Edgar Allan PoeBy: MacKenzie Hudson

Beginning of his life.. On January 9th, 1809 a baby boy was born in the name of Edgar Allan Poe. Edgar was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He didn’t live there for long, he was mostly raised in Virginia. When he was three both of his parents died. His parents were both in the acting career. He was in foster care until John and Frances Poe adopted him and thats when he moved to Richmond, Virginia.

John AllanJohn Allan was Edgar’s foster father. He was a fairly wealthy man. He sent Edgar to many boarding schools. Once Edgar decided to go to University of Virginia, Edgar went into major debt. Mr. Allan refused to pay all of Edgar’s bills. Many letters were sent to him from Edgar asking for money. He died on March 27th, 1834, at only fifty-four years of age.

Frances Keeling Valentine AllanFrances was married to JohnAllan. She was the foster motherof Edgar Allan Poe. She didn’t have a very long life, she marriedJohn Allan but their marriage consisted on no children. Poebelieved that she actually thought of him as her own child. Shedied on February 28th, 1829.

Before his career..Edgar attended many of the best boarding schools. He later went to University of Virginia though. After only one year of school he was demanded to leave because he refused to pay his gambling and drinking debt. He then decided to move back to Boston and join the U.S. Military.

Edgar’s Love LifeWhen Edgar got back from the army he got engaged to Sarah Elmira Royster but as a secret. Their relationship didn’t work out and divorced. He soon got engaged to Virginia Clemm, his thirteen-year-old cousin. She died of tuberculosis.

Virginia ClemmVirginia was Edgar’s last wife before he died. He really lovedher. When they got married, shewas only thirteen while he was twenty-seven. She had a hard life,she had a blood disease calledtuberculosis, this is why she died.She died on January 30th, 1847,she was very young, twenty-fiveyears old.

Start of his career..After the military he moved to New York. He tried to get his work published in articles, magazines, and more but they were all rejected. He missed Virginia deeply. Luckily, he won a contest and his prize was that he could be the editor. He slowly increased in his work soon after that.

End of his career..

Edgar never really gave up on writing, he got mad and frustrated, but he never stopped until he died. He was known for his murderous, spooky, scary, and mysterious poems. He wanted to make the readers feel suspense. His work started out slow, but he soon was a big hit in his poem writing, everyone loved him.

Edgar’s Death

He died on October 7th, 1849. No one knows exactly how he died. There are many theories, one of the most common that doctors have come up with is rabies. There’s a possibility that he died of rabies, most doctors think. Edgar Allan Poe will always be remembered for his amazing poems.

Popular PoemsBy Edgar Allan Poe

“The Black Cat”This poem is about a black cat that follows the narrator around all the time. His name is Pluto. Him and the narrator have a strong friendship. Until one day, the narrator goes insane. He tries killing the cat with an axe because the cat almost tripped him down the stairs. He got so mad he almost killed it, but his wife stopped him. He got so mad and annoyed that she did this that he just put the axe right through her head. He took her body and out it in his cellar behind the brick wall. The police came and investigated. Right as they were about to leave he started to say how well constructed the walls were, guilt was getting to him and then they heard a scream in the wall, and there was the cat.

“The Tell-Tale Heart”This poem is about how the narrator is bothered by this big, pale-blue eye that the old man has. The narrator feels controlled by this one particular eye. For seven nights straight the narrator waits by the door and peeks in but the old man never moves. But on the eighth night the narrator bumps his lantern and the old man quickly woke up yelling “WHO’S THERE?”. The narrator stood with no motion for sixty minutes. The he went over to the old man, made sure his eye was closed and suffocated him between his bed and his mattress. This killed him, then the narrator took his body chopped it up and shoved it under the floorboards. The cops came to check his house out, the narrator had no problem and invited them in. He wanted to talk and have them stay and he even sat his chair right over the body parts. When the cops were just about to leave, guilt got to him. He thought he could hear the old man’s heart beat, but it was really his. He got so annoyed, he admitted to his crime.

Other PoemsAnother one of his most famous poems is “The Raven”. This poem is in the top five for his works. There is also “A Dream Within A Dream”, “Annabel Lee”, “Romance”, and “Song”. He has written over fifty, he is certainly a poet that will always be remembered. All over the world his poems are read in classrooms. His poems really make kids think, but enjoy it at the same time.

Bibliography"Edgar Allan Poe Mystery." University of Maryland Medical Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. <http://umm.edu/news-and-events/news-releases/1996/edgar-allan-poe-mystery>.

"Edgar Allan Poe." Poets.org. Academy of American Poets, n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2013. <http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/130>.

"Edgar Allan Poe Museum : Poe's life, legacy, and Works : Richmond, Virginia." Edgar Allan Poe Museum : Poe's life, legacy, and Works : Richmond, Virginia. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2013. <http://www.poemuseum.org/index.php>.

"Biography of Edgar Allan Poe." A short biography of Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849). N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. <http://poestories.com/biography.php>.

"John Allan." Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. <http://www.eapoe.org/people/allanj.htm>.

"Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore - Works - Info - Mrs.Virginia Clemm Poe." Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore - Works - Info - Mrs.Virginia Clemm Poe. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. <http://www.eapoe.org/people/poevc.htm>.

"Neurotic Poets." - Edgar Allan Poe. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. <http://www.neuroticpoets.com/poe/>.

"E. A. Poe Society of Baltimore." E. A. Poe Society of Baltimore. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. <http://www.eapoe.org/people/allnfk01.ht>.

"Edgar Allan Poe Mystery." University of Maryland Medical Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. <http://umm.edu/news-and-events/news-releases/1996/edgar-allan-poe-mystery>.

"Edgar Allan Poe Poems and Poetry."Edgar Allan Poe Poems and Poetry. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. <http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets>.

Bibliography Continued..

Book Source: Edgar Allan Poe by Tom Streissguth

THE

END