JOE REILLY 4 10/2 5 EDGAR ALLAN POE

Edgar Allan Poe Born on : JANUARY Died on: OCTOBER dgar_Allan_Poe_crop.jpg

5 Short Stories and 5 Poems 5 STORIES The Angle Of The Odd, The Black Cat, Eleonora, The Gold Bug, The Tell-Tale Heart 5 POEMS : Annabel Lee, The Bells, Dream- Land, The Raven, Spirits Of The Dead

Edgar Allan Poe Biography Edgar Allan Poe was and still is considered by many to be the father of horror. He was born on January 19 th Two years later in 1811 his mother died. His mother and father had already divorced and she had taken custody of their three children. Edgars brother had then went to live with their grandparents while Edgar and his sister had been put up for adoption. Edgar was adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Allan. In 1826 Allan enrolled in the university of Virginia. He then fell into a downward spiral of heavy drinking and debt. Nearly a year later he quit college. The same year he quit he decided to join the army he did fairly well acquiring the rank of a sergeant major. In 1829 Mrs. Allan, Edgars adoptive mother died. In 1830 he was accepted into WestPoint academy but due to him having no money he quit that too.

Poe’s bio cont. In 1831 Edgar moved to New York, there he had a few of his poems published. Then later in 1834 John Allen died, Poe wasn’t even mentioned in the will. In 1835 Poe was finally excepted as an editor of a newspaper for one of his entries in a contest. A year later Edgar married his cousin Virginia who was merely 13 years old. In the next 10 years Poe worked for a few magazines and newspapers also he made 3-4 poems. In 1845 Poe started working for the Broadway journal as an editor. 2 years later 10 days after Edgars birthday Virginia died. Poe died on October 17 th 1849 to this day it is still unknown exactly how.

Theory on Poe’s Death I personally feel that Poe died due to the cooping theory. I feel this way because Baltimore elections were notorious for corruption and violence. I read that they get the person drunk and beaten. I also read that Poe had many bruises and was drunk. To justify the clothing change I read that they sometimes changed the clothing of the victim so they could vote again.

Favorite Poe Story My Favorite Poe story is the masque of the red death. I feel this way because it is just interesting and I found my self compelled to the story. What happens is there's a plague called the red death running through the land so the prince takes all his friends to his castle where its safe from it. So there’s parting and dancing and there all happy until the hour strikes then the bell tolls in the 7 th room of the castle and for the ringing every one is motionless and scared. The next hour it rings again. Then the next hour, and the next until twelve a clock they see this guy who's wearing a disrespectful costume and he go’s to the 7 th room. The prince chases him with a knife but then gets killed. Then every one else go’s to unmask the guy and there is nothing behind the mask. Then everybody dies.

Favorite Story Cont. Poe used a lot of symbolism in the Masque Of The Red Death. Each room in the house had symbolism the room colors. The blue was birth purple was beginning of growth green was youth orange was summer and autumn of life white was age violet was darkness and death and black was death. It gives a hidden and deep meaning for the story because no one wants to enter the black room.

Conclusion I feel that Poe was the father of the modern day horror story. I feel this way because all of his stories involve people either dying or going mentally insane. But putting that aside I really enjoyed Poe’s stories. I though that they were interesting and had great symbolism and his showing was amazing, I could envision every one of his stories. Ultimately I felt that Poe was an extraordinarily creative and complex man with a very sad life.

Works Cited Giordano, Robert. “Poestories.com-A Biography of Edgar Allen Poe” an exploration of short stories by Edgar Allan Poe. (27 June 2005). (19 October 2011). Merriman, C.D. “Edgar Allen Poe”. The literature network (2006). (19 October 2011).. Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore “The Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe”. (12 December 2011). (19 October 2011).. Spark notes LLC. “The Masque of the Red Death” Spark notes (20 October 2011).. Shmoop editorial team. “The Masque of the Red Death Symbolism, Imagery & Allegory”. Shmoop.com. (11 November 2008.) Shmoop University, Inc. (20 October 2011)..