 Born in Boston  The son of traveling actors  Tragic and unhappy life  This is an understatement… HIS FAMILY AND TRAGIC LIFE

 Mother died, father deserted him at the age of two  Adopted by Mr. and Mrs. John Allan  Constant disagreements with his step-father TRAGIC AND UNHAPPY LIFE

 Studied briefly at the University of Virginia  Drinking and gambling difficulties kept him from continuing at UVA  He still rocked his grades though!...CONTINUED

 Received an appointment to West Point, but he provoked his own dismissal  Caused a final separation between Poe and his step-father...CONTINUED

 In 1836 married his 14 year old cousin, Virginia  You read that right: his cousin…  She was daughter of Maria Clemm, Poe’s aunt  Last 12 years of life worked as a journalist, editor, and creative writer...CONTINUED

 Lived in poverty stricken conditions  In 1846 wife died after a long battle with tuberculosis. She was 24.  This saddened him deeply; he truly loved her greatly... CONTINUED

 Died in Baltimore after he was found in a drunken stupor  R.I.P.--October 7, 1849  Died a poor man  Despite his achievements, he was never seen as truly great during his own time--reminds you of…?... CONTINUED

POE’S WORK Known for: TTales of mystery and terror stories IIntroducing the modern detective story

Poe’s Philosophy of Composition: Select one effect to achieve Length – should be read in one sitting Impression – contemplating beauty Tone – sadness/melancholy Subject – death of a beautiful woman Also – “ratiocination” – detective stories based on logical solution of crime POE’S PHILOSOPHY OF COMPOSITION

 Short Stories  The Tell-Tale Heart  The Cask of Amontillado  The Black Cat,  The Pit and The Pendulum PPoems: TThe Raven AAnnabel Lee TTo Helen LLenore JUST A FEW TITLES ( HE IS CREDITED WITH CREATING THE MODERN SHORT STORY…)

 Sometimes strange “special effects” have been linked to his addiction to opium  An addiction not uncommon in the 1800’s, because of frequent use of laudanum, an opium based medicine, to treat headaches and stomach pains ADDICTION

Reasons… POINTLESS BLANK SPACE BECAUSE….

Timeline of Poe’s Work 1809 Poe was born on January 19 th 1827 Poe published Tamerlane and Other Poems 1831 Expelled from West Point Publishes Poems 1839 Poe published Tales of Grotesque and Arabesque including “The Fall of the House of Usher” 1841 Poe wrote “The Murders of Rue Morgue” 1845 Poe published “The Raven” 1849 Poe dies in Baltimore on October 7 th 1836 Poe married Virginia Clemm Wife kicked it around here…

 Reference to a famous historical or literary figure or event  Best sources are literature, history, Greek myth, and the Bible  Serves to explain or clarify or enhance whatever subject ALLUSION

 Something that is itself and yet also represents something else  Universal symbols embody universally recognizable meanings  Invested symbols are given symbolic meaning by the way an author uses them in a literary work SYMBOL

 supernatural horrors and an atmosphere of unknown terror pervades the action  High emotion, sentimentalism, but also pronounced anger, surprise, and especially terror  use of words indicating fear, mystery, etc.: apparition, devil, ghost, haunted, terror, fright, fainting GOTHIC ELEMENTS

Edgar Allan Poe  His stories have: Settings that featuring ○ Dark, medieval castles ○ Decaying ancient estates Characters that are ○ Male—insane ○ Female—beautiful and dead (or dying) Plots that include ○ Murder ○ Live burials ○ Physical and mental torture ○ Retribution from beyond the grave For Poe, it was only in these extreme situations that people revealed their true nature.

The Gothic dimension of Poe’s fictional world offered him a way to explore the human mind in these extreme situations and so arrive at an essential truth

 Despite the name of the literary period, Romanticism does not deal with sappy love stories. THIS IS NOT THE KIND OF LITERATURE THAT WE ARE GOING TO STUDY!

 Romanticism is the name for the literary period that followed the Age of Reason (The Revolutionary Period) in America.  Due to the fact that the country was now established, writers moved their focus away from political matters and revolutionary governmental ideas, and began to focus on other aspects of life (emotions, possibilities, imagination etc…)

 Edgar Allen Poe with Hawthorne and Melville known as anti-Transcendentalists or Dark Romantics  Had much in common with Transcendentalists  Explored conflicts between good and evil, psychological effects of guilt and sin, and madness

GOTHIC VS. ROMANTICISM Romantic writers celebrated the beauties of nature. Gothic writers were peering into the darkness at the supernatural.  Romanticism developed as a reaction against the rationalism of the Age of Reason. The romantics freed the imagination from the hold of reason, so they could follow their imagination wherever it might lead. For some Romantics, when they looked at the individual, they saw hope (think “A Psalm of Life”).  For some Romantic writers, the imagination led to the threshold of the unknown—the shadowy region where the fantastic, the demonic and the insane reside.  When the Gothic's saw the individual, they saw the potential of evil.