Essay Preview: Poe
Report this essay
Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 19, 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts. Poes parents died before he reached age three, leaving behind three children. The brother of Poe died at a young age and his sister eventually went insane. John Allen, a wealthy merchant in Virginia, however, took in Poe. Poe had an uneventful childhood although he studied in England from 1815-1820. When Poe returned to Virginia he studied at the University of Virginia. Later in the year, Poe ran up some gambling debts that John Allen refused to pay. Allen then forced Poe to drop out of the University, then disowned him. Poe became engaged to a woman named Sarah Elvira Royster whose parents forced her to break it off. In a desperate attempt to put his life together, Poe joined the army, taking him to South Carolina where he got in touch with his aunt. Poe was kicked out of the army with dishonorable discharge, which most believed was intentional. Later, Poe started working for various magazines and in 1836 he married his thirteen-year-old cousin Virginia Clemm. Virginia burst a blood vessel in 1842 and became a virtual invalid and died five years later.
Edgar Allan Poe was overcome by his drug and alcohol problem. He continued searching for love in various places, including an affair with poet Sarah Helen Whitman. Eventually Poe became engaged to long ago love Elvira Royster who was married at the time.
Poe suffered from loneliness and madness, and attempted suicide in 1848. After drinking, Poe disappeared and was found in the gutter on the way to Roysters house. He then died on October 7,1849 in Baltimore.