Edgar Allen Poe was born on January 19, 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts. Before the age of three Poe became an orphan and was fostered by John and Frances Allan in Richmond, Virginia. Poe attended the University of Virginia but was forced to withdraw when Mr. Allan refused to pay Poe’s gambling debts. On May 26, 1827 Poe enlisted in the United States Army under the name Edgar A. Perry. Eventually, he moved into the home of his aunt, Maria Clemm and her daughter, and began writing prose tales. On May 16, 1936 Poe married his cousin Virginia Clemm in Richmond. He edited literary journals in Philadelphia and New York and began to establish himself as a poet and a short-story writer. Sadly, Poe’s wife passed away on January 30, 1847 from tuberculosis. After her death, Poe’s life-long struggle with depression and alcoholism worsened. Soon alcohol altered his personality and he developed a reputation of intemperateness. Poe was found on October 3, 1849 in a state of semi- consciousness. Four days later he passed away. Although there are many theories, Poe’s death remains a mystery.

Poe was involved in the American Romantic Movement, which took place in the late eighteenth, early nineteenth century. “In the United States romanticism had philosophic expression in transcendentalism, notably in the works of Emerson and Thoreau(Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia).” Art of this period focused on intuition, and emotion rather than rational approaches to form. Some may describe the period as anticlassicism, a reaction against neoclassicism.

Early on in his career, Poe’s poetry was very imitative. His inspiration was drawn from the works of Milton, Shakespeare, Thomas Moore, and above all Byron. Poe’s first three books were collections of poems: Tamerlane and Other Poems (1827), Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane and Minor Poems (1829) and Poems (1831). Unfortunately, his books were not as successful as he anticipated. Poe needed a new source of inspiration, his brother. William Henry Leonard Poe achieved minor success in publishing his stories. Around 1931, Edgar decided to experiment in writing fiction, and found a remarkable talent for it. Throughout time, Edgar discovered he made more money writing stories, than writing poems. Poe discovered a way to incorporate his love for poetry by incorporating it into his tales, and also took the theory of poetry and applied it to his prose style.

“ Poe's upbringing in this regard appears to have been quite typical for his era(E.A. Poe society of Baltimore).” His foster-mother was a deeply religious woman. John Allan was less religious; however he still managed to adhere to such Christian virtues as hard work, and honesty, although his sense of charity and forgiveness were questionable. Although his family and community were strongly involved in church, some believed that Poe’s only religion was art.

Throughout the nineteenth century, many revolutionary artists emerged. In music, the three “Romantic composers”, consisted of Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven. “By the early 20th century, the sense that there had been a decisive break with the musical past led to the establishment of the 19th century as ‘The Romantic Era,’ and as such it is referred to in the standard encyclopedia of music (Wikimedia Foundation Inc.).” In the United States literature, Washington Irving wrote Legend of Sleepy Hollow(1819), a romantic gothic. A few years later James Fenimore Cooper wrote The Last of the Mohicans(1826). Known for its distinctive prose style, the book takes place during the French and Indian War. Visually John William Waterhouse used realistic technique to portray a neo-medieval woman drawn from Arthurian Romance in The Lady of Shalott (1888).





The Raven is one of Poe’s most famous works of literature. The poem was an immediate success and was translated into many different European languages. It is almost lyrical because of the internal rhyme scheme and the repetition of the refrain “never-more”. It is clear from the beginning that this poem is about death. The poem takes place at midnight in December- The last moment of the day and the last month of the year. Poe also talks about a “dying ember” in the fireplace and “its ghost upon the floor”. The theme of this story is an untimely death of a beautiful woman, but not just any woman, the inspiration of this poem was his wife, who had fallen ill. The Raven in the poem symbolizes darkness; it is a bird of ill-omen. Poe also chose the Raven because it is a non-reasoning creature. The raven is established as a symbol of the narrators’ sorrowful and eternal memory of his loved one. In this poem, Poe makes agony strangely interesting and intriguing. “The Raven” is not a typical tragedy; the speaker tries to act rationally in a situation where reason offers no defense.


“The valentine” is an interesting poem by Poe. Not only is it written creatively but it provides a secret message decoded inside. You take the first letter of the first line, the second letter of the second line, the third letter of the third line etc. Eventually the poem spells out Frances Sargent Osgood. It is said that Poe had strong feelings for this fellow poet, hence why he wrote a poem about her. The way Poe tricks his audience shows how dark he is.

Overall, Poe has had a profound affect on people all over the world. He has served for inspiration for writers and has intrigued many readers. Poe was best known for his tales of mystery and macabre. Some also say Poe is a contribution to the science fiction genre and detective fiction. An array of American authors were inspired by Poe’s work such as Walt Whitman, William Faulkner, and Herman Melville. Poe even inspired Alfred Hitchcock, a famous filmmaker. “It’s because I like Edgar Allan Poe’s stories that I began to make suspense films (Hitchcock).” Today, Poe is remembered as one of the first American writers to become a major figure in world literature and one who will continue to be known for decades to come.