Poe was born in 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts to traveling actors. He was the second of three children. Three years after he was born, his parents died and he was sent to live with a wealthy tobacco merchant John Allan and his wife, Frances Valentine Allen. His siblings were sent elsewhere. Allen raised Poe to be a business man, but Poe was never interested in that life. As stated on poemuseum.com, “Mr. Allan would rear Poe to be a businessman and a Virginia gentleman, but Poe had dreams of being a writer in emulation of his childhood hero the British poet Lord Byron. Early poetic verses found written in a young Poe’s handwriting on the backs of Allan’s ledger sheets reveal how little interest Poe had in the tobacco business. By the age of thirteen, Poe had compiled enough poetry to publish a book, but his headmaster advised Allan against allowing this.”
In 1826, Poe went to the University of Virginia leaving Richmond. As stated on poemuseum.com, “...where he excelled in his classes while accumulating considerable debt. The miserly Allan had sent Poe to college with less than a third of the money he needed, and Poe soon took up gambling to raise money to pay his expenses. By the end of his first term Poe was so desperately poor that he burned his furniture to keep warm.” Humiliated by becoming poor and having no funds sent by Allen, he returned to Richmond to his fiancé's house only to find that she was engaged to another.
In 1829, Poe’s foster mother died. On her deathbed, she just wanted for Poe and Allan to make up, but the make up didn’t last long. In 1831, Poe moved in with his aunt, Marie
Clemm. She was the mother of Virginia Clemm who became Poe’s wife at the age of thirteen, Poe was 27. During this time, he was writing poetry books and became the editor of Southern Literary Journal and became a respected critic and essayist. “Though not without his detractors and troubles with employers, it was the start of his career as respected critic and essayist. Other publications which he contributed to were Burton’s Gentleman’s Magazine (1839–1840), Graham’s Magazine (1841–1842), Evening Mirror, and Godey’s Lady’s Book.” as stated on online-literature.com. In 1847, Virginia died in their home in NewYork, which lead him to abusing alcohol and acting even more erractic. A year later he was engaged to his teenage sweetheart, Elmira Royster. In 1849, Poe died; the reason is unknown.
“Just as the bizarre characters in Poe’s stories have captured the public imagination so too has Poe himself. He is seen as a morbid, mysterious figure lurking in the shadows of moonlit cemeteries or crumbling castles. This is the Poe of legend. But much of what we know about Poe is wrong, the product of a biography written by one of his enemies in an attempt to defame the author’s name.” As stated on poemuseum.com. Poe was extremely unfortunate, but a normal person.
Was his experiences the reason he was such a good writer? In my opinion yes. The loss of parents, the hard relationship with his foster parents, the jilted love of his first fiance and the untimely death of his first wife are the building blocks of his intriguing stories. I leave with two videos, the readings of “The Raven” and “Annabell Lee” both poems that reflect Poe’s life.
