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1809-1849. Edgar Allan Poe. the author. American poet, short-story writer, editor & literary critic, Poe is considered part of the American Romantic Movement.
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1809-1849 Edgar Allan Poe
the author • American poet, short-story writer, editor & literary critic, Poe is considered part of the American Romantic Movement. • Best known for his tales of mystery & terror, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story & is considered the inventor of the detective-fiction genre. He was the first well-known American writer to try to earn a living through writing alone, resulting in a financially difficult life & career.
an orphan dropout • His childhood was a miserable one. He lost both of his parents when he was very young & then was adopted by a wealthy merchant, John Allan. Poe’s time with the Allan’s was unhappy. • He entered the University of Virginia & later West Point, but did not finish either.
tragic loss • He worked as an editor & writer most of his life, living in poverty. • At 27 he married his 13 year-old cousin, Virginia, whose death in 1847 left him inconsolable. He died two years later. • Theories state he may have suffered from addictions to alcohol & opium. Virginia Clemm Poe died at age 24 of tuberculosis.
death theories Records show Poe died in Washington College Hospital… hiscause of death remains a mystery. • 1857 Murder (Beating) • 1860’s Cooping • 1874 Epilepsy • 1921 Dipsomania • 1926 Heart • 1970 Toxic Disorder • 1970 Hypoglycemia • 1977 Diabetes • 1984 Alcohol Deficiency • 1989 Porphyria • 1992 Delirium Tremens • 1996 Rabies • 1998 Murder (Beating) • 1999 Epilepsy • 1999 Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
Poe has been called… • inventor of the detective story • master of the psychological horror story • America’s 1st great literary critic
list of works Among all his writing, his poems & short stories are more famous. • Tales of the Grotesque and the Arabesque • “MS. Found in a Bottle” • “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” • “The Fall of the House of Usher” • “The Masque of the Red Death” • “The Cask of Amontillado” • “The Tell-Tale Heart” • “The Raven” • “Annabel Lee” • The Poetic Principle • The Philosophy of Composition The Simpsons version of “The Raven”
features of his work • Detective & science stories • Gothic elements • High emotion: anger, surprise, and esp. terror! • Supernatural horrors & fear of unknown • Deep analysis of human psychology • He noticed subconscious of human mind nearly one hundred years before Freud. • He was also the first American author to use neurotic characters as main characters in his stories.
evaluation • Poe is a controversial & misunderstood literary figure in the history of American literature. • Emerson dismissed him in three words: “the jingle man” • Twain declared his prose to be unreadable • Whitman was the only famous literary figure present at the Poe Memorial Ceremony in 1875 • Today, Poe’s particular power has ensured his position among the greatest writers of the world.
references Ciaffaroni. “Edgar Allan Poe.” AuthorStream, 2002-2011. Web. 15 Oct. 2011. The Museum of Edgar Allan Poe. Poe Museum, 2010. Web. 15 Oct. 2011.