Preview

Edgar Allan Poe Research Paper Outline

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
805 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Edgar Allan Poe Research Paper Outline
Morrow 1

Edgar Allan Poe

Before you read this paper, keep in mind that the name “Poe” brings to mind the images of murderers and madmen, premature burials, and mysterious women who return from the dead.

Who was Edgar Allan Poe? “Poe” was born in Boston on January 19, 1809, to David and Elizabeth Poe. He had one brother Henry, and a sister Rosalie. Edgar was only two years old when his mother died in 1811. Due to the prior separation with his father, Henry went to live with his grandparents while Edgar was adopted by Mr. and Mrs. John Allan. His sister Rosalie was taken in by another family. Edgar was lucky though, ending up living
…show more content…
Even though his father was well off, he only provided Edgar with a third of what he needed. Within less than a year, due to the dept brought on from drinking to much, he dropped out of school. Two years later after joining the army, Mrs. Allan died. Poe had no
Morrow 2 friends, no job, and was in financial trouble. John Allan died in 1834 and did not mention Edgar anywhere in his will. “The Manuscript Found in a Bottle,” won him a job as editor of a newspaper in 1835. In 1836, at age 27, Edgar married his fourteen year old cousin Virginia.

His first volume of short stories, “Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque,” were published in 1839. In 1845, the publication of, “The Raven,” made Poe a household name. He was famous enough to draw large crowds to lectures, and he was beginning to demand better pay for his work. He briefly lived his dream of running his own magazine when he bought out the owners of the “Broadway
…show more content…
His idealized and platonic love of her inspired some of his greatest poetry including “For Annie.” Since she was untouchable and married, Poe attempted to marry the poetess Sara Helen Whitman in Providence, but the engagement only lasted about a month.

While in Richmond he found his first fiancée Elmira Royster Shelton was now a widow, so he began to court her again. Before he went on a trip to Philadelphia he considered himself engaged to her, and letters from her imply that she also felt the same way. On the way to Philadelphia, Poe stopped in Baltimore and disappeared for five days.

On October 3, 1849, Edgar was found in the bathroom at the Gunnell’s Hall, a public house that was being used as a polling place for an election. The magazine editor, Joseph Snodgrass, sent Poe to the Washington College Hospital, where he spent his last days in and out of consciousness, far away from home, and surrounded by nothing but strangers. They were never able to explain what happened to him to cause any of this. On October 7, 1849, only at the age of

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Edgar Allan Poe was a writer in the 19th century famous for his eerie literary works. Most of his family died from tuberculosis when he was young, and he lived in poverty his entire life. However, the true reason for his death is unknown. Evidence suggests that Poe died of cooping.…

    • 332 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In 1836 he brings his cousin Virginia, and her mom to live with him in Richmond, in the same year, he marries Virginia. He is 27 and she is 13. Driven by a poor salary, Poe leaves his job as an editor and moves back to New York where he wrote "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym", but with no financial success he moves again, this time to Philadelphia, where he writes some of his most memorable works, for an example "Ligeia" and the "The Haunted Palace". Still no financial gratification for his works. He finds another job as an editor, in 1840, for Graham's magazine, during this period he wrote "The Murders on Morgue Street". He left the magazine in 1842, with ambitions of starting his own Magazine, which failed miserably. He had some gigs by publishing some of his short stories, but never real money came from it. Poe barely had money to maintain his…

    • 1127 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Poe’s early life was difficult, his father left shortly after he was born, and his mother died when he was just three1. Being so young without parents, Edgar Poe was adopted by the Allan family, taking their last name as his middle name. As Poe grew up he bonded with Mrs. Allan but never agreed with Mr. John Allan1. This perpetual disagreement led to money troubles for Poe when he wanted to go to college, John Allen would not lend him enough money to complete his studies at the University of Virginia.…

    • 480 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    From this point on, Poe became an editor, and his dream of owning his own journal is born. He then moved to New York, after marrying Virginia Clemm, and forming his own family of Edgar, Virginia, and Aunt Maria. After briefly living his dream of owning his own journal, Poe's life took a dramatic turn, when Virginia succumbs to the vicious effects of tuberculosis.…

    • 370 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Edgar Allen Poe lived a turbulent life. Orphaned before the age of 3 he was raised in foster care in Richmond Virginia. He later was forced to drop out of West Point due to gambling debt. Later, after finding work as a magazine editor, he worked to publish most of his work in order to support his 13 year old wife (and cousin), who had tuberculosis. Two years after her passing he died at the age of forty.…

    • 591 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Poe next lived in Baltimore with his widowed aunt, Maria Clemm, and her daughter, Virginia, and turned to fiction as a way to support himself. In 1832 the Philadelphia Saturday Courier published five of his stories all comic or satiric. In 1833, "MS. Found in a Bottle" won a $50 prize from the "Baltimore…

    • 720 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    By 1845, Poe's family was living in New York City, where the writer was working at the New York Evening Mirror The magazine published a long poem by Poe, entitled The Raven (Shmoop). When The Raven was published Poe was at the peak in his peak. After The Raven, Poe just went downhill from there. His wife died of tuberculosis and people had thought he had gone insane. Poe denied it—"I was never really insane, except on occasions where my heart was touched" (Shmoop). He then ended up having a drinking problem and was depressed. Poe later traveled from Richmond, Virginia, to Baltimore, Maryland. He was in Baltimore when he died.…

    • 917 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    He enlisted for the U.S army but had to leave because of lack of financial support (“Edgar Allan Poe”). When Poe had to leave West Point Allan disowned him (Kinsella). When Poe died it was the end of a great author. He died in Baltimore on October 6, 1849, he was found on the side of the street some people think he might have been drunk, after he was taken to the hospital he died (Lemco). Before Poe died he was suppose to go to Philadelphia but for some reason he decided to stop at Baltimore (“Edgar Allan Poe”).…

    • 465 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Edgar Allan Poe was one of America’s most celebrated poet and story teller. His life started early with misfortune. Both of his parents were already dead, when Edgar was 3 years old. His father died of tuberculosis and his mother died of tuberculosis and pneumonia. He was adopted and attended school until he was 17 years old. He started the abuse of alcohol with 17 and he started gambling. As his adopting father figured out, he stopped all financial supports of his adopted son. Edgar had to leave the University and he enlisted in the U.S. military, and later obtained a military school. Edgar Allan Poe was expelled from the military school after one year attending. During…

    • 695 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In 1834, John Allan died. Although Allan was worth about three-quarters of a million dollars, Edgar received nothing (Nilsson). After Allan 's death, Edgar moved to Richmond and began work for Thomas Willis White 's new magazine, The Southern Literary Messenger. Edgar had fallen in love with Virginia and planned to have her and Maria reside with him in Richmond (Nilsson). Maria, however, intended for her and Virginia to move in with another relative, Neilson Poe (Thompson). Neilson had offered to remove them from the poverty they experienced with Edgar. Edgar was upset and threatened suicide if they left. He was devastated by the prospect of losing Virginia. After they left, Poe quit his job and returned to Baltimore. In September, he and Virginia obtained a marriage license and may have been privately married (Nilsson). Poe returned to work for White, and brought Virginia and Maria back to Richmond with him…

    • 2692 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Edgar Allan Poe Isolation

    • 1118 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Edgar Allan Poe (January 19, 1809-October 7, 1849), lived to be 40 years old. During his 40 years of living he had to go through many deaths of his loved ones. In addition, being abandoned by his father and foster father. Poe lost his mother, wife, and foster mother all to tuberculosis. He was devastated, lost and didn’t know what to do. Leading him to attempting suicide after his wife died. Instead of killing himself, he took his agony out in his writings. Edgar Allan Poe wrote approximately sixty-nine stories and poems. It has been seen that Mr. Poe has made a collection of similarities in his stories connecting to what he has gone through in life. As some of his most famous stories “Annabel Lee”, “The Fall of the House of Usher”, and “The…

    • 1118 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Edgar Allan Poe Dbq

    • 599 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Poe’s Mom died of Tuberculosis when he was 3 years old. His foster mom also died of Tuberculosis. When Poe was 27 years old, he married Virginia, who later died of Tuberculosis (Doc. A & B). In Annabel Lee, the narrator’s wife died of a disease, just like Virginia (Doc E). In The Raven, the narrator’s wife also died. This evidence supports that Poe took his life experiences of death and loss and put them into his…

    • 599 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Edgar Allan Poe had a life full of devastation and misery. His mother died of tuberculosis when he was two. He was then adopted by John Allen, who had an enormous amount of money. Although, when Poe went to college, John Allan only gave him a third of what he needed. He had to quit school in less than a year; he had no money, no job skills, and no one who loved him. He decided to join the army, but did not stay long because John Allan refused to send him funding. He lived with his aunt and cousin Virginia, whom he later married. He published many short stories, but they did not sell well; he could barely make a living for his family. Virginia and Poe were happily married for eleven years. Despite their happiness, she died…

    • 1994 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Edgar Allan Poe lived a childhood and adulthood full of devastating deaths and hardships for the young man. Poe was born on January 19th, 1808 in Boston, MA. His mother and father were David and Elizabeth Poe and they were both actors. Elizabeth Poe died in 1811, when Edgar Allan Poe was only 2 years old (Biography of Edgar Allan Poe). In between the time that Edgar was born and Elizabeth’s death, she had separated from her husband and took the children with…

    • 1712 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    From the very start, Edgar Allen Poe’s life was shrouded by a dark mystery. Even his writing seemed to reflect this. However, the most mysterious thing about his life seems to be his death. There has been much controversy over the cause of Poe’s death. Many scholars and experts have researched the topic of Poe’s death, and it boiled down to two main points. Either he died from alcohol poisoning- or from rabies. But there are more pieces of evidence to prove one of these points. It is evident that Edgar Allen Poe died from alcohol poisoning. Edgar Allen Poe died from excessive alcohol poisoning because there is not very many verified pieces of evidence that prove he died from rabies, because he was a known alcoholic, and because he showed many of the distinctive signs of alcohol poisoning.…

    • 440 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics