Edgar Allan Poe was a renowned American poet who made his work in English Literature.Often remembered for his startling flair for poetry, Edgar Allan Poe is best known for his terrifying stories and frightening poems. It doesn’t end there as he is also acknowledged as one of the first short story writers, the creator of the contemporary detective story, and a pioneer in the science fiction genre of writing.Edgar Allan Poe’s short stories, poems, novels, textbooks, a book of scientific theory, and numerous essays and book reviews make up his critically acclaimed works.Edgar Allan Poe is regarded as America’s first well-known professional writer who made a living as the country’s first significant literary critic and theoretician. Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston in 1809 to parents who were both actors. His parents were both actors in Shakespeare’s King Lear the year he was born which makes some people believe that he was named after the Earl of Gloucester’s son, Edgar, from the play.Edgar’s parents died when he was four years old, and he was adopted by a wealthy merchant called John Allan and his wife, Francis. They named their son Edgar Allan Poe and raised him in Richmond, Virginia.Poe’s foster father encouraged him to pursue a career in commerce and become a Virginia gentleman. Still, he aspired to be a writer like Lord Byron of England. Poe had written enough poetry for a book by the time he was 13, despite his headmaster convincing Poe’s father not to publish it.Poe began his college career, but due to Allan’s lack of financial assistance, he went on a long voyage of poverty and debt. Money issues plagued him, and difficulties with his foster father pushed him to pursue his dream of becoming a renowned writer.He published his first book, ‘Tamerlane’ when he was 18 years old.Poe got a job as an editor at the soon-to-be-famous Southern Literary Messenger Magazine, where he became known for his scathing book reviews and hurtful comments (which sparked Griswold’s wrath). He went on to write for a variety of publications. With the publication of ‘The Raven’ in 1845, he became a household name and achieved the fame he had been seeking.Which are the best Edgar Allan Poe poems? Read on to know more about his best works and thereafter also check facts on the What Is The Rainbow Bridge? and Shape Poems For Kids.Who was Edgar Allan Poe?Well, if you are a student of literature, then there are chances you must have read at least one or rather several of the poems authored by Edgar Allan Poe. But for all of you who are not aware of the literary genius, then these Edgar Allan Poe facts will help you know more about the famous poet.Edgar Allan Poe’s story ‘The Murders in the Rue Morgue’ (1841) established the contemporary detective story, and the atmosphere of his horror stories is unparalleled in American literature. Poe’s poem ‘The Raven’ (1845) is one of the most well-known pieces of American literature.Poe was the son of Elizabeth Arnold Poe, an English actress, and David Poe, Jr., a Baltimore actor. He was brought up in the home of John Allan, a Richmond merchant (probably his godfather), and his childless wife when his mother died in Richmond, Virginia, in 1811.Later, he was sent to Scotland and England (1815–20), where he received a classical education, which he continued in Richmond. Poe enrolled at the University of Virginia, but he spent only 11 months there in 1826. His guardian was so enraged by the gambling losses that Poe had accumulated that he refused to allow him to continue.Poe returned to Richmond and got engaged to his sweetheart Sarah Elmira Royster. He moved to Boston, where he released ‘Tamerlane’, and ‘Other Poems’, a pamphlet of adolescent Byronic poems, in 1827.Poe was fired from his work in Richmond, allegedly due to excessive drinking, and relocated to New York City. Drinking would be the scourge of his existence.He needed a modest stimulant to speak well in a large group, but a glass of sherry might send him on a binge, and, while he was rarely drunk, he was frequently seen in public when he was. This led to speculation that Poe was a drug addict, but medical testimony revealed a brain lesion.In 1838, while in New York City, he published ‘The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym’, an extensive prose narrative that combined big historical data with the wildest fantasies, as he did so often in his tales. It’s thought to be a source of inspiration for Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. In 1839, he joined Burton’s Gentleman’s Magazine in Philadelphia as a coeditor.Virginia Poe, Poe’s wife, died in January 1847. He traveled to Providence, Rhode Island, to court poet Sarah Helen Whitman the following year. A brief engagement took place. Poe had platonic relationships with Annie Richmond and Sarah Anna Lewis, who aided him financially.Poe wrote lyrical eulogies for each of them. In 1848, he also gave the lecture ‘Eureka’, a metaphysical ’explanation’ of the universe, which some commentators praised as a masterpiece while others dismissed it as folly.In 1849, he traveled south, had a wild night in Philadelphia, but made it safely to Richmond, where he married Elmira Royster, the widowed Mrs. Shelton, and spent a lovely summer with just a few relapses.He cherished the company of boyhood friends and an unromantic acquaintance with Susan Archer Talley, a young poet.Edgar Allan Poe’s CareerThere are very few poets who can boast of a successful career as Edgar Allan Poe enjoyed. But what are the standout highlights of his illustrious career? Here are some interesting facts on the career of Edgar Allan Poe.Poe’s work as an editor, poet, and critic significantly influenced American and international literature. His stories established him as a pioneer in both horror and detective fiction.He is credited as the ‘architect’ of the modern short tale in many anthologies. He was also one of the first critics to concentrate solely on the impact of style and structure in a literary work; as a result, he has been dubbed the ‘art for art’s sake’ movement’s predecessor.He was regarded as a literary forerunner by French Symbolists such as Mallarmé and Rimbaud. Baudelaire translated Poe into French for approximately 14 years. Poe is known today as one of the first American writers to achieve international acclaim.What do you know about Edgar Allan Poe’s mysterious death?We all know that Edgar Allan Poe died under some mysterious circumstances and there are numerous conspiracy theories that were floated around his death. Which is true and which is false? Well, read these facts to know more about Edgar Allan Poe’s death.With his 1841 narrative ‘The Murders in the Rue Morgue’, Edgar Allan Poe established the detective fiction genre, paving the way for fictional detectives such as Sherlock Holmes and Nancy Drew.It’s only fitting, then, that the author’s death in 1849 remains one of the great mysteries of American literature.Poe began a speaking tour in June 1849 to earn funds for a literary magazine he wanted to launch. Poe was intended to board a ferry from Richmond, Virginia, to Baltimore, Maryland, and then to New York on September 27, 1849. He went to the doctor in Richmond the night before the ferry trip for a fever.There is virtually little certainty about the next few days. On September 28, Poe arrived in Baltimore, but he did not go to New York. As bystanders suspected, he was in horrible shape, practically comatose in an alcoholic stupor.Poe was admitted to a hospital immediately after a local doctor observed him. The clothes Poe was wearing did not appear to be his own, which was a strange detail. He was dressed in a cheap, ill-fitting suit and a straw hat instead of his regular black wool outfit.Poe would drift in and out of consciousness at the hospital, hallucinating and muttering gibberish when he was awake. He passed away on October 7. According to a Baltimore newspaper, the cause of death was said to be ‘congestion of the brain’.Several speculations have surfaced regarding Poe’s death. The most notable is that he died due to complications related to his alcoholism. According to J.E. Snodgrass, the tavern doctor, Poe had been drinking heavily, and he eventually succumbed to the tremors and delirium that can accompany alcohol withdrawal.Snodgrass’ claim that Poe met up with friends in Baltimore and went on a drinking binge appears to be supported by several secondhand stories. Poe had a history of heavy drinking throughout his life, so this would not have been entirely out of character. However, he had lately joined a temperance club at the time of his death.Furthermore, John Moran, the hospital’s attending physician, was confident that Poe was not drunk and had not consumed alcohol in the days leading up to his death.According to another theory, Poe could have been a victim of a brutal crime. Because the pub where Poe was discovered was being used as a polling site (it was standard practice in the 19th century for voting to take place in drinking establishments), it has been suggested that he may have been a victim of ‘cooping’, an uncommon sort of electoral fraud.In a cooping plot, gangs working for corrupt politicians would kidnap unwitting bystanders and force them to vote for a specific candidate again. To force victims to comply, they were frequently assaulted or forced to consume alcohol. The victims were given disguises to allow them to vote multiple times. This could explain Poe’s odd attire when he was discovered.With the patchy and frequently contradicting information surrounding Poe’s final days, it’s difficult to believe there will ever be a definitive conclusion as to what killed him. That could be excellent news for the numerous armchair detectives who like exercising their powers of ratiocination on his death.What are some of the famous Edgar Allan Poe’s poems?Are you still confused about the famous poems from Edgar Allan Poe? Well, there are quite a few to choose from, so your confusion is understandable. Here are some interesting facts related to the most famous poems from Edgar Allan Poe.Some of Edgar Allan Poe’s best work includes ‘Macabre Short Stories’, without a doubt. However, most poetry fans will be familiar with at least a couple of his most well-known works.Some famous Poe Poems include ‘Annabel Lee’, ‘Alone’, ‘A Dream Within A Dream’, ‘The Raven’ - a Gothic poem, ‘To My Mother’, ‘Dream-Land’, ‘Eldorado’, ‘The Haunted Palace’, ‘Lenore’, and ‘The City In The Sea’.But the poem ‘Annabel Lee’ is widely regarded as one of his best works by most experts.‘A Curious Volume of Forgotten Lore’ was one of his famous works too. Edgar Allan Poe’s life was short and full of mysteries and stories. His biography has relatively few facts that can be confirmed.However, what is certain is that the sad events of his life had to have inspired his literary works. Poems by Edgar Allan Poe will always be a part of the English Literature world over. Despite his troubled life, Poe’s works are often regarded amongst the best in English Literature and students continue to seek inspiration from them.
Edgar Allan Poe was a renowned American poet who made his work in English Literature.
