Edgar Allan PoeThe Man & The Mystery

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January 19 1809, Boston, Massachusetts

October 7 1849, Baltimore, Maryland

Born Edgar Poe, to actors Elizabeth and David PoeHad 2 siblings, William Henry and Rosalie

Orphan at the age of three or five

Was taken in by John Allan and his wife, hence his middle nameMost of his education he received in England and Scotland.

In 1826 he was admitted to University of Virginia

Here he accumulated a great gambling debt, which tore a rift between him and John Allan

His debt ended up forcing him to drop out of school

Enlisted in the army in 1827Did well and earned the rank of Sergeant Major.

In 1829 Mrs. Allan dies and John Allan attempts to mend relationship with Edgar

Poe transfers to west point, by the help of John Allan.

John Allan refuses to financially support Edgar, which tears the rift open again and Edgar, is said to, have broken protocol and rules to be discharged

When Allan dies, Poe is left out of the will.

Moves in with his aunt. Mrs. Clemm and her Daughter Virginia

Married his cousin Virginia in 1836, He was 27 and she was 13

He went on to work for several magazines as a journalist, editor and literary critic

Published many short-stories and poems

Though he wrote and worked him and his wife did not have the best conditions

Wife became ill and died in 1846

He died on October 7 1849

He is said to have been found on October 3, demented, near a polling place

He was taken to the hospital where he died 4 days later

Many theories of what killed him have surfaced through time: Alcohol and substance abuse; manly opium or even rabies

The official report states “congestion of the brain

Bibliografy• 66 completed stories

• The Black Cat• The Tell-Tale Heart• Fall of The House of Usher• The Pit and The Pendulum• Murders in Rue Morgue• Manuscript in a Bottle

• 70 completed poems• The Raven• Annabell Lee• A Dream Within a Dream• Lenore

• 1 completed novel• The Narrative of Arthur Gordon

Pym of Nantucket

Poe as a writer

Poe places veiled clues before the reader.

The writer/narrator strives to appear objective.

Poe would have liked to solve everything by the mind.

He was disturbed by what he could not solve by reason.

The climax of the story is the narrator’s explanation of the crime.

His detective novels

Horror’s, grotesque and arabesque storiesGrim setting

Landscapes are often reflections of character’s mind.

Unusual buildings, extremes of nature, eccentric works of art

Very few of his stories take place in America; most take place in Europe or Never-never-land.

Hidden evil

Unspeakable, mysterious crimes, including incest and parracide

Obsession with Death

Ghosts, blood, body parts

Maniacal Laughter

The discovered manuscript gives responsibility to someone else

Deformity

the grotesque--people who don’t look right are capable of activity beyond the norm

Poe was one of the first to write short stories

He founded the detective genre and is said to be the influence behind Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes

Was one of the establishers of the modern Gothic and Horror genre

Has greatly influenced both music, poetry, fiction and is still to this day of interest

Poe and his legacy