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Life and Times of Edgar Allan Poe
Sources: ''Chronology of the Life of Edgar Allan Poe.'' The Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore. 26 Jan. 2009. Web. 19 Oct 2009. . "Biography of Edgar Allan Poe." Poe Stories. 2009. Web. 21 Oct 2009. . Foley, Stephen. "Edgar Allan Poe given funeral 160 years after his mysterious death." Independent 12 October 2009 , 1ST.Print. "Death Theories ." Poe Museum . 2004. Web. 21 Oct 2009. . Ben Nuckols Associated Press, . "Poe finally getting proper funeral." Daily Herald 11 October 2009, Print.
Edgar Allan Poe was born on Januarty 19, 1809 in Boston. After both his parents died, Edgar became an orphan. He was around three at the time. His sister became an orphan as well. In 1811 Edgar was taken in by John and Frances Allan. Between the years of 1816 and 1826 Edgar attended multiple different schools. However in 1826 he decided he was going to enter the University of Virginia. He drops out of the university after a year due to money issues. In 1827 Edgar enlisted in the United States Army, but he does not enter under the name Edgar Allan Poe, rather Edgar A. Perry. It did not last long though, he was released in 1829. He decided he was going to attend school again [US Military Academy, West Point], but hated it and was expelled. In 1836 Edgar married his thirteen year-old cousin, Virginia Clemm. Unfortunately she died eleven years later. But Virginia was not his fisrt choice for marriage. He was engaged before, however it did not work out as planned. Edgar Allan was thought to be a very handsome man, yet short. Many women found his to be very attractive. After his wife, Virginia, died he decided he was going to get remarried, but that fell through. Starting at a young age Edger was always bad with money, had gamboling issues, and drinking issues.
Before Poe became a published author and poet...
In 1835 Edger got his first job as an editor of Southern Literary Messenger. ''The Manuscript Found in a Bottle'' won a contest, which landed him the job. After only a year Poe decided he did not want to edit the paper anymore and quit because of the poor income. Edger moved to New York where he wrote ''The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym''. That did not work out quite as he planned, so he decided to move to Philadelphia in 1838. In Philadelphia he wrote ''Ligeia'' and ''The Haunted Palace''. In 1840 Edger became an editor for Graham's Magazine, in the time he was working there he published his first detective story, ''the Murders in the Rue Morgue''. Although he was creating hug success for the magazine, Poe quit because he decided he wanted to Make his own magazine. However, Edger's magazine, The Stylus, failed very quickly. Finally he started to earn a little money for his story ''The Gold Bug''. Although he was making a little money, he still had a lot of trouble supporting his family. In 1845 Edger became the editor at The Broadway Journel. but that only lasted a year since the magazine ran out of money.
Edgar's Career...
Edgar's death was very mysterious, like all of his stories. Poe was found half conscious and dressed in cheap clothing. He was said to be heading to Philadelphia when this occured. He was taken to Washington College Hospital where he passed from delirium to unconsciousness for a couple of days. Even when Edgar was concious he was never well enough to tell about what happened the night he was found. On the fourth night in the hospital Edgar started yelling ''Reynolds'' for no apparent reason. The morning of October 7th Poe said his last words and passed away. People have been trying to come up with theories about why Edgar died for years. They will never know for sure but here are some ideas; toxic disorder, beating, dipsomania, congestion of the brain, and many more. Edgar's first funeral was unpublicised and impoverish. Only ten people showed up to his burial. However, Poe's reanactment of his funeral was very popular. To celebrate Poe's 200th birthday they had a funeral for Edgar. It took place at Westminster Hall and included eulogies by actors portraying famous literary figures. There were two funerals, both being extremly popular and gathering a large crowd. Tickets were sold out and people from as far as Vietnam were coming to witness this huge event.They had a replica of Poe's corpse which was transported by a horse-drawn carriage.
Edgar's Death...
Part one of the Tell Tale Heart
Important Figures in Poe's Lifetime...
Many important figures were also around during the time Edgar was. Abraham Lincoln was born and James Madison was president during the first eight years of Poe's life. Some presidents of Poe's time include, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, William henry Harrison, John Tyler, and John Quincy Adams. The same year Poe becomes a student at University of Virginia, Thomas Jefferson passed away.
''It will be found, in fact, that the ingenious are always fanciful, and the truly imaginative never otherwise than analytic.'' - from ''The Murders in the Rue Morgue''
