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Edgar Allan Poe (1809 – 1849)

Edgar Allan Poe (1809 – 1849). Early Life. Orphaned before his third birthday Taken in by John and Frances Allan Grew up feeling both the lack of a natural father and the disapproval of his foster father

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Edgar Allan Poe (1809 – 1849)

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  1. Edgar Allan Poe(1809 – 1849)

  2. Early Life • Orphaned before his third birthday • Taken in by John and Frances Allan • Grew up feeling both the lack of a natural father and the disapproval of his foster father • John Allan – made no secret of his disappointment in Edgar’s idleness, indifference to business life, and literary ambitions

  3. Adult Life • University of Virginia at 17 • Fell into debt due to gambling habits • Foster parents withdrew him from college • Fled to Boston  published a volume of poems (unsuccessful)  joined the army • Disliked army life, so John aided him financially one last time and helped him enter West Point Military Academy

  4. A Strange Man… • Dismissed himself from West Point and moved in with an aunt in Baltimore • Married her 13-year-old daughter • Supported the family by working as an editor at various magazines and wrote in his spare time

  5. Poe’s Legacy • Laid the foundation for the modern detective story – inspired “Sherlock Holmes” • Master of the psychological thriller

  6. Poe’s Legacy Continued… • told tales of the ghastly and the grotesque… • sought to tell tales that took his audience “behind the curtain that separates the everyday from the incredible” • wanted to leave behind the “sunlit, tangible, rational world and discover the unsettling truth that lies in the dark, irrational depths of the human mind”

  7. Poe’s Legacy Continued… • Suffered from a serious drinking problem and humiliating poverty, but still produced a considerable body of work • “The Raven” finally brought him some fame, but still no financial security

  8. His wife died  he grew more and more unstable and sickly • Pursued romance relentlessly • Disappeared during a trip to visit a woman he hoped to marry – found a week later, delirious and in a tavern died 4 days later

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