...Final Poe Essay Edgar Allan Poe is one of the best, and unusual horror story writers, but does his conscious lead to his creepy ambition? It seems like he would write like any other horror story writers that just write about any ideas that they can think of or anything that sound like it could make a good story, but Edgar Allan Poe shows his struggles, tragedies, and hardships that he portrays through his stories and poems, and might just seem obscure to us. Edgar Allan Poe is a manic depressive lunatic, or a literary genius. Edgar Allan Poe shows that he is more of a manic depressive lunatic than a literary genius because of how most of his stories involve something scary, and how the protagonist ends up doing really outrageous things. Also the way that he writes his stories and what he makes the protagonist do in his stories, and poems. Edgar Allan Poe incorporates most of his experience, and what he went through than the literary elements, and structure that he uses. In “The Black Cat” it states, “I took from my waistcoat-pocket a pen-knife, opened it, grasped the poor beast by the throat, and deliberately cut one of its eyes from the socket! I blush, I burn, I shudder, while I pen the damnable atrocity.” This shows that all the hardships he went through played a big role in how he wrote his stories. Edgar Allan Poe had many reasons why his stories and poems turned out the way that they did. Another issue that he wrote about in his poems, and stories is...
Words: 640 - Pages: 3
...horrible sanity” (Poe). Edgar Allan Poe stated this in a letter to one of his admirers, referring to his depression and alcoholism. He was an American editor, writer, and literary critic. Poe was famous for his horror and mystery stories, but he had faced multiple tragedies within his family. Some of his popular works are The Raven, The Cask of Amontillado, and The Fall of The House of Usher. These stories tell of tragedies of madness that end in a death or an emotional problem. Poe died on October 7 in 1849 in Maryland, but the cause of his death is still disputed. The course of his life and the tales that he wrote have multiple similarities. Edgar Allan Poe’s personal life is reflected within his stories. To begin, Edgar Allan Poe’s own depression is shown in The Raven. At the end of the poem, the narrator says, “And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor / Shall be lifted—nevermore!” (The Raven 186). Poe had lost his mother, foster mother, brother, and wife to tuberculosis. These losses had sent him into a depression that could not be lifted. He had been taken in by the Allans when he was three after his parents died. Allan...
Words: 617 - Pages: 3
...Presence of Poe Edgar Allan Poe is regarded as one of the great American writers in history. He had a unique way to present his stories, his imagination stretched into the darkest corners of his mind. One can say his characters were developed from personal experiences in his life. His use of writing techniques was ingenious and unsurpassed. These are just a few reasons why he is a permanent reminder whenever horror stories come to mind. Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston on January 19, 1809. His parents were David and Elizabeth Poe. He was one of three children including his brother Henry and his sister Rosalie. His mother separated from his father when he was about two years of age and took her children with her. She died about a year later, when he was two years of age. He was separated from his siblings and was adopted by Mr. and Mrs. John Allan; this is where his name became Edgar Allan Poe. John Allan was a successful merchant, so Poe grew up in good surroundings and attended excellent schools. When he was six, he was sent to school in England and attended for five years. He then returned to the United States to continue his studies. At seventeen, Poe went to the University of Virginia but dropped out less than a year later because he could not support himself. John Allan shunned him. He enlisted in the Army because he had no money and nowhere to go at the age of eighteen. He did reasonably well attaining, the rank of sergeant-major, and got accepted to...
Words: 1747 - Pages: 7
...emotionally distant from others. In the poem “Alone”, Edgar Allan Poe most directly relates alone with being emotionally distant and describes alone in terms of not being able to experiences things as others do, most significantly during his childhood. Poe looks back upon his childhood, and with his dark and disturbing writing style he creates the image of fear and loneliness that he felt as a child within the reader. Poe establishes in “Alone” that the true definition of alone is to be emotionally distant from the world. This idea comes from his childhood influences, his search for the unexplainable and his philosophy...
Words: 1722 - Pages: 7
...McCain Bracewell How did Edgar Allan Poe die? On October 7, 1849, Edgar Allan Poe died in a hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. The cause of his death is still being debated by experts. One view is the Poe died from rabies, not alcohol abuse. This view is supported by when he was awake, Poe drank water with great difficulty, and rabies victims show fear of water because it is hard to swallow. Also When he was found he didn’t smell of alcohol. A different view is that Poe died of alcohol abuse, not rabies. This view is supported by that he was found outside a Baltimore saloon, and the person who found him, Joseph Walker, gave accounts of his “alcoholic condition’’, and In 1885, john Moran says Poe and drank the water thirstily, and didn’t...
Words: 338 - Pages: 2
...History April 22, 2011 Edgar Allan Poe To most people, Edgar Allan Poe was a troubled soul that had many psychological issues. Some people think that his works mimicked his own mental torment and torture; others thought that he was an American writer romantically doomed to failure by events and emotions too great for him to handle. His writings reflect each theory, and his style was very unique and unusual for the time period in which they were written. The artistic liberties and risks that Poe took in his works sparked the beginning of what we call the Romanticism Period. The hardships and tragedies which Edgar Allan Poe faced throughout his life played a big part in influencing his writing, how his writing influenced the period, and how it affected his mental stability (Life 240). Poe was born on January 19, 1809, in Boston, Massachusetts, to David and Elizabeth Poe. He had two siblings, a younger sister named Rosalie and an older brother named Henry. When Poe was just one, his father abandoned his wife and children. At two his mother died of tuberculosis and the children were split up into different homes (Tragedies 240). Poe was taken in by John Allan and his childless wife Frances, giving him his middle name. Having experienced many tragedies at an early age, he, starting at the age of six, developed a great fear of death and this influenced how and what he would later write (Jordan np). The Allan couple lived in Richmond, Virginia, and Poe was moved to their home...
Words: 3022 - Pages: 13
...“Was the death of Edgar Allan Poe really an accident?” Edgar Allan Poe death on October 7, 1949 was a strange and surprising event to everyone who knew and loved him. The cause of Poe’s death remains a mystery even now. While there are many reasonable facts and theories surrounding Poe’s unusual death, such as, heavy metal poisoning, further investigation regarding Poe’s enemies needs to happen in order for the mystery to be solved. There are many things that are known about the events surrounding Poe’s shocking decline in health and eventually his demise. For example, Poe was told by his fiance Elmira Shelton that he looked ill about a day before his departure for Philadelphia. So, Poe visited his doctor and friend, John Carter who recommended that he stay home and rest (D). During many times before his decline in health Poe suffered from recurrent depression, drug and alcohol abuse (A). A few days after his departure he was found “semi-conscious and was taken to a nearby...
Words: 632 - Pages: 3
...Comparative Literature Paper Selfishness and revenge are woven through “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe and “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner like a fine silk thread, supporting the theme of death in each. In the short story, “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner, the cause of death is never obviously revealed but lightly hinted upon Emily as the cause. “The Cask of Amontillado,” a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, the cause of death is revealed but no one knew the cause of Fortunato’s disappearance. These stories contain many differences as well as similarities ranging from imagery, symbolism, theme, and tone. The recognizable commonality of the two is the theme of death. Each of these stories portrays death, or murder, as a result of vengeance, revenge and betrayal. “The Cask of Amontillado” deals with the death of Fortunato and “A Rose for Emily” deals with the death of Homer and Emily. William Faulkner never admits that Emily is the cause of Homer’s death but gives the audience clues that suggest Emily was indeed responsible. Emily’s death seemed to be of natural causes (Faulkner, 1931, p 531). Edgar Allan Poe, in “The Cask of Amontillado” tells the audience of Montresor’s plot of revenge and murder of Fortunato. Betrayal and revenge are obvious throughout both stories. In “A Rose for Emily,” Emily first betrayed Homer after he did not take her for his wife after the whole town saw the two of them together. In “The Cask of Amontillado” betrayal...
Words: 1989 - Pages: 8
...Community College Edgar Allan Poe: Recurring Theme By Eric Torres Professor J. Carlacio ENG 201 - 071 14 March 2014 Edgar Allan Poe: Recurring Theme Edgar Allan Poe was an inimitable poet in the world of literature. Due to intensely traumatic events that occurred in his personal life, his anxiety led to a strong emphasis on a recurring theme of death particularly a woman not only within his poems. Although the death of a woman was common amongst his work, Poe in fact held women in high regard. There were a number of women present in his life that nurtured and comforted him, but the few he chose to acknowledge and genuinely care for coincidentally would die which was a major part why Poe often went through severe episodes of depression. Poe’s depression led him to a dark emotional state and caused a constant playback of death within his mind. Mourning many years in his life his love for women and experience with death combined to form a curiosity for the unknown and he transitioned this madness into his work. Poe was deeply in love with his wife Virginia. They married each other in the year 1836. She had passed in result of what was then known as consumption to what is now known as Tuberculosis in the year 1847. Within the course of those eleven years Virginia’s presence in his life played an important role in shaping his literary work. From the first time they had met to even after her death, she inspired Poe indefinitely. In Annabel Lee Poe in a first person point...
Words: 2000 - Pages: 8
...than ever,” Charlie states on April 30th. At this point in the story he was far more intelligent than his teacher or doctors, therefore has no one to relate to other than Algernon, the mouse who too received the treatment. Before charlie was “smart,” the smallest thing in life would put the biggest smile on his face. Now, as the new Einstein, none of those things could give him the slightest bit of satisfaction. His mind was three times more complex. He needed and wanted more, forcing him to feel alone and burry himself in his work. Though Charlie’s experiment was only temporary, and his IQ regressed bit by bit. There was one problem that massacred all the others and that was if Charlie’s hypothesis is correct, he will die just as Algernon did too. Charlie Gordon was able...
Words: 788 - Pages: 4
...for over 150 years on the subject of a poet’s mysterious death; who is it you ask? Edgar Allan Poe. The great man died October 3, 1849 due to unknown causes, after being missing for several days. There are many speculations to his death from rabies, to alcohol poisoning, heart failure, and even murder at the hands of a jealous competitor. Yet these are all presumptuous ideas with little to no evidence behind them beside old assumptions by the unqualified doctors of Poe’s time. However, it has become clear through recent evidence that Poe died of a brain tumor by newspaper evidence and symptom diagnoses. The largest piece of evidence that backs up the brain tumor theory is in a newspape from 1875, twenty-six years after Poe passed away. Article writer Leon...
Words: 876 - Pages: 4
...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...
Words: 496 - Pages: 2
...USA philosophy and culture. This way, instead of focusing on who the author is, it is focused on the content of the writing. In that which concerns Fiction, the following documents are the ones considered as narrative: Speeches Letters Short Stories Essays Political Documents Sermons Novels Diaries 1 FIRST LITERARY EXPRESSIONS The first documents in which the idea of Americanism is very present are the Sermons. They respond to the strict Protestantism settled in the New Continent after the arrival of the Pilgrim Fathers and Puritans in the Mayflower (1620) and the Arabella (1630). They established a theocratic community whose main and only point of reference was the Bible. That is why the idea of the ‘city upon a hill’ is still very present in American mentality. As we all know, their community was also governed by the concept of Predestination. This belief was based in the idea that we are saved or condemned since the very moment we are born or even, since the very moment when the Universe was created. Therefore, the way they confronted Good and Evil was that of effect-cause: if you are one of those who were going to be saved you certainly behaved as they were...
Words: 12691 - Pages: 51
...Although there are many reasons why we are drawn to these people, it has become clear to me during my research that the most legendary people of all time have been portrayed as unique. Mysterious or eccentric character traits tend to attract large audiences. As we discover what makes an artist or writer special, it gives us more to talk about. The more we talk about these artists the more famous they become. In this paper I will be focusing on artists, over the years, that people were drawn to because...
Words: 1390 - Pages: 6
...CJ Loehner Eng. 210 Tina Crossgrove 9/19/13 Montresor: Criminal or Hero? “Amontillado” a type of sherry wine that cost a man his life and all because he had a deceptive friend who fools him into thinking he needed some wine tasted. Edgar Allen Poe uses many types of literary devices in his writing to give his readers an enjoyable story to read. One of the devices is double entendre. One of the finest examples of this writing technique is in Edger Allan Poe’s “Cask of Amontillado”. In Poe’s short story we meet the interesting character of Montresor, a rich man who is out for revenge. Revenge most people would not even consider worth killing someone over. Not only does he have this revenge, Montresor is not much of a man for he does not want to fight this battle fairly. Actually, he is a two-faced person who is friendly and caring to Fortunato’s face while planning on killing him the entire time. During this story Montresor sometimes speaks using a double entendre. A double entendre is when you say one thing but mean something altogether different. When one realizes this it makes it hard to understand and causes one to wonder if Montresor can be trusted as a narrator. Edger Allan Poe’s use of this literary device makes one wonder if the reader can really trust what Montresor has to say, an if he is a reliable narrator or not. The act of getting revenge on someone is one of the oldest actions taken throughout the history of mankind. Revenge is harming somebody...
Words: 2419 - Pages: 10