January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849 (40 years)
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Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. He went down in history as the founder of the genre of psychological prose and the form of the classic detective story. Many of Poe's works contributed to the development of science fiction. Edgar Poe, whose biography is full of interesting facts and events, gained great popularity as the author of mystical stories.
early years
Edgar Poe was born on January 19, 1809 in Boston into a creative family of actors. Soon after Edgar was born, his father abandoned his wife and three children, and when the boy was 2 years old, his mother died of consumption.
Edgar was very lucky and was adopted by a childless couple. The Allan family was involved in the cotton and tobacco trade and was highly respected. But most importantly, Edgar felt truly loved.
When Edgar was 6 years old, the family moved to England for trading business, where the boy received his primary education. However, business in England did not work out, and the Allans, experiencing financial difficulties, were forced to return to the United States in 1820.
As a teenager, Edgar became interested in literature and read ancient classics in the original. The especially impressionable young man was fascinated by poetry, and he himself began to write poetry.
One of the rare editions sold for $662,500
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When Edgar Poe was 18 years old, he served in the army and then published his first collection of poetry. This collection was called “Tamerlane and Other Poems” and the authorship was not even indicated on it. Only 50 copies were printed and this work, naturally, remained little noticed (which was a big blow to Poe’s ambition). It is believed that only 12 copies of that edition have survived to this day and today they are of exceptional value. In 2009, one such example was sold at Christie's in New York for a record $662,500. Poe would have loved it.
Finding your life's path
The adoptive father did not share Edgar’s hobby, and quarrels began to arise between them more and more often. In 1825, Allan received a huge inheritance and persuaded the young man to enter the University of Virginia.
Having become a student, Edgar began to lead a riotous lifestyle: he became addicted to wine, became an avid gambler, and got into large debts. After the first year of study, Edgar Allan Poe, despite his academic success, had to leave the university. Allan refused to pay his adopted son's debts and kicked him out of the house.
In 1827, Edgar Poe signed a contract for 5 years of military service, becoming a private in the US Army. To do this, young Poe had to add 4 years to himself and change his name to Edgar A. Perry. He served on the exotic Sullivan Island in Charleston Harbor, which was later described by the author in his story “The Gold Bug.”
The service was not too burdensome, and Edgar had the opportunity to write. However, after 2 years, the army routine began to weigh on him. In 1829, having learned about his mother’s serious illness, he decided to take advantage of the opportunity and was demobilized ahead of schedule.
He was expelled in disgrace from West Point Military Academy
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A year after the story of leaving the university, Edgar Poe was already in such a desperately hopeless situation that he decided to join the army. He added 4 years to himself and said that he was already 22 and his name was Edgar. A. Perry. He served in the army for two years (as a clerk at headquarters) and received the rank of chief sergeant of an artillery regiment. He later left the army and attended West Point Military Academy. His military career seemed to be going well, but after a serious quarrel with his guardian and a final break with him, Edgar Allan Poe decided to leave the academy and had him expelled. He was tried by a military court for gross dereliction of duty and disregard of orders, and was dismissed from service.
Literary activity
In 1827, even before the start of his service, Edgar Allan Poe published his debut collection of poetry entitled “Tamerlane” with a circulation of only 50 copies.
Returning from the army, Edgar published a second collection of poetry entitled Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane and Other Poems. Following this, a third book of Poe’s poems was published with the simple title “Poems.”
Desperate for money, Edgar Allan Poe wrote several stories for a prose competition. For the work “Manuscript Found in a Bottle,” the aspiring author received $50—the first time his work had received such a high rating.
Poe found recognition as the author of psychological, mystical and detective stories, among which “Grotesques and Arabesques”, “The Gold Bug”, “Oval Portrait”, “The Stolen Letter”, “The Extraordinary Adventure of a Certain Hans Pfaal”, “The Sphinx” were especially popular among readers " Poe also wrote for children: “The Black Cat”, “Little Frog”, “The Devil in the Bell Tower” appealed to the youngest readers. Among the poetic works, the poem “Raven” was recognized as the best.
When studying the short biography of Edgar Allan Poe, it is worth noting his high ability to work: the writer devoted almost all of his time to writing, and his bibliography includes more than a dozen works.
Brief biography of Edgar Poe
Edgar Alan Poe is an American writer and poet of the 19th century. The years of the writer’s life were 1809 to 1849. Edgar Poe was not only an outstanding writer and poet, but also the founder of the detective genre, as well as the horror genre. He created an amazing world of mysticism, a world of symbolism and secrets that only he could unravel.
The writer lived a short and unhappy life, perhaps that is why his works acquired such a gloomy tone. Edgara's parents were traveling actors, the boy was subsequently left an orphan, and then his adoptive father, who did not like the writer, completely deprived him of his inheritance. In his youth, the writer abandoned his studies at the University of Virginia, and then at the military academy, and chose literature as his craft.
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The beginning of the writer's literary career were collections of poetry, but they were not successful and Edgar switched to prose. And already in 1833, the writer received a prize from one publication for the story “The Manuscript Found in a Bottle.” During his life, Edgar Allan Poe wrote about 70 stories, which were included in two collections: “Grotesques and Arabesques” and “Stories.”
The writer's most popular and famous works are horror stories. The writer's life was gloomy, he had to often change jobs in search of income, move from place to place - all this affected his work. In many stories there is some semblance of a spirit (naturally, the author’s symbolism should be taken into account) - “without contradiction”, which pushes the heroes to terrible and terrible actions. For example, in the story “Berenik” the hero desecrates the grave of a young girl, and in the work “The Black Cat” the husband kills his wife by walling her up alive.
Edgar Poe's literary activity, although it did not give us huge volumes and collections of the author's works, was very diverse. So the writer’s detective works are strikingly different from “horror”, they are calmer and measured, it’s not for nothing that the author himself called them “logical stories”. Here are examples of several stories: “Murder in the Rue Morgue”, “The Gold Bug”, “The Mystery of Marie Roger” and so on.
In 1836, Edgar Poe married his cousin, who was not even 14 years old, the writer had to bribe witnesses. The young couple suffered hardships and lived in almost complete poverty, unable to bear it, the writer’s wife dies of consumption, and more than two years later Edgar himself dies in a hospital for the poor. Thus ends the life and work of one of the classics of American literature, ends like one of the author’s stories, as if overtaken by a terrible fate.
See also the video biography of Edgar Poe:
Death
Edgar Allan Poe died on October 7, 1849 in a Baltimore hospital. According to the testimony of a doctor who observed the writer’s condition in the last days of his life, the author of the story “Little Frog” was taken to the hospital on October 3, 1849. Disoriented in space and time, the writer was dressed in clothes from someone else’s shoulder and did not remember his last name or first name. The man, who had lost his mind, was placed in a room with barred windows. After a couple of days in the hospital, Poe never regained consciousness. He was tormented by hallucinations and convulsions, he mentioned his long-dead wife, and also repeatedly uttered the name of a certain Reynolds, whose identity could not be identified.
After four days in the medical institution, the poet died. His last words were: “Lord, accept my poor soul.” All medical records, including Poe's death certificate, have disappeared. Newspapers of that time explained the death of the writer by brain disease and inflammation of the central nervous system. In the 19th century, these diagnoses were often given to people who died from alcoholism. What actually caused the death of the legend of world literature is still unknown. The funeral procession, which was attended by only a couple of people, took place on October 8 of the same year. Poe was buried in Baltimore's Westminster Cemetery in a cheap coffin without handles, a name tag, a blanket or a pillow under his head.
On October 1, 1875, the writer’s ashes were transferred to a grave located closer to the entrance. Also, at the expense of fans of the writer’s work, a monument was made and erected. The hoaxer’s literary heritage has been preserved in collections of poems, poems and stories. Among other things, the works “The Well and the Pendulum”, “The Fall of the House of Usher”, “The Masque of the Red Death”, “Berenice”, “Murder in the Rue Morgue” and “Metzengerstein” formed the basis of the plot of modern films and television series.
Childhood, Edgar Poe's family
Edgar was born into an acting family. In his earliest childhood, he had the biography of an ordinary child. He was the third child in the family. My parents moved often and were touring artists. Edgar often lived with his grandfather, a retired major. When the boy was one year old, his father left the family.
The mother became infected with consumption, the woman’s body could not cope with the disease. Edgar was left an orphan, but soon the boy was taken in by a rich childless family. The remaining children were sent to other families.
John Allan, the child's adoptive father, was engaged in trade; the future writer did not need anything. He had a teacher who taught at home. From Richmond the family decided to move to the UK, from Liverpool they moved to Scotland, and from there to London. Edgar graduated from elementary school in the capital, continued his studies in the suburbs, and due to an urgent departure, the last class graduated before the deadline. The adoptive father's affairs went into decline; his wife was seriously ill. The family returned again to their city, where they began their journey in search of a better life.
Who was Edgar Allan Poe?
Edgar Allan Poe (January 19, 1809 to October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, critic, and editor best known for his memorable short stories and poetry that have captured the imagination and interest of readers around the world. His imaginative stories and tales of mystery and horror gave birth to the modern detective story. Many of Poe's works, including "The Heart of a Story"; and The Fall of the House of Usher, has become a literary classic. Some aspects of Poe's life, like his literature, are shrouded in mystery, and the lines between fact and fiction have become considerably blurred since his death.
READ ARTICLE: 13 Fascinating Facts About the Death of Edgar Allan Poe and 13 True Stories About Poe's Scary Tales, Written by Christopher Semtner of the Poe Museum in Virginia.
