Edgar Allan Poe Discerning His Life and Literature Tyler Fraley English 101

Introduction Topic: Compare events that took place in Poe’s life to certain pieces of his work to find similarities and determine the influences his life held. Literature: Masque of the Red Death (May 1842), The Tell-Tale Heart (January 1843), The Raven (January 1845), and The Cask of Amontillado (November 1846) Thesis: The events that took place in Poe’s life, both personal events and national events, as well as his weakened mental state helped shape and develop his timeless works of literature.

Poe’s Life Born Jan. 19, 1809 Father left family/died Mother dies Dec. 8, 1811 Unofficially adopted by John and Frances Allan Moved to London 1815 until 1820 Begins writing poetry Enrolls in Richmond school run by William Burke Enters University of Virginia and studies ancient and modern language in February of 1826 Incurs massive gambling debts and drops out in December Leaves for Boston, has first collection of poems published, and enrolls as Edgar A. Perry in the U.S. Army and is sent to South Carolina in 1827 Becomes Sergeant Major and applies for West Point in 1828 [Consumption (Tuberculosis) becomes major issue in world mid 1800s] Enrolled in West Point and court martialed and expelled in Moves in with aunt and cousin Maria and Virginia Clemm in Baltimore in 1831

Poe’s Life cont. Introduced to John Kennedy after winning literary contest in 1833 Begins working in publishing and editing under Kennedy’s recommendation 1835 Weds Virginia Clemm May 16, 1836 Drinking bouts begin to alienate from coworkers and boss Moves to Philadelphia 1838 Contributes to local magazines and papers Virginia contracts Tuberculosis 1842 Masque of the Red Death published May 1842 The Tell-Tale Heart published Jan Alcoholic tendencies increasing and causing issues at home and lawfully Begins public lectures as main income 1843 Moves to New York City 1844 The Raven published and gains instant popularity Jan Famous collection The Raven and Other Poems made 1845 The Cask of Amontillado published Nov Virginia dies Jan. 30, 1847; Poe beset with illness for most of the year Found unconscious in Baltimore streets due to alcohol and sickness Oct. 3, 1849 dies four days later

The Masque of the Red Death Centered in Prince Prospero’s abbey, where a plague known as the Red Death is killing everyone Prospero invites all the nobles to a masquerade ball in hopes to protect and distract from plague Guest guised as a plague victim approaches Prospero The guest’s cloak and mask fall away and reveal empty space Prospero dies in contact with “guest” as well as all the nobles

The Masque interpretation The Red Death is quite obviously a metaphor for Tuberculosis which was beginning to take hold of much of the world Virginia also developed it before the publishing It is also a metaphor for the inevitable death that it caused at the time due to limited treatment options

The Tell-Tale Heart It is a narrative of a man trying to convince the reader of his sanity while describing/confessing to a murder Killed an old man with a “vulture eye” Describes the grotesque murder and hiding of the body under the floor boards, but the narrator can still hear the heart beating Prevalent hatred for the ever-watching eye

Tell-Tale Heart interpretation The story is a story of confession or guilt over a murder but it can be taken as a cry of insanity It is parallel to the newly used insanity- defense in courts The eye could be a metaphor for observance and criticism, which Poe often received for his alcoholism and writings both I believe that it is a allegory for Poe dismissing and casting away his criticisms

The Raven Poem narrated by a man who lost his lover, Lenore A strange raven visits him at night It continuously says “Nevermore” in response to the man’s questions and ramblings at the bird The raven appears to be driving the man into madness along with his distress

The Raven interpretation I find that The Raven is a love poem written about Virginia in her sick and dying state The word “nevermore” is symbolic of her dwindling life and possibly of Poe never loving anyone after her passing It also parallels his accused insanity and madness, much like that of the narrator

The Cask of Amontillado It is a tale of a man’s, Montresor, vengeful murder The narration takes place in the man’s wine cellar He takes his victim, Fortunato, to a back room while he is drunk in a false search of a rare wine It ends with Montresor chaining up Fortunato and trapping him in the wall

The Cask interpretation I believe that the story is one of realization for Poe, beyond the simple murder story I think that it is Poe realizing that his alcoholism will be the death of him as the victim walked into his death in a drunken stupor

Conclusion I find that Poe’s stories are those of fiction and entertainment, but some hold deeper meanings They take real life events and twist them in darkness The stories also reflect Poe’s psyche and strife in his life Do you believe that Poe’s life is reflected in his works? How?