The Life of Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was born to David and Elizabeth Poe on January 19, 1809. For two years, Poe and his siblings Henry and Rosalie lived in Boston Massachusetts. When Poe was two years old, his parents died. His brother Henry was sent to live with their grandparents, while a wealthy merchant adopted Edgar named John Allan. John owned a successful merchant business in Richmond Virginia. When Poe was six years old, Allan sent him to boarding school in England. He returned to America after five years and continued his education. Poe went to the University of Virginia in 1826. Sadly, Poe developed a drinking problem. Broke and unable to get any help from his adopted father Allan, Poe dropped out of school.
Lacking any true direction, Poe returned to Boston and joined up with the army. Poe advanced quickly through the ranks, becoming a sergeant after just two years. Redeemed in Allan’s eyes, Poe was sent to West Point Officer Academy. Poe was quickly dismissed for poor behavior and financial difficulties. This failure was the final blow and destroyed Poe’s and Allan’s relationship. John Allan died in 1834 and didn’t even mention Poe as his son.
In 1831, Poe entered his short story “The Manuscript Found in a Bottle” in a contest. The owner of the Southern Literary Messenger like Poe’s work and gave him a job as an editor. In 1836, Poe married his thirteen-year-old cousin, Virginia. Once again plagued by financial difficulties, Poe move to New York City and then to Philadelphia. Poe published his first book of short stories and poems in 1839. In 1840, Poe found a job as an editor for “Graham’s Magazine”. It was here that he published on of his most famous works, “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”.
Poe tried to run his own magazine, but it failed miserably. Poe then went through a string of odd jobs, but always found they didn’t earn enough. Poe continued to write short stories and poems during this time, but they never earned much. Perhaps his most famous story during this time was “ The Golden Bug”. In 1845, Virginia became ill with Tuberculosis. In 1847, Virginia died. It was during this time, he wrote the poem “The Bells”.
Poe never recovered from the loss of his wife. He continued to write short stories and poems, but never gained much notoriety for them. Eventually Poe tried to turn his life around. He was on his way to an interview in New York City, for a newspaper there, but accidentally took the wrong train. Poe was later found in a poor house in Baltimore. He was rushed to a hospital, but died on October 7, 1849. No one knows what the cause of Poe’s death was.
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