Essay About Edgar Allan Poe And Famous Works

Edgar Allan Poe
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Many authors have made great contributions to the world of
literature. Mark Twain introduced Americans to life on the
Mississippi. Thomas Hardy wrote on his pessimistic views of the
Victorian Age. Another author that influenced literature is Edgar
Allan Poe. Poe is known as the father of the American short story and
father of the detective story. To understand the literary
contributions of Edgar Allan Poe, one must look at his early life, his
literary life, and a summary of two of his famous works.
“Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston (Inglis 505) “on
January 19, 1809 (Asselineau 409). He was born to a southern family
that were in a traveling company of actors (Inglis 505). His father,
David Poe, was from a Baltimore family. He was an actor by profession
and a heavy drinker. Soon after Edgar Allan Poe was born, he left his
family. Poes mother, Elizabeth Arnold Poe, was a widow at the age of
eighteen. Two years after his birth, she died of tuberculosis
(Asselineau 409). When his mother died, Poe was adopted by John Allan
(Perry XI) at the urging of Mr. Allans wife. In 1815, John Allan
moved his family to England. While there, Poe was sent to private
schools (Asselineau 410).
In the spring of 1826, Poe entered the University of
Virginia. There he studied Spanish, French, Italian, and Latin. He
had an excellent scholastic record. He got into difficulties almost
at once. Mr. Allan did not provide him with the money to pay for his
fees and other necessities. Poe was confused and homesick. He
learned to play cards and started drinking. Soon he was in debt in
excess of two thousand dollars. Poe discovered that he could not
depend upon Allan for financial support. His foster father refused to
pay his debts, and Poe had to withdraw from the University (Asselineau
410).
In May of 1827, Poe enlisted in the army as a common soldier.
He did this under the name of Edgar A. Perry. He was stationed on
Sullivans Island in Charleston Harbor for over a year. Poe adapted
very well to military discipline and quickly rose to the rank of
regimental sergeant major. After a while, he got tired of the same
daily routine involved in military life. Poe wrote regularly to Mr.
Allan. He met with Mr. Allan after the death of Mrs. Allan in
February of 1829. With Allans support, he received his discharge and
enlisted in West Point on July 1, l830 (Asselineau 410). While at
West Point, Mr. Allan, who had remarried, continued in not providing
Poe with enough money. Poe decided to have himself kicked out of
school. Cutting classes and disregarding orders were his solutions.
He was court-martialed for neglect of duties in January, 1831, and
left West Point the following month (Asselineau 411).
“Poe was great in three different fields , and in each one he
made a reputation that would give any man a high place in literary
history. Poe wrote great short stories, famous not only in his
own country, but all over the world (Robinson V).” “Hawthorne,
Irving, Balzac, Bierce, Crane, Hemingway and other writers have given
us memorable short stories; but none has produced so great a number of
famous and unforgettable examples, so many tales that continue,
despite changing standards to be read and reprinted again and again
throughout the world (Targ VII).” “Poe was the father of the modern
short story, and the modern detective story (Targ VII).” “With
the possible exception of Guy de Maupassant, no other writer is so
universally known and esteemed for so large of a corpus of excellent
tales as in Edgar Allan Poe (Targ VII).”
In 1831, Poe succeeded in publishing a new edition of his
poems entitled, Poems. Poe was now in great difficulty. He went to
New York, but could find no job there. Eventually he took refuge with
his aunt, Mrs. Clemm, in Baltimore. There he decided to seek
employment and make his living by writing. Failing to get attention
with his poems, he decided to start writing short stories. Poe
competed in a contest for the best short story in 1831. The prize was
offered by Phil-Saturday Courier. Because he did not win the prize,
Poe started on an ambitious project. He decided to plan a series of
tales told by members of a literary group. He found no publisher for
his stories, and entered the contest again in June