...preference for short literary works shows it’s obvious he did not “gamble” like the rest of his fellow writers, such as his innovation of connecting art and environment. Recent critics have focused on his literary method; Poe has tackled the problem of a pieces of work relying so heavily on risque elements. Poe is known as “The Father of the Macabre,” as he is a “skilled craftsman of grotesque tales and romantic fantasies,” (shaping many into one). However, Poe was more than a horror story and poem writer, in fact his oeuvre includes editor, literary critic, satirist, hoaxer, mystery writer, pioneer in the Sci-Fi (science-fiction) genre, poet, and playwright. Poe created an “aesthetic theory, setting the basis to American scepticism through the first person narrative, “ (shaping many into one). Poes’ had a connection to the American culture and improved upon American literature through his philosophy of composition, celebrating a liaison between artistic autonomy and productivity, mainly prose fiction. he also believes that “the power of words expresses the concept of endless productivity,” (poe...
Words: 866 - Pages: 4
...prescribed calomel or mercury chloride which “if overused can be deadly”(H). More of Poe’s life and acquaintances needs to be done in order to understand the answers behind Poe’s death. The “enemy of Poe, Rufus Wilmot Griswold is a man that Poe did not like.” In one of Poe’s last letters to Rufus he writes that he is not happy with how Rufus critiqued one of Poe’s friends rudely. This promoted a rivalry between the two men (I). Assuming Poe was killed through mercury chloride more research should be done on the doctor who prescribed this unruly medication. If the doctor had given him to high a dose “this could cause hallucinations and in some cases death” (J). Lastly, Sarah Whiteman and Frances Sargent Osgood were known for exchanging romantic poems with Poe. This could explain why he died just ten days before Sarah Elmira's and Poes wedding (K). Further investigation must be done on Poe’s life and friends to learn Poes true cause of death. Since E.A.Poe official hospital death records have not been found we must do more research on Poe. With the new technology and advancements in the modern scientific field the cause of death will be found. We must learn Poe’s cause of death to learn what life was like in the mind and body of one of the greatest American poets in history. ...
Words: 632 - Pages: 3
... Edgar Allan poe is a renowned poet best known for his short stories. He is a dark writer due to his tragic childhood. This childhood ,however,is one of the main reasons he wrote his dark tells. Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 9th, 1809 in Boston. His parents were travelling actors that did not make much money. When he was just 2 years of age, his father abandoned them leaving Elizabeth to take care of their kids Edgar, his older brother Henry and his infant sister Rosalie. Soon after this things got worse. His mother, Elizabeth Poe, died from the disease tuberculosis. Within days of this Edgar’s father, David Poe, also died of the same disease. The three Poe children were split up.Henry went to live with his paternal grandparents. Rosalie was adopted by the McKenzie family. Edgar was taken in by a couple who could not have children, John and Frances Allan. John Allan was a tobacco farmer. John sent Edgar to the best boarding schools and later sent him to the University of Virginia. Poe excelled academically but unfortunately Edgar had a bad gambling problem. He went $2,000.00 in debt during his first semester of college and John refused to pay the debts so he stopped attending the school. Because of this Edgar ditched Virginia and the Allansand went to Baltimore to live with his relatives. After this Edgar enlisted in the U.S. army at West Point. He enlisted under the name “Edgar A. Perry”. Shmoop.com states that “ He did well as a soldier, rising to the rank of...
Words: 537 - Pages: 3
...The eeriness that surrounds Edgar Allen Poe’s life created a lot of controversy to his name. Many myths have been formed after his death at the age of 40. The wild myths includes Poe died drunk in a gutter, Poe was an opium addict, and Poe was expelled from the University of Virginia. As I said in the beginning of my sentence, all of the following statements are false. Many people still believe that these myths are actually true, even until this day! I’m here to provide the evidence to prove that these myths are just myths. Let’s begin with our first myth of Poe dying drunk in a gutter. Poe didn’t actually die drunk in a gutter. The article “Poe died in a gutter”, said he died in a Washington College Hospital. Although Poe’s medical records...
Words: 299 - Pages: 2
...factors that influenced his writing style. Another factor that influenced him to start writing could have been tension between himself and John Allan. (Bio.com.). This was also his motive to leave the Allans’ house. Another reason Poe wrote the way he did was because his mother died from tuberculosis before he could come home from West Point Academy to see her alive one last time ("Edgar Allan Poe Museum”). Poe’s writing style was influenced by large amounts of death and loss in his life. Poe published a very large amount of books during his career. His first book, Tamerlane, was published in 1827, and there are only 12 known copies today (Bio.com.). Tamerlane is a very unique work of Poe’s because there are only 12 copies and it is his first poem. In 1845, he published “The Raven”, and he had incredible success ("Edgar Allan Poe."). “The Raven” is known to be one of Poe’s best works throughout his lifetime. Poe’s career started poorly, but gradually, he gained fame. Poe is credited with very many achievements throughout his career. He is generally recognized as the inventor of the modern detective story ("Edgar Allan Poe Museum”). Poe wrote some of the first detective stories similar to the ones we have today. In 1845, after he published “The Raven”, he became a well-known author (Bio.com.). “The Raven” was one of Poe’s best works throughout his entire writing career. Poe accomplished an incredible amount during his career, and without his contributions, literary works would differ...
Words: 556 - Pages: 3
...Edgar Allen Poe died centuries ago; we still do not know the cause of his death. There are many theories behind his death; alcoholism, cooping, rabies, and tumors. At first, I believed that Poe died of alcoholism. There were many some facts that proved he died of alcohol. Then, I talked with my peers in a seminar and they read that they found led in his hair. With him having led in his hair, it cannot be alcohol, but I was then revealed to the idea of cooping. I was told that Poe was unconscious when he was found outside of a polling place. He was wearing someone else's dirty clothes as well. When I was in my seminar, I realized that cooping was the main cause of Edgar Allen Poe, because my peers led me to that conclusion. ¨Poe was incoherent, unable to move, and wearing someone else's dirty clothes¨ (¨Even in death, Edgar Allen Poe Remains a Mystery¨ Tracy Mumford.), this was brought up in my discussion with my fellow classmates, Poe was different when he was found. I realized that because of the led samples that were found in his hair, that I must be wrong and so I went on and listened to other people and heard this quote and realized this was the right decision. I did my research on Edgar Allen Poe. I found out that he was an alcoholic. He drank when he was depressed, he drank when he had nothing else to do. He was constantly drinking. He was always drinking some type of wine. I inferred that he drank his depression away. I put what I had learned from my previous years of...
Words: 632 - Pages: 3
...Edgar A. Poe was an American Writer, born in Chelsea, Massachusetts in1809. In his career, Edgar wrote famous stories that will be always remembered, like The Raven, The Tell-Tale Heart, and Annabel Lee and one of the most famous phrase that he said was “I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity”. On October 7, 1848 he died and the reason why is still is a mystery. Some of the theories are Alcoholism, Rabies, Poisson and Gas Lighting. Because of the symptoms, proves, and Studies a valid theory of his death could be Gas lighting. To begin with some hints that prove that Gas lighting was the reason of his death is that Gas lighting produces Carbon Monoxide. Carbon monoxide is a toxic gas that could have poisoned him, causing him to die. Poe’s and his wife, Virginia levels of Mercury, Lead, Arsenic, Nickel, Uranium, and Vanadium were out of the normal compared to the healthy modern normal symptom threshold according to the results of the testing of their hairs. As well Baltimore installed gas lighting in 1817. In the same way Philadelphia & Boston soon had gas lighting licking of their own and so Baltimore could have had carbon monoxide of the the gas licking. Also gas lighting symptoms affected people every week and use to kill a great amount of people in the 1800s. In result Edgar could have been affected by the licking or this could have been the reason of his of his death. Considering carbon monoxide is released when using gas laters are used. When someone...
Words: 496 - Pages: 2
...October 7, 1949, will forever remain the day of great unknowns because this day was the last day of Edgar Allen Poe's existence. On that night of October 3rd in Baltimore, Maryland, something happened to Poe, something that ultimately led to his demise. There are numerous mysteries surrounding one of the greatest writers of our times death, no one knows the true story but will all facts that have risen his death comes a little more clearer and clearer. Many say that it was drugs that killed Poe, others say it was from an assault believe on the evening of October 3rd Poe went to bar after a day of festering over the thoughts of the death of his love (Virginia), his health, and his financial woes, and began to drink heavily. After a couple hours...
Words: 306 - Pages: 2
...Prestigious Persistent Poe “...Poe treated criticism as a work of education” (Silverman 168). As within Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. on January 19,1809, Edgar Allen Poe was born; although shortly after his mother died when he was at age three and his father left early on (Edgar). His distraught with growing as a person created the “writer, poet, critic, and editor” where he marvelously took his placement naturally, and he “initiated the modern detective story”(Edgar). Edgar’s life was at an intense level as he battled through his own barriers growing, as he only a person like any other unique one roaming earth, and in the end died with no probable cause uncased. Edgar Allen Poe represented that doing what you loved only brought great learning, and no reason to disregard a critic because throughout times constructive criticism is the only way to be educated farther. “Despite worries, frustrations, and defeats following his resignation from Graham’s he worked hard at his writing and critiquing work, and he tried in different ways to advance his reputation” (Silverman 196). When using these stepbacks as ways to step forward this only represented Poe’s understanding to only receive better intellectual data from his failures to come forth, and gain something from failure. This showed only the love he contained for writing and helping others as he did not leave the whole of writing, but only a position no longer suitable for his wants. On the other hand, just like any human Edgar Allan...
Words: 467 - Pages: 2
...Was it Mental or Physical? Everyone knows about Edgar Allen Poe; a famous writer, poet and editor. However not many know how he died. There are many different explanations for how he died. Some say he was found drunk on the street. Maybe it was because everyone he loved died of tuberculosis. Evidence shows that Edgar Allen Poe died of a medical condition caused by cold weather and not taking care of oneself. Poe set out to Baltimore on September twenty-seventh 1849 on his journey back north. He was found about a week later in a tavern and looked half dead. “Elmira Shelton’s recollection that on leaving Richmond Poe already had a fever”(Final Day). Baltimore became cold earlier than usual that year so when he was found he was already sick...
Words: 329 - Pages: 2
...and was accepted to the West Point Academy. He then published his first collection of poems that included Tamerlane and other minor poems while at the academy. Most people see this as Poe’s first poems and where he started poetry, but he actually started much before this. In fact, there are some minor poems dating back to the age of 15. Including one with the name of just simply Poetry that he wrote at this age. That poem all about him being sad and laying down on a couch. The reason he started writing these is that believed to be because of depression he had because of the loss of his first love. As Poe got older, he got better and better at writing. Some of his poems were even the most famous of their time. For example, The Raven is considered Edgar Allan Poe’s best work, even scaring people, and is the most sold of all his works. There are also poems like The Tale Tale Heart, but it was not liked at the time because people did not like sketchy poems. No copies were sold. During current times it is considered a great story now that most people know today. Another story is one by the name of Annabel Lee. This was a story based on his life where the narrator is mourning the death of his love, Annabel Lee. There are other famous works like The Bells, Hop Frog, Eldorado, and many more. These works were not looked upon well. During his lifetime most people saw him as someone who stole all his poems and a horrible poet. Poe was also a brutal critic of all literature. In fact, he was...
Words: 1686 - Pages: 7
...relationally); it did not come from a man who had thoughts of rainbows and unicorns nor even cute and cuddly bunnies. No, this writing style, which made Edgar Allan Poe so famous, had come from a man that had struggled throughout his life to find happiness, who struggled to barely make ends meet, who wanted most to be loved by those who were the closest to him. As a young child Poe’s mother died of tuberculosis and his father had abandoned him. Later he struggled with the death of his young wife and foster mother. These events had presented Poe with much grief and sorrow; they brought a depression upon him that he carried for the rest of his life. A burden that he would relieve through writing. He would write many types of literature; such as poems, short stories, novels, and even one play, among many reviews. Of those things Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart”, “The Cask of amontillado”, and “The Pit and the Pendulum” all share similarities of his life and clearly express his feelings of fear, hatred and just his overall dreary gruesome feelings and thoughts. In almost all of Poe’s works the main characters share at least one or more of many similarities. Similarities such as sharpened acute senses or the urge to rid themselves of something that has plagued them, like a parasite that infects and effects their mental emotional stability. Similarities such as a strong belief over one subject to another, a belief like that of the angels above and the demons below, the belief in right from wrong...
Words: 649 - Pages: 3
...Poetry, prose, sonnets, drama, plays, short stories and novels are concepts that first came to my mind when I think in the question “What is literature?” The definition of literature has change over time. The only thing that is certain about the meaning of literature is that the definition will change. The concepts about what is literature about also change over time. In order to get a clear understanding of exactly what literature is, first we need to know its definition. According to the Merriam-Webster, literature is defined by “the body of written works produced in a particular language, country, or age; the body of writings on a particular subject: printed matter.” Literature has to do with letters, but some people often think that literature is only one thing, not knowing that it is composed by several elements that we use every day. These important elements include poems, prose, sonnets, drama, plays, short stories and novels. Poetry is created from the soul. It comes from your emotions and it needs every piece of creativity inside you. It has been called the art of “saying the unsayable” because trough this you can express your feelings with no limit, and nobody can tell you that is wrong. If you make a poem and you think it is not good enough, well it is no good. You as the author or the reader, can only judge if it is good or but for you but maybe for some one else it is the opposite as it is for you. A good place to start when looking back at how poetry...
Words: 4267 - Pages: 18
...To Dwell in Isolation Consider a life away from the busy traffic and noises of the city. A life in peaceful serenity secluded in nature that allows a clear mind and focused thoughts without distracting annoyances. Does it sound like the perfect setting for a writer? Emily Dickinson seemed to think so as it is well known that she spent much of her life in isolation from society. In her poem “I dwell in Possibility” a comparison is made between the house of poetry and the house of prose with favor towards the house of poetry. However, this comparison goes much deeper. The house of poetry actually represents Emily Dickinson’s way of life in isolation, and the house of prose represents a life in mainstream society. Dickinson uses a unique metaphor,...
Words: 881 - Pages: 4
...form or respond to the poetic innovations of non-traditional writers – responses to these assignments should appear in the portfolio. The original versions of anything you have translated don’t count toward the page total, of course; work for other courses does not count either, unless you’ve done workshops in class on the writing. Your final portfolio will contain the text of your presentation to the class of some work by a published writer you admire. MIDTERM PORTFOLIO This must be fifteen pages long, minimum. A page of poetry has twenty lines of poetry on it, on average. It is best to limit each page to one poem – though if you’re writing haikus, then that’s an exception. Single-space poems. Make sure your document has page numbers. Prose covers the whole page, but it’s double-spaced. If you’re writing short prose pieces (i.e. ‘flash fiction,’ ‘prose poems,’ ‘short shorts,’ etc.) then you may have lots of white space on the page. If this is the case, run the portfolio by me before you hand it in so that I can make sure it’s of acceptable length. Make sure your document has page numbers. FINAL PORTFOLIO The midterm’s fifteen pages PLUS fifteen new pages. Revisions of the first fifteen pages do not count as new material, unless you are substantially revising. Check this out with...
Words: 476 - Pages: 2
