Edgar Allen Poe: A Brief Look

Edgar Allen Poe from birth January 19, 1809 and death October 7,1849 had made his mark on literary history. He was a genius who went through a very difficult life, which showed in his work. If his life had been perfect we wouldn’t know him as being a great poet. He would just be another scholar.

His parents were both actors. Being actors they weren’t well off only playing small roles in third-rate shows. He was one of three children although his older brother had been left to live with another family before Edgar knew him. He was living a normal childhood at the moment. This changed when Edgar was two; his mom had died of tuberculosis. Now him and his sister Rosalie were orphaned. It was not long till Mrs. Frances Allan coaxed her husband into taking in Edgar and raising him. The Allan’s were very wealthy and very able to provide him with the right education he needed to become successful. Mentally Edgar had no one. John Allan never accepted him as a family member he was more of a charity case to him. So really Edgar had lacked any true sense of belonging and never felt loved.

Anyway, he was sent to the University of Virginia. This didn’t turn out well being the atmosphere of campus was more social than academic. There are surviving letters from Edgar to John Allan describing the violence that is seen by Edgar between students. There is also a gambling problem at the campus. Edgar gambled so excessively that John took him out of school and wouldn’t let him continue with his education. He then came home where he found his love engaged to another man. Again he left home; he went to Boston and published a pamphlet of poems.

During his life he had a few relationships with different women. Including a marriage to his 13-year-old cousin. When he had these relationships he would still pursue other women. They were supposedly platonic though. He was always more fond of poets. Even after he had been able to marry his true love he still continued to see other women.

Many had believed he was a drug addict but really he had a brain lesion. Due to this illness he had fevered dreams and intense nightmares. I believe that some of the more strange works that he wrote are also due to his brain lesion. Edgar’s doom would be due to alcohol. He wasn’t an alcoholic yet when he would drink he would make a scene. This got him fired from his job as an editor and also killed him.

Edgar had a very difficult and sorrowful life. It seems he would have been depressed a lot when learning about his life. His works reflected his feelings and the way he lived was the biggest factor in how he felt, therefore his works reflected his life. If you were to read his works you would know automatically that this person didn’t live a normal life. You would know that Edgar had some strange thoughts in his head.

In the short story by Edgar Allan Poe “The Black Cat” the author describes his love for pets. His wife had accepted this liking and formed a liking for them herself. The thoughts that went through the narrator’s head were that of an insane person. He had a black cat that he had become very fond of. One night he had been drinking and he had become violent (much like Edgar’s problem with alcohol) and he had gouged out one of the cats’ eyes. After this act the cat had not loved him like he used to. This wrecked the narrator’s heart so he hung the cat as he cried. Soon later he saw a cat that looked just like him and was sweet like the old cat was. The only difference in this cat was a little white fur on his chest. The narrator took home the cat and not too long after he decided he didn’t really want the cat. His wife had become quite attached though. One day he and his wife went to the basement for some reason and the cat