Edgar Allan Poe: His Life and Legacy - Research Paper Example

?Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe was a nineteenth century, American Romantic poet. He was also an editor, an and a literary critic. Poe’s career in literature begun with a humble collection of poems released in 1827 under the title Tamerlane and Other Poems. Although this collection did not receive an instant success, Poe’s career in literature progressively improved and he produced other poems and books that were greatly successful. A close analysis of his literary works, especially his poems reveal an emphasis on tales of mystery and macabre, and moments of sadness. Evidently, Poe wrote poems and stories that portrayed the dark side of life with macabre themes, themes of lost love and betrayal, vivid imagery and dismal tones. The death of a beautiful woman and lost love is a frequent theme in Poe’s works and critics and biographers often suggest this theme is a result of repeated loss of women throughout Poe’s life, including his wife (Karen 149). Meyers (85) explains that Poe secretly married his cousin Virginia Clemm on 22nd September 1835 but their marriage did not last long. Kennedy (56) explains that Poe’s wife died on 30th January, 1847, only 12 years after their union. Other women close to him were his own mother Elizabeth Arnold Hopkins Poe and his foster mother Frances Allan. Evidently, he loved his foster mother and that is why he visited a day after her burial because Allan did not write to him to notify him of her illness. Others like Sarah Elmira Royster, his first sweetheart, did not die but married someone else though she was already engaged to him (Silverman 29) making it hard for Poe to return to Richmond after dropping out of Virginia University. Poe can be said to have been unlucky from his early childhood as his poems illuminate his upbringing. Most of them are sad, dreary and dark, and have mysterious happenings, giving a good reflection of his upbringing. They are just like how his life was. Poe lacked parental love and this made his childhood hard and full of darkness. His father abandoned the family when he was barely two years and shortly after this, his mother died making him to be orphaned at a very young age. Quinn (61) explains that Poe was then taken in by John and Frances Allan, a couple who lived in Richmond, Virginia and renamed him Edgar Allan Poe from Edgar Poe. However, they never adopted him formally. To Poe, this meant that he was just having a temporary home, not knowing how his tomorrow and whole future would be, when he would be disowned, kicked out and cut off from the support of the Allans. To Poe, the future also seemed darker and more uncertain as is clearly reflected in his book The Cask of Amontillado. Poe had wanted to study languages at the University of Virginia but he could not raise the required finances. Given that he was not able to raise school fees to continue with his studies at the University of Virginia, Poe dropped out in the first year. Cornelious (13) explains that because he was unable to support himself, Poe’s was forced to enlist in the US army using a fake name, Edgar A. Perry, and a false age; 22 instead of 18, his actual age. He revealed the truths two years later when he rose to the rank of Sergeant Major for Artillery because he wanted an official discharge so that he could enlist in the United States Military Academy as a cadet at West Point. Poe was commanded to reconcile with this foster father John Allan so that he would be discharged, but Allan refused making Poe’s life more uncertain now that he was pulling out of his post (Silverman, 43). This was unexpected and unbelievable of a person who had raised him from early childhood and at such a time of great need. This reconciliation was to open a brighter future for Poe and Allan threatened it. However, he finally accepted to support Poe’s attempt to receive an official discharge. Vrabel (105) explains that The Cask Of Amontillado was an inspiration from a story Poe heard while staying at Caslte Island. A man killed his friend just because of a despute over a card game. However, it also holds a lot of truth in regard to his life. In the book, Fortunato is a representative of Poe’s life. His long time friend Montressor led him down a dark tunnel of circling stairs where he revealed the bitterness he held against him for a long time. Revenge over an issue long forgotten was unexpected of friends who had gone out to share wine. Montressor sought this revenge on Fortunato when he was helpless due to his drunkenness just as John Allan disowned Poe at his weakest point needy. Poe’s poem “Alone” is also one of the poems that best describe the sad life Poe lived. The tone of the poem is dark and somber and this is reinforced in words like alone, demon, sorrow, stormy and thunder. Through this poem, Poe vividly describes his life. He explains that he is not like other children. His upbringing, feelings and emotions did not develop in his actual family setting. The melancholy in the poem indicates that he was alone most of the time or rather, a lonely child. He, therefore, developed a unique type of life, liking and doing things his own way. He says “And all I lov’d—I lov’d alone.” He developed his personality and temperament from a free interaction with the environment. He says, “From ev’ry depth of good and ill” (cummingsstudyguides.net). Although he was privileged to go to school, this never took away sadness from Poe’s life. When he was young, Poe attended an English and Classical School whose larger population was children from upper class families. The Allan family was relatively poor and having come from such a background, Poe never felt like he fit in very well. Although he was most likely smarter than most of the children from rich families who had been brought up differently, he always felt like an outcast. This theme is depicted in his book Great Expectations. In this book, Pip, the main character experienced the same life and problems as Poe. Pip was totally orphaned at a very young age and as a result, he was relatively poor. He was employed by a very rich lady who happened to have a daughter of Pip's age. Daringly, he fell in love with his employer’s daughter but felt different and undeserving because they belonged to two totally different social classes. This made Pip feel like an outcast. The house where Pip was employed in was very dreary and always dark. The curtains were always closed and because of this, no light shone in the house except for candles. This highlights the sadness in Pip’s life and that is just how Poe felt like in his life. Conclusion The works of Edgar Allan Poe are mainly a reflection of what his life was like. His childhood was full of darkness, sadness mysterious happenings and devoid of parental love. His adult life was also quite unattractive. He suffered betrayal from the girl he had engaged, was disownment by his foster father and, and lost of his wife and foster mother. All These happenings inspired him to explore the themes of death, loss of love and betrayal. He also faced a difficult life in most of the careers he ventured into including writing, and this subjected him to a life of continuous hard work. This reflects well in his works that are an indication of a writer who never took anything for granted, working hard for what he wanted. Works Cited Cornelius, Kay."Biography of Edgar Allan Poe". In Harold Bloom. Bloom's BioCritiques: Edgar Allan Poe. Philadelphia, PA. Chelsea House Publishers. 2002. Print. Cummings, Michael. (2011). “Alone: a poem by Edgar Allan Poe.” Web. Viewed 21st February 2012. http://cummingsstudyguides.net/Guides7/Alone.html#Top. Kennedy, Gerald. Poe, Death, and the Life of Writing. New Haven. Yale University Press. 1987. Print. Meyers, Jeffrey. Edgar Allan Poe: His Life and Legacy (Paperback Ed). New York. Cooper Square Press. 1992. Print. Quinn, Arthur. Edgar Allan Poe: A Critical Biography. Baltimore. Johns Hopkins University Press. 1998. Print. Silverman, Kenneth. Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-Ending Remembrance (Paperback Ed). New York. Harper Perennial. 1991. Print. Vrabel, Jim. When in Boston: a time line & almanac. Northeastern University, 2004. Weekes, Karen. "Poe's feminine ideal". In Hayes, Kevin J. The Cambridge Companion to Edgar Allan Poe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2002. Print. Read More