Edgar Allan

Poe

1809-1849

His Family and Tragic Life

Born in BostonThe 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.

. . .continued Received an appointment to West Point, but he provoked his own

dismissal Caused a final separation between Poe and his step-father

. . .continued

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.

Father of Detective Story

He accepted an offer as editor of Graham’s Magazine, where he published his groundbreaking story “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”

It was considered groundbreaking because it was the first detective story.

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???Died in Baltimore

of unknown causes

Much of what we “know” today about Poe’ death

came from a biography published shortly after his death by another writer who hated Poe.

Addiction??? Adding

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

Every 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.

Likely that the

"Poe Toaster" is

actually several

individuals.

Poe’s LegacyKnown for:

Tales of mystery

and terror

stories Introducing the modern

detective story

Just a Few Titles…

Short Stories: The Tell-Tale Heart

The Cask of Amontillado

The Fall of the House of Usher

Poems: The Raven Annabel Lee To Helen The Bells

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.

Gothic Literature Gargoyles—

carvings of small

deformed

creatures

squatting at the

corners and

crevices of Gothic

cathedrals—were

supposed to ward

off evil spirits, but

they often look

more like demonic

spirits themselves.

Gothic Literature Think of the gargoyle as a mascot of Gothic, and you will get an idea of the kind of imaginative distortion of reality that Gothic

represents.

Romanticism vs. Gothic Romanticism developed as

a reaction against the rationalism of the Age of Reason.

The romantics freed the imagination from the hold of

reason, so they could follow their imagination wherever it might lead.

For some Romantics, when they looked at the individual, they saw hope (think “A Psalm of Life”).

Romantic writers celebrated the beauties of nature.

For some Romantic writers, the imagination led to the threshold of the unknown—the shadowy

region where the fantastic, the

demonic and the insane reside.

When the Gothic's saw the individual, they saw the potential

of evil. Gothic writers were peering into the darkness

at the supernatural.

Gothic Movement in America

By the 19th century, Edgar Allan Poe, Nathanial Hawthorne, and to a lesser extent Washington Irving and Herman Melville were using the Gothic

elements in their writing.

Edgar Allan Poe was the master of the

Gothic form in the United States.

Edgar Allan Poe

His stories have: Settings that featuring

Dark, medieval castlesDecaying ancient estates

Characters that areMale—insaneFemale—beautiful and dead (or dying)

Plots that includeMurderLive burialsPhysical and mental tortureRetribution from beyond the grave

For Poe, it was only in these extreme situations that people revealed their true nature.