Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston on January 19, 1809. He was an American writer, critic and editor but was best known for his poems and short stories. At a young age, Edgar grew up to rough circumstances. Poe’s mother was a teenage widow when she married David Poe, and Edgar was their second son. Poe’s father had a fairly good reputation as an actor, but he had an even wider reputation as an alcoholic. He abandoned the family a year after Poe was born, and the following year, Poe’s mother died while she was acting in Richmond, Virginia. The children were separated, and Poe was taken in as a foster child by John Allan. Poe and his foster-father often quarreled during his adolescence and soon as he was able to leave home, Poe enrolled at …show more content…
There is a common theme of young women dying in Poe’s works. In short stories and poems such as, “Annabel Lee, The Fall of the House of Usher, The Oval Portrait”, etc.., a young, innocent woman dies in a strange and horrible way. There is a direct connection to Poe’s life in this theme. His mother, foster mother, and wife were the three woman who he truly loved dearly, and they passed on before him. Poe’s wife was very pretty and died at a young age, just like the characters in many of Poe’s stories. Another reference in Poe’s stories to his life is alcohol. Towards the end of his days, Poe began to fall into depression and madness. He drank more and more heavily. The stories he wrote in the last years of his life often included an alcoholic character. For instance, “The Black Cat” was published 4 years before his death. In the story, the narrator attacks and wounds his cat while he is extremely drunk. He is overcome with the ‘fiery demon of alcohol’, much like Poe became before he died. In short, Poe’s life was rather terrible, and it’s apparent that these dark events in his life stimulated his unique and creepy style of writing, which is what he’s famous