Edgar Allan Poe Influences

Edgar Allan Poe was one of the most prominent American authors best known for composing profound short stories and poems based on gothic literature. Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts on January 19, 1809 to touring actors Elizabeth Arnold Poe and David Poe, Jr. He was the second child out of three, where he had a younger sister, Rosalie Poe and an elder brother William Henry Leonard Poe. In 1810, Poe, his brother and sister were orphaned because his father deserted the family, leaving all the children to his wife. Before Poe even turned three, his parents both passed away from severe pulmonary tuberculosis, causing him to separate from his siblings. Since then, Edgar Poe was raised under John and Frances Allan as a foster child in Richmond,

However, he experienced major complications of gambling and perilous addictions to alcoholism. By gambling, he tried to amass money to pay for the costs of his studies, but it didn’t go well as he expected. By the end of his first year in the university, he accumulated approximately $2000 debt, which John Allan refuted to pay for him. Besides, during his teenage years, his foster father denied to support his ambitions in becoming a writer because he always complained Poe’s behavior as sulky and considered him irresponsible. Poe couldn’t even receive sufficient financial support from John Allan, which led to unceasing quarrels with him. Soon, Poe went on his own ways departing from the Allan’s family in March 1827. Since Poe suffered from inadequate amount of money and had no job skills, he joined the U.S Army in Boston on May 27, 1827. He enlisted in the name of Edgar A. Perry and professed on the application that he was 22 years old when he was actually 18. In the same year, Poe published his first book, a 40-page collection of poetry entitled, “Tamerlane and Other Poems”. He also attained success in the rank of sergeant major for Artillery. After his beloved foster mother’s death in 1829, Poe applied to West Point military academy with the assistance of his foster father. In fact, he surpassed his contemporaries in his studies, but failed as an officer’s cadet. A few months later, his foster father married his second wife, Louisa Patterson. This further led to more serious quarrel between Poe and his father about illegitimate child. Later, John Allan ultimately decided to sever ties with Poe. Poe ideally left his stepfather by purposely getting court-martialed. He then traveled among several cities, including New York City, Philadelphia, and Baltimore in