Edgar Allan Poe: Life and Work Analysis

Many authors and poets attract readers with their unique and ways of writing and their skills of drawing readers’ attention. Edgar Allan Poe was an author and a poet who used crazy and unique topics to draw his fans’ attention. Edgar Allan Poe is said to be the gateway to modern literature and influence on modern-day writers. Allan was the first author to encounter and write horror and crime books. Edgar was a crazy man who reflected that craziness into his poems and onto his writings. He was also a man of loss and love who was heavily known for writing romance novels. His life was a story of loss, love, and a whole lot of writing.

Edgar Allan Poe was born on October 7, 1809, in Boston Massachusetts. Both of his parents were professional actors who made a well-living, however, they both died before he turned three. Allan was sent to an orphanage where he was quickly adopted into a rich family. Allan was sent to all the finest schools in Boston when he was young. As soon as he was able to read write he began falling in love with poetry and writing. As Allan grew up he began to read the paper, and he began to notice the short stories in them. Allan then decided he wanted to try and make a career in writing. He began to write short stories and poetry about things all around him. Allan fell in love with writing even though his parents did not support him as he would have liked them too. He joined a writing club at his high school as he started to write for local papers. Allan was often made fun of due to how different and crazy he was. Allan did not let anyone or anything get to him, and he continued on with his dream of being the most famous author of all time.

Allan moved to Virginia and attended the University of Virginia. Allan was quickly running out of the school due to debt while trying to make a career based on writing alone. Allan was told to quit his dreams of writing, but no one could kill Allan’s dreams. He continued to write poetry, and after only a year he enlisted into the United States Army Academy at West Pointe. Allan did out writing his first set of poems that went almost unnoticed by viewers. Allan still did not give up. He later did out on writing his second line of poems that caught slightly more attention than his first. He began to write for some local papers, but after receiving no financial aid from his father Allan left the Army Academy. He moved to Baltimore where he lived with his aunt and his cousin. Allan began to fall in love with his cousin Virginia, and in 1836 when she was only the age of 14 they married. Allan and his wife were never apart. They did everything together. Allan found what he had been missing. Virginia was his world, and she influenced many of his romance novels that would come later.

Allan began to pick up his writing career again and started full steam ahead. He began to write short stories all containing something somewhat romantic. Allan wrote Lord Byron a romance that grabbed the hearts of his readers. His writing continued to blow up. People fell in love with his stories of, craziness, love, and horror. Many people, however, did not like the writings of Allan. They thought it was too crazy and not realistic. Allan was also a critic of the other writers of his time. The stories Allan wrote usually targeted someone or a group of people, however, Allan did not care and did not stop. That is until of course his wife Virginia died and Allan was sent into a spiral of heartbreak and despair. His poems and his writings immediately began to reflect his loss of Virginia, and in September of 1849, Allan was found in a semiconsciousness state. Four days later, he died.

Edgar Allan Poe is and will always be the gateway to modern and future literature. His unique stories and topics can catch the eye of someone who does not even like to read. Edgar Allan Poe had radiation of craziness always flowing off him, and that is what made his books and poems so relatable. He is a man in which any human can relate to. Like all of us, he experienced loss, love, and excitement. Allan will always look onto as a man who sets the standards and sights into modern-day American literature.