The Life of Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most famous writers of all time. Poe wrote in english, starting in the 1820’s and ending in the 1840’s. Some of his writings have been translated into other languages such as, latin, greek, and spanish. Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1809. Poe is considered to be a part of the “American Romantic Movement.” Poe’s father abandoned his family, and when his mother died, he was orphaned. Many people think that being orphaned played a major role in how Poe wrote his literature.
After being orphaned, Poe was taken in by the Allans. Although they never formally adopted him. Poe was baptized in 1812 in an Episcopalian church. This was his parents choice, not his own. Poe was both spoiled and harshly disciplined by his father. In some of his writings you can see how he felt that his father was quite over bearing towards him. Many writers childhoods influenced how they wrote, Poe is a prime example of this.
Later on in his life Poe unable to support himself, Poe enlisted in the
American army as a private. For whatever reason he decided to use the name Edgar Allan Perry. This was probably used to protect his identity, since he told the army that he was 22 years old, when he was actually only 18. Although this was a common thing to do at the time. Poe was stationed in Charleston, South Carolina. While in the army, Poe was promoted several times. These promotions doubled his pay each time, which leads people to believe that Poe was not strapped for cash during the middle of his life. While he was in the military, Poe got married to his 13 year old cousin. Shortly after getting married, his wife died. His wife’s death crushed Poe, he asked for a discharge from the military. He was granted it and left.
The death of his wife is what sparked the dark and deep writings of Poe. It would be hard for someone to write the kind of poetry that Poe did, without experiencing the things that…