The Life of Edgar Allan Poe Essay -- Edgar Allen Poe Writers Authors E

The Life of Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe was a bizarre and often scary writer. sight throughouthistory have often wondered why his writings were so fantastically different andunusual. They were not the result of a diseased mind, as any(prenominal) think. Ratherthey came from a tense and miserable life. Edgar Allan Poe was not a happy man.He was a victim of fate from the moment he was born to his ending scarcely fortyyears later. He died alone and unappreciated. It is quite obvious that hislife affected his writings in a great way. In ready to understand why, thehistorical natural coveringground of Poe must be known. Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts on January 19, 1809. His parentswere touring actors and both died before he was three years old. aft(prenominal) this, hewas taken into the home of John Allan, a prosperous merchant who actived inRichmond, Virginia.1 When he was six, he studied in England for five years.Not some(prenominal) else is known about his puerility, except that it was uneventful. In 1826, when Poe was seventeen years old he entered the University ofVirginia. It was also at this time that he was engaged to marry his childhoodsweetheart, Sarah Elmira Royster. He was a good student, but only stayed for ayear. He did not have enough money to make ends meet, so he ran up extremelylarge gambling debts to trying make more money. Then he could not afford to goto school anymore. John Allan refused to pay mop up Poes debts, and broke off hisengagement to Sarah Elmira Royster. Since Poe had no other means of support, heenlisted in the army. By this time however, he had written and printed hisfirst book, Tammerlane, and Minor Poems (1829).2 subsequently a few months though, John Allan and Poe were reconciled. Allanarranged for Poe to be released from the army and enrolled him at West Point.During this time, his fellow cadets helped him publish another book of poetry.However, John Allan again did not provide Poe with en ough money, and Poe decidedto leave this time before racking up any more debts Still, Poe had no money and necessity forced him to live with his aunt,Mrs. Clemm, in Baltimore, Maryland. None of his poetry had sold particularlywell, so he decided to write stories. He could find no publisher for hisstories, and so resorted to submission writing contests to make money and receiveexposure. He was rarely suc... ...fthe House of Usher what kills Roderick Usher is the sheer terror of his sisterwho appeared to have come back from the dead.According to Marie Bonaparte, one of Freuds friends and disciples, allthe disorders Poe suffered from can be explained by the Oedipus Complex and thetrauma he suffered when his mother died. The Oedipus Complex is best describedas a childs unconscious desire for the exclusive love of the parent of theopposite sex. The desire includes jealousy toward the parent of the same sexand the unconscious wish for that parents death. In fact, upon examining thew omen in Poes stories, we find that they bear striking resemblance to themother that Poe never had.So one gets a glimpse at how Poes life, filled with insurmountableobstacles and full of disappointments, thus played a role in his writing. Agood comparison would be Vincent Van Gogh. He also endured hardship and died atan early age. Poe was only forty when he passed away. Insignificant in hislifetime, it was only after his death that he was appreciated. He is nowacclaimed as one of the greatest writers in American history. It is indeed apity that he will never know or care.