In the series of great American writers, you will certainly find Edgar Allan Poe. He was considered one of the most important writers of the 19th century, was an editor and literary critic but was better known for his poetry and short stories, which were not only profound but also highly mysterious. Even many years after his death, his works are still of great importance to many in the literary world. Here you will find everything worth knowing about him.
Edgar Allan Poe Bio
Although he became widely known as Edgar Allan Poe, the poet was born as Edgar Poe on January 19, 1809, in the United States, in Boston, Massachusetts. Shortly after his birth, his alcoholic father left the family and left it to his mother to look after Edgar and his older brother, as well as his sister, who was born after her father left her.
When he was three years old, both his parents had died, so they had to be adopted by different people. John and Frances Allan adopted Edgar Poe, so they added the name Allan to his birth name.
For his education, he attended a grammar school in Irvine before being sent to Chelsea to continue his education in a boarding school. From there he transferred to the Manor House School of Reverend John Bransby. Later he went to the University of Virginia but did not complete his studies. Poe also trained at the Military Academy of the United States and served even before his release.
After he was discharged from the military, Poe continued his life as a writer and poet. His works include short stories such as “The Black Cat” and “The Cask of Amontillado” as well as poems such as “The City in the Sea”, “The Conqueror Worm” and “A Dream within a Dream”.
ALSO READ: Who Is Boxbox, Who Is The Girlfriend, Is He Gay, Here Are the Facts
Family, Parents, And Wife
Edgar came from a family that was artistically inclined. His father, David Poe jr., was an actor, just like the poet’s mother, Eliza Poe. They both made names for themselves on the stage. Poe had an older brother named William Henry Leonard Poe, who was also a poet, and a younger sister, Rosalie Poe. She was born after David Poe had left his family, so there was a question about her paternity. Nevertheless, the poet declared that she was his own sister.
With the death of her parents, Edgar Allan Poe’s actual family disintegrated, as each of the three children was adopted by different families. As mentioned above, John and Frances Allan Poe adopted John and Frances Allan Poe and gave him a new family until much later in his life.
As the poet behind works like “Annabel Lee”, Poe’s love story is as interesting as his love poetry and still very sad. The first woman he dated was Sarah Elmira Royster, with whom he later became very serious and even got engaged. Nevertheless, it was his first cousin of the first degree, Virginia Eliza Clemm Poe, whom he was later to marry because of the interference of Sarah’s father in the relationship.
When Virginia Eliza Clemm Poe married Edgar, she was just 13 years old while he was 27. Their relationship was described by many as good, but then the poet was later accused of being involved with Frances Sargent Osgood, a poet known for exchanging romantic poems with Poe, and Elizabeth F. Ellet, who was also a poetess.
The scandal did not end without putting a great deal of emphasis on the life of the young Virginia Eliza Clemm Poe, who had tuberculosis, from which she died in 1847 at the age of 24. Virginia’s death marked the beginning of the end for Edgar, who resorted to alcoholism, which led to the breakdown of his relationship with Sarah Helen Whitman, whom he had engaged to marry in 1848.
After the end of the relationship, Poe returned to the woman he had loved when he was much younger, Sarah Elmira Royster, who was already married at that time, but her husband had died in 1844, leaving her with two children. Poe urged her to get engaged to disapprove of her children. Unfortunately, Poe had lost his life before the two could marry.
Edgar Allan Poe Death
Since his childhood Edgar Allan Poe had always experienced tragedies, from the loss of his parents to the loss of his wife, then his brother and other people close to him. On October 7, 1849, the bells finally rang for the poet The Bells after he had died mysteriously.
ALSO READ: Jessica Weaver Biography, Facts and Family Life of The Instagram Star
One day before his death, he was found on the streets of Baltimore Baltimore in clothes that were not his own and rushed to Washington Medical College. There was no explanation as to how he got into the situation or how he could be helped.
“Reynolds” was the name he gave the night before his last, and “Lord help my poor soul” were the writer’s last words before his death.
Other Facts
- His mother first married Charles Hopkins before marrying his father after her first husband died three years after their marriage.
- Contrary to the stereotypical way in which we look at writers, Poe was a sportsman and was popular because of his ability as a swimmer.
- There were rumors that Edgar was a drug addict. It was found, however, that this was not true.
- Poe had been involved with many women in his life, but the one he really thought was his true love was the mother of his girlfriend, Mrs. Jane Stith Stanard, with whom he was in love. She died when he was just 15 years old, and that led to his poem “To Helen.”