Edgar Allan Poe

His Family and Tragic Life   Born in Boston   The son of traveling actors   Tragic and unhappy life

Tragic and Unhappy Life   Mother died of tuberculosis and his father deserted him at the age of two   Fostered by a wealthy merchants, Mr. and Mrs. John Allan   Constant disagreements with his step-father developed in his teenage years

...continued   Studied briefly at the University of Virginia   Drinking and gambling problems kept him from continuing at UVA   Moved back to Baltimore to stay with his widowed Aunt Maria Clemm, her daughter, Virginia, his brother Henry, and his invalid grandmother   Poe’s brother dies of tuberculosis

  Received an appointment to West Point, but he provoked his own dismissal   Caused a final separation between Poe and his step-father...continued

 n 1836 married his 14 year old cousin, Virginia  In 1836 married his 14 year old cousin, Virginia  In 1845, “The Raven” was published and was enormously popular  In 1846 wife died of tuberculosis after a long illness

... continued   Lived in poverty stricken conditions   Last 12 years of life worked as a journalist, editor, and creative writer

Addiction???   Sometimes strange special effects have been linked addiction to opium   Addiction was not uncommon in the 1800’s, because of frequent use of laudanum, an opium based medicine, to treat headaches and stomach pains

Addiction???  D  D ied in Baltimore of unknown causes  M  M uch of what we “know” today about Poe’ death came from a biography published shortly after his death by another writer who hated Poe

Addiction??? A dding mystery surrounding Poe's death, an unknown visitor referred to as the "Poe Toaster" has paid homage to Poe's grave every year since 1949 E very January 19, Poe’s birthday, in the early hours of the morning, the man makes a toast of cognac to Poe's original grave marker and leaves three roses L ikely that the "Poe Toaster" is actually several individuals

Poe’s Legacy Known for: TTales of mystery/suspens e and terror stories IIntroducing the modern detective story

Just a Few Titles… PP o e m s : TT h e R a v e n AA n n a b e l L e e TT o H e l e n TT h e B e l l s   Short Stories   The Tell-Tale Heart   The Cask of Amontillado   The Fall of the House of Usher

Gothic Elements  Supernatural horrors and an atmosphere of unknown terror pervades the action  High emotion, sentimentalism, but also pronounced anger, surprise, and especially terror  Use of words indicating fear, mystery, etc.: apparition, devil, ghost, haunted, terror, fright, fainting