Edgar Allan Poe Influences

Dark, dismal, and disturbed, the vast collection of Edgar Allan Poe’s short stories and poems are some of the most influential pieces in literature. From the day his life began on the January 19, 1809, in Boston, Massachusetts, to the day his life came to an end on that fateful day in 1847, Poe was faced with hardships unimaginable to us today. Following the departure of his father and the loss of several of his closest loved ones, Poe entered a seemingly endless state of grief and loneliness. Throughout the entirety of Poe’s lifetime, he could never once catch a break from tragic events such as these. This undoubtedly took a toll on his mental state, pushing him closer and closer to the brink of insanity (Bloom). Initially, Poe began to

Poe’s troubled childhood, continuous grieving over lost loved ones, and struggle to make ends meet throughout his middle years greatly influenced the writing style of his later stories. Edgar Allan Poe’s childhood is far from what many would consider “normal.” Poe lacked strong connections to any members of his biological family. In fact, he received little to no support from them at all. Poe had an older brother, William, who was also a poet himself. However, Poe was never able get to know him due to the fact that William was raised by his grandparents in Baltimore, Maryland while Poe lived with his parents in Richmond, Virginia, for the early years of his childhood. The two brothers were raised in separate households in order to reduce the financial burden on their struggling parents (Loveday). Having said that Edgar Allan Poe seemed to get the short end of the stick when his alcoholic father abandoned his wife and children when Poe was just two years old. He then spent the next year watching as his mother died a gruesome death from tuberculosis. At this time, Poe and his only other sibling, Rosalie, became orphans and were separated. He was taken in by John and

He dropped out of the University of Virginia because of his obsession with drinking and gambling (Bloom). Poe knew that he had to satisfy his foster father, John Allen, in order to receive any inheritance, so he enrolled in West Point following his successful stint in the army (Loveday). However, John Allan died shortly after and Poe discovered that he was excluded from his will completely, leaving him broke and struggling. Without the inheritance that Poe spent years pining after, Poe was forced to find a way to support himself. This proved to be a struggle as Poe was in and out of a job throughout his entire career, always finding a way to get himself fired from whatever paper he wrote for. In search of support and companionship, Poe married his 13-year-old cousin, Virginia, and moved in with her and her mother. Poe was hoping to find some financial relief by doing so; however, they were just as financially unstable as he was (Bloom). Poe’s Aunt Maria begged for food to keep them from starving to death, and had to ransack nearby farms at night for vegetables (Loveday). All of this struggle and hardship took a toll on Poe and his mental state. Near the end of his life, Poe tried to kill himself by overdosing on laudanum after he realized that he had gone insane (Bloom). Poe’s unstable mental state is reflected in many of his pieces, including the famed “The Tell-Tale Heart.” In this short story, Poe