Edgar Allan Poe: the Alcoholic Writer
Edgar Allan Poe: The Alcoholic Writer Edgar Allan Poe is considered one of America’s most influential writers. Some people refer to him as the “Father of the American detective story” (Giordano 2005). His stories are thrilling and full of death, insanity, and darkness, which caused Americans to see a different side of the Romantic genre in literature. Many suggest that the reason behind Poe’s eerie tales was his alcoholism. Poe was born January 19, 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts. He was the son of David and Elizabeth Poe, who were both actors. When Poe was one-year old, his father abandoned him and his mother. However, he died shortly after. One year later, his mother died of tuberculosis. Since Poe was left an orphan, he informally adopted by the John and Frances Allan, who were wealthy tobacco merchants (Giordano 2005). He attended good schools in Richmond, Virginia and enrolled at the University of Virginia in 1826 (Giordano 2005). Although, Poe seemed like the ideal son and student, John Allan never seemed to fully accept him. He treated Poe coldly and always pushed him to excel and do more with his life. In college, Poe accumulated gambling debts that ultimately led to his disownment from the Allan house (Giordano 2005). As a result, Poe was expelled from the University of Virginia and joined the Army in 1827 (Giordano 2005). However, he was discharged after two years and reconciled with John Allan. Then Poe was enrolled in West Point Military Academy, but Poe did not stay long because he was known to disobey orders (Giordano 2005). Poe’s bizarre behavior and heavy drinking was not apparent until his mid-twenties. His change came from the sudden disownment from his foster father and many childhood troubles he had faced. Poe never felt true acceptance from his foster father. Poe seemed to go through a pattern when John Allan would try and help him out. Hence, Poe began to distance himself more and more from his foster father
Cited: Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore. Edgar Allan Poe, Drugs, and Alcohol. Jan. 24, 2009 Fisher, Benjamin F. "The Very Spirit of Cordiality: The Literary Uses of Alcohol and Alcoholism in the Tales of Edgar Allan Poe." Baltimore: The Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore, 1978. Giordano, Robert. A short biography of Edgar Allan Poe. June 27, 2005. http://poestories.com/biography.php (accessed April 26, 2012). —. The Cask of Amontillado . 1846. http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/POE/cask.html.