On October 3, 1849, Edgar Allan Poe was found on the streets of Baltimore delirious, rambling and a confused mess of a man. After being taken to a local hospital, the mysteries of the great American author began to pile up. Found in clothes that were not his own, Poe repeatedly shouted the name “Reynolds” as he drifted in and out of conscientiousness. After 4 days of this strange condition, Poe had passed away. To this date, no one is quite sure what caused the death of the great Edgar Allan Poe and no one ever will. You see, all medical records, including his death certificate, have vanished.
While known as one of America’s greatest mystery authors, Edgar Allan Poe lived a life that was perhaps even more mystifying than his great works.
Universally considered the father of the detective fiction genre, Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts to a life that was more misery than mystery. By the age of two, his father had abandoned the family and his mother had died of consumption. Poe was taken to the home of the wealthy merchant John Allan who christened him with the name Edgar Allan Poe.
From childhood to death, Poe’s life was interesting to say the least:
– He was never officially adopted by the family that fostered him for many years.
– He attended school both in the UK and America.
– Poe served in the US Army but intentionally tried to get kicked out by being court-martialed.
– He publicly accused other great authors of the day with plagiarism.
– Oh, and he went on to write dozens of some of the greatest tales, short stories and poems written in American history.
Of Poe’s great works, two really stand apart in my mind.
The Tell-Tale Heart
First published in 1843, this gripping gothic short story follows a nameless narrator who insists his sanity after murdering an old man with a “vulture eye”. After hiding the dismembered body underneath the floorboards of his home, the narrator ultimately goes insane with guilt and hallucinates that the man’s heart is still beating under the floor.
What makes the story so amazing is that while the reader has no knowledge of the relationship between the narrator and old man, including their names, location or occupations; the details of every other aspect of the story is filled with the finest details. I don’t think there is another short story ever written with as much symbolism.
The Raven
In 1845, Poe once again hit literary gold by tracing a man’s slow decent into madness with “The Raven”. Though quite different than “The Tell-Tale Heart” in style and substance, this amazing poem still remains an American classic. My favorite line from the poem is as follows:
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore –
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
“‘Tis some visiter,” I muttered, “tapping at my chamber door –
Only this and nothing more.”
Sources:
www.poemuseum.org/life.php
www.poestories.com/stories.php
www.poestories.com/poetry.php