Edger Allan Poe

Tyler Finley10-29-113rd period

Edgar Allan PoeBorn on : January 19, 1809Died on: October 7, 1849

en.wikipedia.org

5 stories and poems by Poe

5 STORIES Angel of the OddThe Balloon Hoax BereniceThe Black CatThe Cask of Amontillado

5 POEMS

• The Raven• For Annie• The Bells• Annabel Lee• Alone

Biography

Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston on January 19, 1809. When Poe was 1 year old, his parents separate and his mother, Elizabeth, took the children. When he was 2, his mother died of tuberculosis and he was adopted by a wealthy merchant by the name of John Allan.

When Poe was six years old he went to school in England for 5 years. He then attended the University of Virginia in 1826. John Allan only gave him close to a third of what he needed so he soon started to drink heavily and had to drop out a year later due to increased debt. He then ran out of money and joined the army.

Edgar Allan Poe did considerably good in the army and achieved the rank of sergeant-major. In 1829 Poe’s stepmother died of tuberculosis, so John Allan tried to be considerate and paid for Edgar’s application to West Point. While waiting to enter West Point, Edgar lived with his Aunt Clemm and cousin Virginia and brother Henry.

In 1830, Poe entered West Point as a cadet, he didn’t stay long because John Allan wouldn’t send him any money. Poe supposedly broke the rules so he would be dismissed. In 1831, Poe went to New York City and had some of his poetry published. He tried many different magazines but none would accept him. He had no friends and was in financial trouble.

Biography Cont…

He sent a letter to John Allan for help but never received any. John Allan died in 1834 and never mentioned Poe in his will. In 1835, Poe finally got a job as an editor due to a contest he won with his story, The Manuscript in a Bottle. Poe brought his Aunt Clemm and his cousin to Richmond to live with him. In 1836, Poe married his cousin Virginia when she was 13 years old.

In 1842, Poe started his own magazine called The Stylus, it failed. In 1845, Virginia contracted tuberculosis and was slowly fading away. In 1847, Virginia died. Poe was depressed for the two years he lived after Virginias death. He tried to pursue other women but failed. Poe died in 1849 in a Boston hospital.

Your theory on Poe’s Death

My theory on Poe’s death is he died from alcoholism. I think that way because he waste all of his money on alcohol when he was in school. Also, he was found outside of a tavern in different clothes.

Summary of my favorite story by Poe

The Masque of the Red Death is my favorite story by Poe. The story is about a city that

has been ravaged by the plague of the Red Death. Poe uses the red death to symbolizetuberculosis because the victim dies by choking on their own blood. Most of Poe’s lovedones died of tuberculosis.

The story says that the prince of the land and all of the unaffected go to a palace and

lock the gates forever. Then they hold a grand ball where everyone dresses up in grandcostumes. There are rooms that are set up in a sort of horseshoe shape. The rooms areeach a different color with matching windows to symbolize a certain stage of life.

However, the final room is black and has scarlet windows. There is also a clock in thefinal room that strikes every hour, and when it strikes the hour, all of the people go

silentuntil it stops. Nobody ever gathers the courage to go into the final room and it is leftuntouched by anybody.

Soon an unknown visitor shows up and everybody is offended by his coustume. He is in

the clothes of the dead and has the face of death. He then walks all the way to the blackroom and stops. The prince then runs behind him with a dagger and attempts to kill theintruder but suddenly drops dead by the visitor.

Summary cont…

Suddenly everybody charges in to kill the vsitor but stops as the clock in the room strikes 12 and when the final bell rings, everybody is dead on the floor in a pool of blood.

My conclusion

I think that it is sad that Poe was never famous until after he died. I also think its sad that he had to go through all the deaths of his loved ones to the same thing. Many people would think he was mad and insane but I believe he was just depressed and had no where to go or anybody to talk to.

Works Cited

Giordano, Robert. “A short biography of Edgar Allan Poe”. An exploration of short stories by Edgar Allan Poe. (27 June, 2005). (29 October, 2011). <http://poestories.com/index.php>

Sparknotes editors. “Sparknote on Poe short stories” sparknotes.com. (2002). (31 October, 2011) <http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/poestories/citing.html>

Marriman, C.D. “Edgar Allan Poe”. Edgar Allan Poe- biography and works. (2006). (29 October, 2011). <http://www.online-literature.com/poe/>

Unknown. “The Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe”. Edgar Allan Poe society of Baltimore. (12 December, 2010) (29 October, 2011). <http://www.eapoe.org/geninfo/poedeath.htm>

Shmoop Editorial Team. “The Masque of the Red Death symbolism, imagery & allegory”. Shmoop.com. (11 November, 2008). (31 October, 2011). <http://www.shmoop.com/masque-of-red-death/symbolism-imagery.html>