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Edgar Allen Poe: The Cause Of Death

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Edgar Allen Poe was an amazing writer whose life ended much sooner than expected on October 7, 1849. His cause of death is an unknown and very controversial topic. Some say that he died of alcohol poisoning, while others believe that he died due to a case of rabies. Some think that on his journey to the North he had a large amount of an alcoholic beverage which lead him to die before he could reach his destination. According to Burton R. Pollin and Robert E. Benedetto, two professors from CUNY and the University of South Carolina, “ Evidence of Poe’s chronic binges is strewn through his letters in periodic admissions of ‘recoveries’ and promises to …. ‘Reform’” This could show how Poe often drank more that he should have and could be a likely …show more content…

Michael Benitez, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Maryland Medical Center. Benitez wrote, “The incubation period in humans may be as long as a year”. Simply stated, even without evidence of a bite or scratch it could take up to a year for any physical signs of rabies to show making his allegation trustworthy. Also, it is important to consider the fact that “at the time… the causative agent, a rhabdovirus was unknown”(Benitez). This dismisses the previous counter argument by showing how the medical education of the time was not knowledgeable of the virus that is the base of rabies and therefore makes it difficult to correctly diagnoses. Furthermore, in the article “Poe’s Death Is Rewritten as Case of Rabies, Not Telltale Alcohol” from The New York Times,it lists the recorded behaviors of Poe at the hospital before his death and compares them to that of a rabies victim claiming that this was a “classic case of rabies”.The article then points out, “Poe refused alcohol and could drink water only with great difficulty. Rabies victims frequently exhibit hydrophobia, or fear of water.” This comparison can lead many to draw the conclusion that Poe had displayed obvious side effects of rabies, making this the only logical theory. Over all after fully considering all of the evidence, the best assumption would be that Poe died of rabies rather than alcohol

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Edgar Allan Poe creates this menacing tone by the repetition and description of his senses. In the killing the narrators explains that the eye of the old man is the reason why he killed him in the first place .The description of the old man’s “eye of a vulture- a pale blue eye, with an film over it. Whatever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold; and so by degrees”(1). The senses of the narrator helps to bring on the mood of menace into the story.

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This online article reviewed the many theories that surround the death of Edgar Allen Poe to date. The articled emphasized that the alcohol theory is the most commonly accepted cause of death recognized by majority of people. Even Poe’s good friend J.E. Snodgrass felt binge drinking caused his death. Other critics argued Poe was a victim of cooping, a practice that entailed bribing him with alcohol, thus forcing him to vote repeatedly in polling booths for a particular candidate, as Balitmore’s elections were notorious for political uproar and extortion. This would explain the conditions under which Poe was foundOthers suggested Poe died of other medical ailments ranging from brain tumors, heart disease, tuberculosis, rabies, epilepsy,

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They often harden into masses, after death. When consuming too much alcohol with a brain tumor, you can increase how easy it is to a seizure,which affects the brain negatively. Poe alcohol problem could have increase the risks of him having seizures,then damaging his brain. Another reason why I believe Poe had a brain tumor, is because technology wasn't that advance,so

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702 Words | 3 Pages

Death has always been an inevitable event that all of us are doomed to face. It is something that we cannot escape and we are all certain of its occurrence, however one thing that we are not certain of is the cause of death. A perfect example of this is Edgar Allan Poe’s death. Many theories have speculated about his tragic death and the two main causes of Poe’s deaths argued at the moment are death from rabies and death from alcoholism. Any individual could see both sides of the argument but the opinion with the disadvantage is that alcoholism was the cause of his death.

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The final reason of why I believe that Poe died of rabies is because the idea that alcohol was the cause of his death does not support all the records of his condition days before he died. Though it is true that alcohol does cause many to forget about certain things, such as protecting one 's self from the harsh elements, it does not support the fact that Poe did not enjoy drinking anything while he was being hospitalized. It also cannot explain his severe hallucinations, imaginary friends, and outbursts of histeria and shouting. The idea that he may have had symptoms of rabies seems more plausible than just being really drunk. In conclusion, I believe that Edgar Allen Poe unfortunately died of symptoms of rabies, and not alcohol.

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Around the year 1845, an infamous literary writer named Edgar Allan Poe wrote a poetry piece deemed, "The Raven." This piece was a staple in Poe's career, allowing him to grow becoming one of the most preferred poets due to "The Raven" garnering him so much popularity. On October 9th, 1849, tragically Poe (at the time) mysteriously died. No one was seen around him at the time nor spoke to him; this was a mystery that no one could solve easily. As time passed, his death continued to be a mystery.

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Yet there’s one last point I must make these actions have definitely changed the course of the narrators life which leads me believe the actions that Edgar Allen Poe take the main character through seem to follow the lines of an alcoholic. Some characteristics of an alcoholic are denial they can function normally but there condition is still very noticeable to others around them. Another piece of information about this was that if a person who is an alcoholic is successful they have an even harder time believing that they have a problem. Now your probably wondering how does this relate to Edgar Allen Poe? Well he himself was an alcoholic and his stories seem to portray some of these characteristics for instance in Tell Tale Heart the narrator idea

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Gathering all the evidence, I believe that Edgar Allan Poe was a victim of schizophrenia. Although no one can be sure, considering no one was able to diagnose him, the symptoms do add up. Without all of our medical advances, no one can imagine what Poe went through his life. He may have let his feelings and thoughts flow into his numerous pieces of writing. Whether his feelings and emotions flowed into his writing, or he purposely wrote his stories like that, which would make him an even better writer.

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Many people go through horrors in their life. However, most don’t record them in the way Poe did. From a young age Poe experienced death in his family. As Poe lived his life, he started using his feelings and life experiences in his work. He based his feelings in his poems such as Annabel Lee and Alone.

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Second, Poe also could’ve died from alcohol poisoning because of his past history of alcoholism. Before being found delirious outside of a tavern, Poe had an addictive personality, such as to gambling and over drinking. Poe also

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The letter also says” I suggest Poe got rabies from his cat” if this is true it would make sense because when he left his cat he started to get sick. The reason people think Poe did from rabies is because the evidence makes sense. In the letter Dr. Snodgrass said “on leaving Richmond Poe already had a fever.”. this tells us that he was sick so he couldn’t have died from alcoholism.

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Edgar Allan Poe had experienced a loss multiple times. Poe married his cousin when she was 13, he was 27. Both of Poe’s parents died in 1811 and so he was raised as a foster child. In the poem “Annabel Lee” he talks about how his love Annabel Lee passed away. In the poem “The Raven” he talks about his love, Lenore passing away and The Raven comes to him and is repetitive.

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Of all gothic writers, Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most groundbreaking of them all. From The Cask of Amontillado, a story with integrated historical references of the time, to The Fall of the House of Usher, a deep and morbid story full of imagery. Anywhere from The Tell-Tale Heart, truly a story of both unique syntax and perspective, to The Raven, a poem full of symbols and eerie repetition. Through these and many more, Poe has been using his writing style to immerse people into his stories and poems alike since 1839. However, Poe is only able to accomplish this through his unique writer’s style, particularly his forceful imagery and meaningful syntax.

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In the story, the narrator becomes addicted to alcohol, causing his many violent acts. He describes it as a disease that, “...grew upon me—for what disease is like Alcohol!—even Pluto began to experience the effects of my ill temper.” (Poe, 2) Addiction is most likely one of the most dangerous of human nature because it can consume your life. Poe even includes that the narrator’s, “...original soul seemed, at once, to take its flight from my body; and a more than fiendish malevolence, gin-nurtured, thrilled every fibre of my frame.” (Poe, 2) Poe takes this idea to an extreme, but brings the attention to the detrimental effects of letting any one thing have too much possession of your

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Edgar Allan Poe was an American author; he mainly focused in genres such as short stories and poems. Poe didn’t have much of an academic background in literature but, he excelled in it. Some people believe that his success was mostly due to the fact that his life was very sad, filled by a series on misfortunate events, such as being an orphan, suffering from poverty and being constantly surrounded by death. In his works, Poe portrays narratives that are characterized by their mystery and macabre. The topic of death was ever present in his work, constantly describe with dark moods and somewhat terrifying settings.

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