Edgar Allen Poe Essay Research Paper The

Edgar Allen Poe Essay, Research Paper

The influences of Edgar Allen Poe

Edgar Allen Poe is considered to be one of the best when it comes to Early American Literature. He is most famous for the short stories and poems that he had written. The question posed here is why did Edgar Allen Poe write poems and short stories that are filled with horror and the presence of Death. Many believe that it was his addiction to alcohol and the events that he had to endure during his lifetime. Events such as the death of his mother and abandonment of his father at an early age could vary well be the answer to this question. Such events could be horrifying for anyone but the fact that the effects are showing through his works and those influences could be the reason that he is one of the most popular writers in American Literature. Edgar s addiction to alcohol was his flaw that turned out to be fatal. His need for alcohol was so strong it caused the loss of one of the women he so dearly loved. Poe has been accused of using the drug opium, but in reality it was his narrators (www.eapoe.org, 1997). This is commonly confused or misinterpreted that Edgar himself used the drug to the point where he became addicted.

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 and a summary of two of his famous works. “Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston on January 19, 1809″ (eapoe.org1997). He was born to a southern family that were in a traveling company of actors. 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. Poe’s mother, Elizabeth Arnold Poe, was a widow at the age of eighteen. Two years after his birth, she died of tuberculosis (eapoe.org1997).

When his mother died, Poe was adopted by John Allan who was convinced to do so by his wife Frances Allen. At the age of five Edgar began his formal education under Elizabeth Fisher. He then graduated and moved on to the school of Mr. William Ewing for a brief period of time.(eapoe.org,1997)

In 1815, John Allan moved his family to England. While there, Poe was sent to private schools such as the school of Misses Dubourg where he studied geography, spelling, and the Catechism of the Church of England. Poe was moved around schools more than others for some unknown reason. Again Poe switched schools now attending the Manor House School ran by the Reverend John Brandsby. Here Edgar studied languages and dancing.(eapoe.org1997)

In 1820 Poe returned to America with his family aboard the Martha. After a short break from school he then entered the school Joseph H Clarke. Two years later he would then switch to the school of William Burke. 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, Mr. Allan did not provide him with the money to pay for his fees and other necessities. Edgar became confused and homesick so for recreation Poe 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 (Des Chenes,193)

In May of 1827, Poe enlisted in the army as a common soldier. He did this under the name of Edgar A. Perry for yet again an unknown reason. He was stationed on Sullivan’s 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 and met with him after the death of Mrs. Allan in February of 1829. With Allan’s support, he received his discharge and enlisted in West Point on July 1, l830 (eapoe.org1997). While at West Point, Mr. Allan, who had remarried, continued in not providing Poe with the money that he needed. Poe decided to have himself kicked out of school. Cutting classes and disregarding orders were his methods of doing so. He was court-martialed for neglect of duties in January, 1831, and left West Point the following month (eapoe.org1997). Poe was well educated and now considered himself to be ready to enter the literary world. Throughout his educational years Poe worked on many literary works which were published towards the end of his schooling years.

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 (Regon 103). 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. Poe was the father of the modern short story, and the modern detective story. 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 (Magill 2612)

In 1831, P