A Look at the Work and Life of Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe was one of the most influential American writers of the 19th century, he wrote stories and poems that mainly dealt with death and insanity. In his own life he experienced the loss of both of his biological parents, his brother and sister, foster mother, his fiance and his wife. The fact that Poe lost everyone he had ever loved made him a very deranged man, it greatly affected his writing. In 1845, Poe published a poem titled "the Raven" that instantly became famous. "The Raven" talks about a lonely man in his chamber, who starts to experience the sound of what he believes is knocking at his door, but as he awnsers he sees none is actually there, he calls out the name "Lenore" as a raven flys into the mans nest, acting as if its his own. He asks the raven questions about his deceased lover "Lenore" but the only response he received is "Nevermore". "Although it describes an interaction with a talking raven, this poem is about the descent into insanity. It carefully tracks the steps from a state of nervousness to a total psychological breakdown." (www.shmoop.com/the-raven/mdness-theme.html) Lenore is believed to be the driving force behind his conversations with the raven. …show more content…
Poe's life was very depressing which helped his inspiration for his dark stories." (www.sites.google.com/a/scasd.org) Poe dedicated "The Raven" to miss Elizabeth Browning, a poet from England. The complex poetic meter of "The Raven" came from Elizabeth's poem "Lady Geraldine's