An Enigma; the Sleeper; a Raven: Edgar “Allan” Poe
Dark, depressing, morbid, or simply unusual… a single name can bind all these words together. That name belongs to Edgar Allan Poe. For English students, scholars around the world, and the common dark, poetic romanticist, that name means a lot more. “Poe” is an icon, a person that the aforementioned people aspire to, or just a mysterious person whom will never be understood past his death. The name “Poe” to these people refers to a disturbing poet, a previously run-down short story writer, a hated critic, and an unappreciated author of several volumes of novels. If someone mentions “Poe”, they would immediately think of Edgar Allan Poe. As mentioned before, Poe was a very mysterious person whom many researchers still try to figure out to this day. The reason to his eerie works is thought to be due to the numerous failures and losses he’s faced in his lifetime. Whether it was because of innumerable losses, inopportune death, or if he was just simply ill in the head, Edgar Allan Poe did a great deal for scholars around the world, and English literature today. On January 19, 1809, in Boston, Massachusetts, actress Elizabeth Arnold Hopkins gave birth to a healthy boy; his father, David Poe Jr. gave him his name Edgar Poe after himself. However, the young Edgar was only together with his biological parents for a short time, as they broke up in 1810 due to David Poe leaving the family (Edgar Allan Poe Biography). A year after, his mother died from pulmonary tuberculosis, a bacterial infection within the lungs. A few days after his mother’s death, Edgar was informed of his father’s sudden death from an unknown cause. After going through these inopportune deaths, toddler Edgar was adopted unofficially by Frances and John Allan, a couple of wealthy merchants in Richmond, Virginia. In 1815, the awkward family moved to England, and Edgar was schooled at Chelsea (Edgar Allan Poe Biography). There in England, Edgar was first introduced to gothic fiction. At the time, gothic
Cited: Long, Karen R. "On Eve of 200th Birthday, Edgar Allan Poe Still Chills Leaders." The Plain Dealer. 18 Jan. 2009. Web. 21 Mar. 2012. <http://www.cleveland.com/books/index.ssf/2009/01/on_eve_of_200th_birthday_edgar.html> “Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore – General Topics – Edgar Allan Poe’s Enduring Fame.” Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore – The Life and Writings of Edgar Allan Poe. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. <http://www.eapoe.org/geninfo/poesfame.htm> "Edgar Allan Poe Biography." Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Bio.com. A&E Networks Television. Web. 21 Mar. 2012. <http://www.biography.com/people/edgar-allan-poe-9443160> "Gothic fiction." New World Encyclopedia, . 29 Aug. 2008. Web. 21 Mar. 2012. <http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/p/index.php?title=Gothic_fiction&oldid=794623> “Edgar Allan Poe.” Mystery Net.com: Online mysteries, mystery games, mystery books. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2012 <http://www.mysterynet.com/edgar-allan-poe/> Polito, Robert. “Edgar Allan Poe- Poets.org – Poetry, Poems, Bios & More.” Poets.org – Poetry, Poems, Bios & More. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2012. Quinn, Arthur Hobson. Edgar Allan Poe, a critical biography, . New York: D. Appleton-Century Co., 1941. Print