January 25

Edgar Allen Poe’s Life: Ups and Downs

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Obviously, Edgar Allen Poe did not have the easiest life. I am glad we looked into his life before actually looking into his poetry because I feel that if we hadn’t, I would have read his work with a much more shallow approach. Even if the poem had nothing to do with his life in particular, the change in perspective was important.

The part of Poe’s life that interested me the most was his relationship with his foster family. Specifically his relationship with his foster dad John Allan which was rumored to be fueled with jealousy, it makes me wonder whether Poe found women so angelic because the men in his life were not very supportive as his father had also left him behind at a young age. All the women he loved: his wife, his mother and his foster mother had all passed away tragically and his fathers, both biological and foster betrayed him. I read something about how his foster family had the funds to keep him in the University of Virginia however John Allan only gave Poe a portion of what he needed. The part that saddens me the most is that his best work was written in the time frame that he was the most happy and it makes me think the potential works he could have created if he had a happier life.

His poem which we read in class was unlike many of the poems I have read, mostly because it had rhyme and rhythm but it still didn’t feel like a nursery rhyme, especially when we listened to it being read the way it was supposed to. I sympathize with the troubles Edgar Allen Poe has gone through, and hopefully I enjoy his other works as well as I enjoyed the Raven.

January 25

Edgar Allen Poe

Personally I love reading about him, I already knew who he was but I never really went deeper than knowing his name. I’m quite fascinated by this dark/gothic style, and horror and terror and all that stuff, so I’m enjoying it. Ok I’m really sorry for what he went through in his life. Since I love quotations, I like reading also his; for example I really like this one: ‘I become insane with long intervals of horrible sanity’.

Also, some quotes from The Raven; ‘All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream.’, honestly this one is one of my favourite.

What really impressed me about Poe, is knowing that he had a lot of deaths in his life, lol. I’m still thinking of his death tho, I just can’t cope that it is a ‘mysterious death’. I just need to know.

Yeah well in general his first impression for me was very creepy, and that’s why I love it.

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January 23

What is interesting with Edgar Allan Poe

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After having read the rest of the biography, it is quite sad to see how much death surrounded Poe (which would explain his style of writing). I also found that time travelling Poe theory to be interesting (although I do not really take it seriously – for now). However, what I find interesting is to see how much dedication he had to his desire of writing, his desire to do what he wanted to do. Life just did not co-operate with him, therefore leading him to his alcoholism problems. It is unfortunate that he wasn’t able to fully appreciate most of his success during his life, since a lot of his popularity came after his death. Speaking of his death, what is curious about it is that it is so strange. In a way, it kinda reflects on what his whole life has been: a bit strange, surrounded by death. And even quite lonely, due to the loved ones he lost, such as Virginia.

It is in his most famous poem The Raven that I could see his style, which was interesting because it featured both terror and horror (terror is before the raven arrives, and the horror starts after the raven is in the chamber mentioned in the poem). The aforementioned dedication he had to writing is what brought him to lead to a great poem, which could genuinely make people afraid. When reading it, it was clear why it became popular.

Although I’m 3 days late, happy birthday, Poe! 🙂

January 23

Edgar Allan Poe

I found Poe’s early life to be quite intriguing. The son of actors, Poe never really knew his parents. His father left the family early on, and his mother passed away when he was only three, and he (along with his brother) was left with her body for a few days before they were found. Separated from his siblings, Poe went to live with John and Frances Allan, a successful tobacco merchant and his wife, in Richmond, Virginia. He and Frances seemed to form a bond, but he never quite meshed with John. Such childhood trauma was bound to affect his life, and change his perception.

Some sources say that his childhood was not that traumatic and that he made it up in order to gain more fame. However, I feel that his poems reflect his pain and suffering from his early years. Losing one’s parents so harshly must not have been easy. In other words, Edgar was gangsta.    

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January 21

Edgar Allen Poe’s Rather Interesting Biography

As we studied Edgar Allen Poe’s biography and literary works in class, there were some events throughout his life that happened to pique my interest and my curiosity. I think that there were many occurrences during his youth that may have served as inspiration for his poetry and stories that are known for their dark and gothic themes. Firstly, his strenuous relationship with his (not legally) adoptive father, John Allan, seems to have been something that greatly contributed to his overly seraphic and rose-tinted views on women. Which would be why his idea of a perfect poem consists of the lamenting words of sorrow spoken by someone whose lover has passed on.

Additionally I think that his wife Virginia’s terminal illness which she suffered from for about five years before succumbing to, might have served as inspiration for his infamous poem “The Raven”, published in 1845. Which was two years before Virginia died. However I found that the most fascinating part of his biography was his own death. The condition that he was found in (completely delirious due to alcoholic substances) before dying the next day could only have been the final result of reappearing tragedies that ensued throughout his life. I think it’s sad that he only received the deserved critical acclaim for his work after death, because I genuinely enjoyed reading and listening to “The Raven” in class, and seeing the interesting interpretation that “The Simpsons” had of it. Which would never have come to fruition without Poe’s talent for expressing his thoughts through poetry and literature.

Also, happy late birthday please don't haunt us :)

Also, happy late birthday please don’t haunt us 🙂

January 20

How well do you know Edgar Allen Poe?

 

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  •  in 1827, aged 18, Poe enlisted in the US army as a private. what pseudonym and age did he use?

Edgar A.Poet, 21 years old

  • What is the name of Poe’s first published collection of poetry, from 1827?

Tamerlane and other poems

  • What is the name of the only play known to have been written by Poe in 1835, never to be completed?

Politician

  • Poe coined the word ‘tintinnabulation’ to describe what?

     the sound of ringing bells