Poe Suffered periods of insanity and madness, nearly committing suicide in 1848
• Poe Suffered periods of insanity and madness, nearly committing suicide in 1848
• Poe was found in a Baltimore gutter unconsciousness and was never awoken. He died from shortly afterwards on October 7, 1849 and was buried without ceremony or inscription. The cause of death was unknown, but alcoholism is blamed.
• Later, a stone carving memorial that included a Raven was placed on the site.

• Poe was born on 19 January 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts
• Parents were Elizabeth Arnold Hopkins and David Poe, both actors.
• Both parents died and Poe went to live with merchants.
• Went into Army for two years to pay off gambling debts.
• Became estranged from his foster father during time at West Point
• At one point he attended West point military academy but was dismissed a year later.
• Majority of Poe’s works are short stories and poems, but he did publish one completed novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gorgon Prym. Novel was a whaling adventure that became a story about mutiny, murder, and cannibalism.
• Poe is considered father of modern Detective story because of “Murders in the Rue Morgue”. The story followed the classic detective formula: man has to solve a crime, gathers clues and interrogates witnesses, and then formulates the correct solution about what happened, in this case, an orangutan kills two people with a razor.
• Married twice. Spouses were his cousin Virginia and the teenage Elmira Poe. Both died before he did, it is likely that he wrote the Raven because of Virginia as she was wasting away at the time of its conception and the poem features a man bewailing the loss of his lover.
• Poe Suffered periods of insanity and madness, nearly committing suicide in 1848
• Gained fame and renown for best known poem, The Raven, but it did NOT make him rich.
• Poe’s last ambition was to create his own magazine, The Stylus. He never made it.
• Poe was found in a Baltimore gutter unconsciousness and was never awoken. He died from shortly afterwards on October 7, 1849 and was buried without ceremony or inscription. The cause of death was unknown, but alcoholism is blamed.
• Poe’s remains later were exhumed and disappeared from the graveyard, it is unknown where they are now.
• Later, a stone carving of a Raven was placed on the site with the inscription, “Quothe the Raven, Nevermore Original Burial Place of
  Edgar Allan Poe
  From
  October 9, 1849
  Until
  November 17, 1875
• Mrs. Marian Clemm, His Mother-In-Law
  Lies Upon His Right And Virginia Poe
  His Wife, Upon His Left. Under The
  Monument Erected To Him In This
  Cemetery

Patrick Simmons

3/25/08

American Poetry 9:30—10:45

Professor Erben

Links for Poe Material

Edgar Allen Poe Biography and Works “The Literature Network”

Accessed March 23 2008

Edgar Allen Poe (1809—1849) “Books and Writers”

Accessed March 23 2008

Edgar Allen Poe Biography “essortment.com”

Accessed March 24 2008

Edgar Allen Poe (1809—1849) “Houghton Mifflin”.

Accessed March 24, 2008

Poe’s Works

• Majority of Poe’s works are short stories and poems, but he did publish one completed novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gorgon Prym. Novel was a whaling adventure that became a story about mutiny, murder, and cannibalism. Poor results in U.S but successful in England.
• Worked as editor and critic in Southern Literary Messenger. Gained reputation as the harsh “Tomahawk man” for aggressive style.
• Poe is considered father of modern Detective story because of “Murders in the Rue Morgue”. The story followed the classic detective formula: man has to solve a crime, gathers clues and interrogates witnesses, and then formulates the correct solution about what happened, in this case, an orangutan kills two people with a razor.
• Gained fame and renown for best known poem, The Raven, but it did NOT make him rich.
• Poe’s themes tended to center on sickness, death, and insanity, likely inspired by the sickness and death plaguing his family and the insanity that plagued him.
• Poe’s last ambition was to create his own magazine, The Stylus. He never made it.
• Poe was popular in France were he inspired many other authors, including Jules Verne.