Edgar Allan Poe Research Paper

Edgar Allen Poe was known for his mysterious and horror tales. Born January 19, 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts. He was the son of two American actors named David Poe Jr. and Elizabeth Arnold Poe . He was also the middle child of three. He had an older brother named William Henry Leonard Poe who would also become a poet before his early death, and a younger sister named Rosalie Poe who grew up to teach at a Richmond girls’ school. His mother passed away when he was only three years of age and his father left early on. Leaving him and his siblings orphans. He was then separated from his siblings and each were sent to different homes. He was sent to live with John and Frances Allan. John was a successful tobacco merchant and they lived in Richmond,

Mrs. Allan showed considerable affection towards Poe. Mr. Allan on the other hand wanted Poe to be a business man but Poe had an ambition to become a writer. He would write poems on the back of some of Allan's business papers. Poe by the age of thirteen had compiled enough poetry to publish a book. Since Poe was interested in poetry and becoming a writer John thought that was ungrateful of him and he decided to remove Poe out of his will.
In 1826, Poe entered the brand new University of Virginia, where he excelled in his classes. He hadn’t received enough funds from Allan to cover all of his costs. He had very limited money so, he turned to gambling in a pursuit to make money to pay for his education. He soon returned home broke and received an unexpected surprise. He visited his fiancé Elmira Royster, only to discover that she had become engaged to another man while Poe was gone. Frustrated and heartbroken Poe left the Allan’s home in search of an adventure and to become a great poet. He published his first book Tamerlane in 1827 when he was only eighteen years old. Poe also

Approaching the final of his days, Poe began to fall into depression and craziness because of Virginia passing away. He drank more and more frequently and heavily. The stories that he published in the last years of his life often had an alcoholic character. In Particular, “The Black Cat” which was published in 1845, 4 years before Poe died in 1849. In the story, the narrator gets aggressive and hurts his cat while he is extremely intoxicated. He is conquered with the fierce demon of alcohol, similar to how Poe became before he died. In the story, the narrator says, “One night, returning home, much intoxicated, from one of my haunts about town, I fancied that the cat avoided my presence. I seized him... The fury of a demon instantly possessed me. I knew myself no longer... I took from my waistcoat-pocket a pen-knife, opened it, grasped the poor beast by the throat, and deliberately cut one of its eyes from the socket!” In this story he is talking about how the alcohol made the narrator doing things that he didn't want to do and in a way that relates to Poe. In Poe’s life his drinking problem made him lose many jobs and great