Edgar Allan Poe

Short biography of Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe (born Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American author, poet, editor, and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is generally considered the inventor of the detective fiction genre. He is further credited with contributing to the emerging genre of science fiction. He was the first well-known American writer to try to earn a living through writing alone, resulting in a financially difficult life and career. Poe, a southern writer, was born in Boston, the second child of two actors. His father abandoned the family in 1810, and his mother died the following year.

Thus orphaned, the child was taken in by John and Frances Allan of Richmond, Virginia. Tension between Poe and John Allan reached a breaking point after Poe’s unsuccessful attempt to gain control of his inherited fortune, prompting Allan to disown him. Poe quarreled with Allan over the funds for his education and enlisted in the Army in 1827 using the name “Edgar A. Perry”, adopting the surname “Poe” upon his discharge in 1829. His publication in 1827 of a collection of poems, Tamerlane and Other Poems, brought him some fame and a certain amount of notoriety. By 1831 he had completed a novel, although it was not published until 1833, after his death. With the death of Frances Allan in 1829, Poe and Allan reached a temporary rapprochement. However, Poe later failed as an officer cadet at West Point, declaring a firm wish to be a poet and writer, and he ultimately parted from John Allan. Poe switched his focus to prose and spent the next several years working for literary journals and periodicals, becoming known for his own style of literary criticism. His work forced him to move among several cities, including Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York City.

In Baltimore in 1835, he married Virginia Clemm, his 13-year-old cousin. In January 1845 Poe published his poem “The Raven” to instant success. His wife died of tuberculosis two years later. Poe planned for years to produce his own journal The Penn, through which he would flex his talents, but he was never able to make the journal profitable. He died in October 1849 at age 40; the cause of his death is unknown and has been variously attributed to alcohol, brain congestion, cholera, drugs, heart disease, rabies, suicide, tuberculosis, and other agents. Poe and his works influenced literature in the United States and around the world, as well as in specialized fields such as cosmology and cryptography. Poe and his work appear throughout popular culture in literature, music, films, and television. A number of his homes are dedicated museums today.

General Essay Structure for this Topic

1. Poe’s Life and Works
2. Poe’s Themes
3. Poe’s Writing Style
4. Poe’s Use of Imagery
5. Poe’s Use of Symbolism
6. Poe’s Use of Gothic Elements
7. Poe’s Use of Satire
8. Poe’s Use of Horror
9. Poe’s Influence on Other Writers
10. Poe’s Legacy

Important information

Spouse: Virginia Eliza Clemm Poe (m. 1836–1847)

Short stories: The Black Cat, The Tell-Tale Heart, The Fall of the House of Usher