The Life of Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe
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Edgar Allan Poe was born on the 19th of January 1809 in Boston, to parents Elizabeth Arnold Poe and David Poe Jr. His parents were traveling actors and were terribly poor when they had their three children. By 1811, his father had abandoned their family, leaving Elizabeth Poe alone with a two-year-old Edgar Poe, his older brother named Henry, and a toddler girl called Rosalie. Shortly after being left alone and in charge of her family, Elizabeth Poe fell sick and died of Tuberculosis on December 8th. Only a few days later, news reached home stating that David Poe had also died of Tuberculosis, leaving his children parent-less. The Poe children went off to live with their grandparents, until the time that they were separated and adopted into different houses.
Rosalie was adopted by a family in Richmond, while Edgar was taken in by the family of John and Francis Allan. John Allan spent his days as a very successful merchant, thus Edgar had a good childhood and he grew up comfortably. However, he was not at all close to his foster father, who constantly thought that Edgar didn’t appreciate all of the things they were doing for him. On the other hand, he remained very close to his foster mother while they were living in England from 1815 to 1820. In 1824, when Edgar was 15, he wrote his first poem:
“Last night, with many cares & toils oppres’d,
Weary, I laid me on a couch to rest.”
Only a year after its doors had opened, Edgar decided to enroll at the University of Virginia in 1826. He studied there, however, he had misinterpreted the cost of the fees and therefore was deep in dept, which John Allan refused to pay. He started gambling to try and earn money, however, this only made his situation worse, and he finally had to drop out. Subsequently, Edgar decided to leave his family to live with relatives in Baltimore. In 1826, Edgar was determined to enlist into the army under the name ‘Edgar. A. Perry’. He did excellently as a soldier, even reaching the rank of sergeant major- however, he was still passionate about writing. Quickly after joining the U.S Military at West Point, Edgar got himself kicked out of school by refusing to attend classes or church. He published few short stories under an anonymous name and quickly found out after that his older brother, Henry had died from Tuberculosis. Edgar constantly tried to stay in touch with his foster father (who had remarried a wealthy woman), by asking for mone
y and a place to stay. In one of his letters to John Allan, he wrote “If you will only consider in what a situation I am placed you will surely pity me — without friends, without any means, consequently of obtaining employment, I am perishing — absolutely perishing for want of aid. . . . For God’s sake pity me, and save me from destruction.” His father did not respond, and when he died, John Allan left Edgar completely out of his will.
In December of 1835, Poe pleaded to his aunt to allow him to marry his 13-year-old cousin, Virginia Clemm. The idea was accepted, and on May 16, 1836, they were married. People assumed that their relationship seemed one more like a brother and sister and they were seen as affectionate and happy together. In 1845, when Poe was living in New York, he got his poem ‘The Raven‘ published into a magazine. It was massively successful, and almost everyone had read the poem or heard it being performed. This poem brought fame to Edgar Poe’s name (though it did not bring him any form of economic success), with its dramatic and tense scenes. He attempted to create a magazine as a way to publish what he wanted without having to answer to a boss, however, he failed. Shortly after, Victoria Clemm died due to Tuberculosis. It is said that Edgar Poe had been driven crazy by grief and his life down spiraled into depression.
On September 28, 1849, Edgar Poe arrived in Baltimore. A few days later on October 3rd, he was found semi-unconscious in the streets of Baltimore, wearing clothes that he did not own and that did not fit him. He was transported to a hospital where he spent his final days in a delirious state until his death on October 7th, 1849. There is no definitive answer as to what happened to Poe before he died, however, some theories state that he had died from Tuberculosis like many members of his family did, he had suffered from heart disease, or that his addiction to alcohol had gotten too great and he succumbed to its effects.
