Mrs. Meagan Haulbrook Ponchatoula Jr. High School

from “The Philosophy of Composition” “The death…of a beautiful woman is, unquestionably, the most poetical topic in the world – and equally is it beyond doubt that the lips best suited for such topic are those of a bereaved lover.” Edgar Allan Poe from “The Philosophy of Composition”

Early Life Born in Boston on January 19, 1809 Had an older brother and a younger sister Father abandoned the family when Edgar was one; mother died when he was two years old Siblings were split up and Edgar when to live with his Aunt and Uncle John Allan

Schooling and Misdirection Poe went to school in England for 5 years and later returned to America He was torn between whether he wanted to enter the Army or go to West Point Academy Settled for the University of Virginia at the age of 17 Uncle only gave Edgar 1/3 of the money he needed and Edgar gambled and became entrenched in debt

Schooling and Misdirection (Ctnd.) Uncle John wrote off Poe and Poe joined the army and eventually made sergeant major When Poe’s aunt died, his uncle tried to make amends and signed Poe’s application to West Point Poe entered as a cadet but didn’t stay long as Uncle John would no longer send him money It is believed Poe purposely broke the rules to get kicked out of West Point

Marriage Poe fell in love with his cousin, Virginia, whom he had known for a short period of time when he lived in Philadelphia He moved her and his aunt, Mrs. Clemm, to Richmond with him and married her in 1836 (he was 27 and she was 13 or 14) They never had any children

Career Over the course of his life, Poe managed two different magazine companies, Graham’s Magazine and The Broadway Journal. He later tried to start his own magazine, The Stylus, but it failed His wife, Virginia, died in 1847 due to fading health Poe was deeply depressed and collapsed from stress of it but recovered a year later

Final Days In June of 1849, Poe went to Philadelphia and reunited with a childhood girlfriend and planned to marry her a few months later On October 3, 1849, he was found passed out by a public house and taken to the hospital Poe died four days later

Myths Surrounding his Death Alcoholism Mugging Rabies (hydrophobia) Cooping (voting scam) Other diseases: Tuberculosis, epilepsy, diabetes After his death, his adversary, Rufus Griswold, penned his obituary and his first biography where he slandered Poe and painted him as a mentally deranged drunkard and a womanizer

Works “The Tell-Tale Heart” “The Raven” “The Pit and the Pendulum” “Annabelle Lee” “The Masque of the Red Death” “The Fall of the House of Usher” The death of a beautiful woman was a common topic of his works because he had experienced such loss himself, including his mother, his aunt, and his wife

Characteristics of his Writing Poe often wrote about insane men Stories never had a happy ending Writing typically had an anxious rush feeling along with dream-like qualities Stories demonstrated that Poe had a fascination with death

Quotes “The scariest monsters are the ones that lurk within our souls.” “I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity.” “Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things that escape those who dream only at night.” “Words have no power to impress the mind without the exquisite horror of their reality.” “I wish I could write as mysterious as a cat.” “Stupidity is a talent for misconception.” “Poetry is the rhythmical creation of beauty in words.”

Interesting Fact Poe never wanted to write short stories; he really just wanted to write poetry…but he needed to eat. “Six years ago, a wife whom I loved as no man ever loved before, ruptured a blood-vessel in singing. Her life was despaired of. I took leave of her forever, and underwent all the agonies of her death. She recovered partially, and again I hoped. At the end of a year, the vessel broke again. I went through precisely the same scene. Again, in about a year afterward. Then again—again—again—and even once again, at varying intervals. Each time I felt all the agonies of her death—and at each accession of the disorder I loved her more dearly and clung to her life with more desperate pertinacity…I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity. During these fits of absolute unconsciousness I drank, God only knows how often or how much. ”

Gothic Origins The words Goth and Gothic describe the Germanic tribes (e.g., Goths, Visigoths, Ostrogoths) which sacked Rome and also ravaged the rest of Europe in the third, fourth, and fifth centuries. By the eighteenth century in England, Gothic had become synonymous with the Middle Ages, a period which was in disfavor because it was perceived as chaotic, unenlightened, and superstitious.

The Gothic Tradition Began in Europe First Gothic Work: 1765 The Castle of Otranto – Horace Walpole Two Early Works: Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus (1818) Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897)

Gothic Setting The setting is greatly influential in Gothic novels. It not only evokes the atmosphere of horror and dread, but also portrays the deterioration of its world. The decaying, ruined scenery implies that at one time there was a thriving world. At one time the abbey, castle, or landscape was something treasured and appreciated. Now, all that lasts is the decaying shell of a once thriving dwelling.

Gothic Writing Mystery Horror The Grotesque Violence The Supernatural Damsel in distress (frequently faints in horror) Secret corridors, passageways, or rooms Ancestral curses Ruined castles with graveyards nearby Priests and monks Sleep, dream, death-like states

Gothic Conventions Murder Death Suicide Ghosts Demons Gloomy settings Family secrets Dungeons Curses Torture Vampires Spirits Castles Tombs Terror

Dark Romanticism G. R. Thompson stressed that in opposition to the optimism of figures like Emerson, “the Dark Romantics adapted images of anthropomorphized evil in the form of Satan, devils, ghosts, werewolves, vampires, and ghouls”,[4] as more telling guides to man's inherent nature.

Characteristics the natural world is dark, decaying, and mysterious; when it does reveal truth to man, its revelations are evil and hellish frequently show individuals failing in their attempts to make changes for the better Views nature as a deeply spiritual force but in a very sinister light