EDGAR ALLAN POE The Tormented Life of a Disturbed Genius

The Life of Edgar Allan Poe Born in Boston in 1809 Edgar was the second of three children Both parents were actors Actors were looked down upon by society Despite that, his mother was well known and respected

The Life of Edgar Allan Poe David Poe abandoned his family when Edgar was 1 year old Soon after, Eliza Poe, Edgar’s mother, contracted tuberculosis She died a horrible, poverty-stricken death when Edgar was 2 years old The Poe children were sent to different foster homes

The Life of Edgar Allan Poe Edgar was taken in by John and Frances Allan of Richmond, Virginia They were wealthy and childless Frances was protective of Edgar John tolerated Edgar, but treated him harshly

The Life of Edgar Allan Poe Edgar was well-educated by the Allan’s He displayed musical and athletic talents He was cheerful and sensitive The Allan’s exposed Edgar to a cultured society

The Life of Edgar Allan Poe In his youth, he lived in England Returning to Richmond, at the age of 15 he falls in love with an older woman Tragically, she dies At the age of 17 he enrolls in the University of Virginia

The Life of Edgar Allan Poe Poe accumulates large gambling debts while at the University He is very popular for his wild, imaginary tales Frances Allan contracts tuberculosis John Allan engages in a number of very public affairs

The Life of Edgar Allan Poe In 1827, unable to pay his debts he leaves the university He enlists in the army under an assumed name He spends a brief time at West Point In 1829 Frances Allan dies

The Life of Edgar Allan Poe Poe’s relationship with his foster father deteriorates When John Allan dies, he cuts Edgar out of his will

The Life of Edgar Allan Poe On his own for the first time, he tries to support himself as a writer His writing is too unusual for the common Romantic Period tastes He moves back to Baltimore to live with his aunt, Maria Clemm

The Life of Edgar Allan Poe He develops a close relationship with his cousin, Virginia Eventually, he falls in love with and weds Virginia He sees her somewhat as his sister, and his daughter in addition to his wife He is 26 and she is barely 13 This was somewhat unusual

The Life of Edgar Allan Poe Virginia is ill throughout their marriage with tuberculosis Poe struggles to find work and to support his wife through her illness Overwhelmed by her illness and his financial difficulties, he turns to alcohol and drugs

The Life of Edgar Allan Poe They live in complete poverty He tries work as an editor, writer, and literary critic He is known as “Tomahawk Man” as a critic and gains many enemies In 1845 in publishes The Raven and earns less than $20

The Life of Edgar Allan Poe In 1847 Virginia finally dies of her tuberculosis Poe is left with mounting medical bills He produces the poem, Annabel Lee, which idealizes the death of Virginia In despair, he abuses drugs and alcohol He attempts suicide

The Life of Edgar Allan Poe Poe’s writing was not well accepted He had many literary enemies through his job as a critic He appeared self-destructive He ran through a series of minor jobs

The Life of Edgar Allan Poe To promote the sale of his stories he would give dramatic readings He became associated with his subject matter He continued to struggle with drug and alcohol abuse He was found unconscious in the gutter of a Baltimore street in 1849

The Life of Edgar Allan Poe Most of Poe’s work remained unpublished during his lifetime Rufus Griswold, a fellow writer became his executor In fact, Griswold sought to destroy Poe’s reputation

The Life of Edgar Allan Poe Clearly, the tragic deaths of those close to Poe influenced his writing Tuberculosis, or “Consumption” is characterized by profuse bleeding His writing tone is often mournful and melancholic

The Literary Contributions of Poe He refined the modern detective story He defined the modern short story He challenged to traditional Romantic approach to literature He developed the Single Effect Technique

The Single Effect Technique A short story must be brief The reader should be able to read the story in one sitting The author should be certain of the effect he/she wishes to create in the reader before writing

The Single Effect Technique The author should begin by writing the climax of the story The author should then develop the incidents that lead to the climax The incidents should be arranged in order of increasing intensity

Images of a Disturbed Genius