Edgar_Allen_Poe

Virello 1 Michael Virello Professor Haynes Comp and Lit 2 28 April 2012 Edgar Allen Poe- Life Through Death Edgar Allen Poe was a significant story, poem, and play writer. His ingenious and profound stories and poem had caught the hearts of millions and is considered by literary historians as the architect of the modern short story. His writing focused on his outstanding language and techniques, as well as his odd and very original imagination. Poe was born on January 19, 1809, in Boston Massachusetts Poe's mother, Elizabeth Poe, and father, Arnold Poe, were both professional actors who passed away in 1811 when Poe was the young age of three, and was taken in by John Allen, a reporter for Richmond, Virginia(Contemporary Authors Online 1,5). Poe foster father John never followed up on any legal documentation in the adoption of Edgar. In 1825 Poe attended the University of Virginia at Charlottesville where he excelled in his scholastic, but was forced to leave due to a lack of funding. Upon returning home Poe's relationship with his foster father, John, crumbled in 1827. Soon after Poe left to Boston and enlisted himself into the army and published his first Collection of poetry, “Tamerlane and Minor Poems”(Contemporary Authors Online 5). Poe shot his ranks up the army to the position of regimental sergeant major, and was admitted into West Point Academy, where he was discharged due to the failure of financial problems once again. Edgar then left for New York where he lived with his aunt Maria Clemm. While in New York Poe's third work called “Poems” was published in 1831. Poe's first short story Ms. Found in a Bottle made an appearance in Philadelphia Saturday Courier, winning him a cash prize for best story in the Baltimore Saturday Visitor(Contemporary Authors Online 5). A few years later scored a job as an editorship for The Southern Literary Messenger Virello 2 in Richmond. Poe then moved to Richmond with his aunt and twelve-year-old cousin Virginia whom he married in 1836(Contemporary Authors Online 6). Ten years after Edgar's editorship he was pronounced as the leading man in letters in America and was slightly recognized and paid for his works, but not enough to support himself. Poe's wife then passed away due to tuberculosis in 1847, which lead Poe to have a number of romantic relationships, but as he prepared for his second marriage he went to Baltimore in late September 1849(Contemporary Authors Online 7). On October 3, Poe was discovered in a state of semi-consciousness, where he died four days later(Contemporary Authors Online 1). To this day there it is unknown what business he had in Baltimore, and exactly what had happened during the last four days of Poe's life (Contemporary Authors Online 7). Virello 3 Work Cited “Edgar Allen Poe.” Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale, 2004. Literature Resource Center. Web. 25 April 2012