An Animated Biography of Edgar Allan Poe

january 19th 1809 marks the day that edgar allan poe was born to actors elizabeth and david poe in boston massachusetts tragedy struck early for the child as both parents died before he could reach the tender age of four now an orphan young edgar was separated from his other siblings stripped of his boston hometown and sent to virginia under the guardianship of tobacco farmer john allen hence the addition of allen to the author's name growing up in virginia the young boy was able to attend school and even fortunate enough to study abroad in england poe lost

himself in stories and poems by legendary authors such as lord byron and charles dickens a passion began to arise within poe and he started to compose works of his own that is until guardian john allen fell into financial troubles and refused to keep financing poe's education desperate to stay in college and to remain writing poe turned to gambling as an immediate source of income but however hard he endeavored the young writer could not afford to keep himself enrolled in school and is rumored to have even set his own furniture on fire to stay warm during

the cold winter nights ultimately unable to continue his education poe turned to alcohol to console his grief and return to the allen home only to find his childhood sweetheart elimira had become engaged to another man due to his heartbreak and rising tension between his guardian and himself poe left virginia to follow his literary aspirations and adventurous appetite anxious to find paying work poe joined the us army eventually becoming a sergeant major around this time poe published his first collection tamerlane and other poems proving that writing was still his true passion though creatively inspired he was

yet unable to financially support himself by literary work alone and eventually fell into poverty dejected and left nowhere to turn poe journeyed to baltimore the childhood home of his deceased father where he was taken in by his relatives maria clem and her daughter virginia while in baltimore poe began editing for a famous literary magazine and started gaining acclaim as a critic and writer he became known for his biting reviews and exquisitely written poems and short stories that emphasized structure and style during this time of pose-writing fervor he married his cousin virginia many years his junior

and moved to new york in order to start a new life with his bride within a few years time poe became known throughout the literary community of america for his infamous critiques influential lectures and macabre genre masterpieces central to his work was brevity musicality and psychological depth he utilized literary tools such as allegory alliteration repetition and rhyme which elevated and distinguished his text from amongst his numerous writing contemporaries poe's work can be described as gothic romanticism a title that combines the author's affinity for the supernatural subject matter with the term coined by authors of the

19th century who emphasized writing from a place of feelings and emotion as opposed to rationality and facts due to the quantity and quality of his work poe became quite a prolific writer in his own lifetime attracting fans and even a few literary rivals however in 1847 just 10 years after they were wed his young wife virginia passed away from tuberculosis leaving the writer in acute mental and emotional distress on the brink of a downward spiral the next two years were prone to disaster for the despondent writer poe found himself hurtling towards the edge of poverty

and self-destruction he gambled he drank he had many well-known affairs with women everything that he had created for himself fell apart during this period of his life many of the authors most haunting works were penned perhaps giving his readers a window into the writer's own distress and sorrow reeling and navigating without a compass poe returned to the state of virginia and the scene of his childhood once more and just so happened to run into his ex-fiancee elimira now a widow the couple once again made plans to marry but soon after a proposal was offered poe

mysteriously vanished before the wedding only to be found dead outside of a bar in baltimore ten days later and thus the life of the great writer concluded suddenly at the age of 40. wow