The Mysterious Death of Edgar Allen Poe

The Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe

"Sometime I'm terrified of my heart, of its constant hunger for whatever it is it wants. The way it

stops and starts."Edgar

Allan Poe. Edgar Allan Poe, the famous American author, was no stranger to

fear, even his own desires cause him to question his own sanity. Poe's life was not considered normal by

society's standards, but his death has been considered by many to be an even bigger mystery. Because

Poe's life was filled with death and chaos, many theories exist to explain how Poe really died.

Edgar Allan Poe was born into a family filled with fame and loss. He was born on January 19, 1809,

in Boston Massachusetts, to Elizabeth Arnold Poe and David Poe Jr. Poe was the second child; his

older brother was named William Henry Leonard Poe, but he lived with his grandparents due to lack of

money.(Loveday). Poe's parents were both actors, however, his mother, Elizabeth, was more famous.

Shortly after Poe's birth, the family moved to New York, where Poe's father abandons the family. In

1810, Elizabeth moves her family to Virginia, where Poe's youngest sister, Rosalie, was born. Poe's

mother died from Tuberculosis shortly after Rosalie's birth in 1811.

Edgar Allan Poe's life changed forever after the death of his mother. Poe was sent to live with his

godparents, John and Frances Allan(Charles). His sister, Rosalie, was sent to live with the Mackenzie

family(Loveday). Every person in Poe's immediate family either died or were sent to live with different

families, so Poe was raised alone.

Edgar Allan Poe's foster father, John Allan, was a wealthy Richmond merchant. At age 6, Poe and

his foster family moved to England, so Poe could have a classical education(Charles). This education

included time spent at boarding schools in both Scotland and England during 1815 to 1820. During this

time, young Edgar did not spend a lot of time with his foster family. However, Poe found out that John

Allan had been unfaithful to Francis, and his relationship with Allan began to fall apart(Loveday). This

would begin a fight that would last until John Allan's death.

Boarding school was not the end of Edgar Allan Poe's educational career. He attended the

University of Virginia in 1826 for eleven months before he was forced to come home due to high

gambling debts(Charles). John Allan, unhappy about Poe's debts, threatened to cut Poe off financially.

During this time, at age 16, Poe has a romantic relationship with Sarah Elmira Royster who was

engaged to him. Poe's fight with Allan had made him penniless. Due to lack of money, Sarah's parents

objected to her relationship with Poe and they married her to someone else(Loveday). Poe left

Richmond because of his broken relationship. He moved to Boston in 1827 and started writing about

the lost love of Elmira Royster. The same year he published a book of poetry called Tamerlane and

Other Poems, with the byline " By A Bostonian." Only a few of Poe's copies of his writings were

printed, but were well received. Despite his achievement, Poe was in poverty(Charles). To solve this

problem, he joined the Army. On May 26, 1827, Poe enlisted with the assumed name of Edgar A.

Perry, and enlisted as a private in the U.S Army. Edgar Allan Poe's foster mom dies, and John Allan

buys his release from the Army and helps him get into West Pointe. John wants him at West Pointe to

help straighten Poe out. Before Poe left, Poe published a new volume at Baltimore, Al Aaraaf,

Tamerlane