by Gabrielle Alli
American poet, writer, and literary critic Edgar Allan Poe (source: GettyImages)
Who Was Edgar?
More than a topic from your middle school English poetry unit, Edgar Allan Poe was a 19th century American writer, poet, and literary critic. He is well-known for introducing the “darker” side of things to literature of his time: horror, mystery, and tragedy.
There was a significant amount of turmoil throughout Poe’s life: in his relationships, financial stability, and emotional-physical wellbeing. The only thing certain in his life was a downward spiral to everything he touched, ultimately playing a role in his sudden and puzzling death.
Personal Life
Poe was born on January 19, 1809. He was not able to establish a relationship with either of his parents, both of whom were actors, as he had an absent father and a mother who died of an illness. He was ultimately left in the care of his godfather.
Poe’s godfather, John Allan, was not supportive of his passion for writing. He preferred that Poe pursue the more “practical” side of life by taking up the family business.
Other conflicts between Allan and Poe were mostly centered around finances and education. Poe had received schooling in both England and Virginia, but struggled to keep up with his academic payments. With Allan refusing to help provide funding, Poe turned to gambling. He was forced to leave school after his debts worsened further. Poe’s final attempt at a different walk of life was time in the army. The United States Military Academy at West Point initially seemed to be the place for him. However, Poe was eventually dismissed due to his disregard for rules and poor handling of his duties.
Poe also faced difficulty regarding romance. Poe’s fiancée, Sarah Elmira Roy-Webster, had become engaged to another man while Poe was away at school. Heartbroken, he would only move on to marry another ten years later: his thirteen year old cousin, Virginia Clemm. She would die of tuberculosis two years prior to Poe’s death.
Career & Significant Works
Although he faced significant obstacles in many aspects of his life, Edgar Allan Poe kept up with his writing throughout. He began writing poetry at the age of thirteen. From there, Poe would submit his short stories and poems into writing contests. He published his first book by 1827, right around the time of his military training. Other jobs he held later in life included being an editor for the publications Southern Literary Messenger, Burton’s Gentleman's Magazine, and Graham’s Magazine.
In 1843, Poe had published a short story called “The Tell-Tale Heart.” An unnamed narrator talks about the guilt he faces after killing an old man he had gotten close to; the reasons behind the murder are distorted. The story leaves the reader wondering “why?” in more ways than one. This is especially due to the unique psychological state of the narrator, which doesn’t lead him to be completely trustworthy.
“The Raven” is one of Poe’s most famous poems. It was originally published in 1849, in the New York Evening Mirror. The poem is centered around a narrator who has lost his love named “Lenore” and is faced with the company of a raven while thinking of her. Using metaphor upon metaphor, he develops themes of death and memory.
“Annabel Lee” is another poem of Poe’s that explores the concept of lost love. The narrator grieves over a girl that he has loved for a long time while struggling to cope with her death. He expresses disappointment and anger at the world around him, proclaiming that their love was so great that it caused envy in beings above them. While Poe often didn’t write directly about himself, many of his works like these draw parallels to events in his own life. The publication date of this piece is unclear, since it came close to around the time of Poe’s death. It may have been found and published posthumously.
A Mysterious Death
Poe left Virginia about a week prior to his death for business purposes. He had pending affairs at home when he returned from his trip. However, Poe would ultimately be unable to tend to any of them. Several days after his departure, he was found nearly unconscious in ill-fitting, messy clothes that did not seem to be his. Poe would die on October 7, 1849 after being in and out of hallucinations and delirium, with the official cause of his death being marked down as “congestion of the brain,” known today as alcohol poisoning. Many had supported his physicians’ choice to state this cause, since Poe had a history of both heavy drinking and a low alcohol tolerance. All it would take was a single glass of wine or champagne to impair Poe. Propaganda from literary rivals at the time further suggested reckless behavior on Poe’s part. However, no one truly knows what happened to him. Inconsistent clues have led to the development of multiple theories surrounding his death.
A popular theory about Poe’s death revolves around “cooping.” Cooping was a contemporary practice in which politicians and hardcore supporters would kidnap people, drug and disguise them, then force them to vote for a certain candidate at multiple polling places. This idea coincides with the fact that Poe had been in Baltimore on the day that citywide elections were taking place. The ill-fitting clothes and the hallucinogenic state he was found in also match up with typical practices of cooping. Furthermore, voters were given alcohol as a reward after casting their vote as a mini “celebration.” This suggests that Poe could have also been forced to drink many times— an issue when it came to his addiction and issues handling alcohol.
Some have also suggested that Poe had a brain tumor. When Poe died, he was buried in an unmarked grave in Baltimore. A statue was erected in front of the graveyard a little under thirty years later. This was when it was decided that he would be moved to a new place of honor. Exhuming his body was a messy task; the decay of both his corpse and the coffin had caused both to fall apart while being moved. A worker noticed that Poe’s skull had a mass rolling around inside. Modern-day science confirms that this could not be Poe’s brain, as many newspapers of the time had stated, but instead a tumor. Tumors can calcify post-mortem into hard masses. Tracing back to Poe’s adverse reactions to alcohol, a physician had once told him the cause was a lesion on his brain. Both evidence from his corpse and medical advice from Poe’s time support the brain tumor theory.
One of the more unpopular theories states that Poe had been suffering from rabies. Poe’s time of death coincides with the progression of disease after contracting rabies. He also portrayed typical symptoms of the illness such as visual hallucinations, pulse variations, and unsteady breathing. Rabies was fairly common at the time, and those tending to him had initially thought it to be the cause. However, there is no way to confirm or deny this due to the lack of DNA evidence.
There are many, many more theories about what may have happened to Poe. They encompass a variety of diseases, from tuberculosis to cholera to syphilis. Others believe that no single theory is correct, and that there was likely a mix of factors that led to the poet’s demise. Speculation will continue for a very long time with the little evidence available.
His Legacy
Many of Poe’s pieces are still regarded as classics, even aside from his popular works mentioned earlier. He paved the way for the mystery genre with stories like “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” and “The Mystery of Marie Rogêt.” The complex figurative language and descriptions Poe used, combined with symbolism and hidden personal meanings, always leave his work with more to be discovered.
Throughout the northeastern United States, there are many sites dedicated in his honor. A museum devoted to his life and works operates in Richmond, Virginia. One of the many homes Edgar rented throughout his time in Philadelphia has been preserved and designated a National Historic Landmark. In the Bronx (New York), the Edgar Allan Poe Cottage lies in the eponymous Poe Park after being moved a short distance from its original location. The cottage is considered to be the final home of the writer, and also where his wife, Virginia, had passed away.
Poe was innovative in the fact that he took the truth from things. The obstacles he dealt with in his life came through on paper, as he wrote about the unpleasant, the grotesque, and the disheartening. He was open about his critical thoughts regarding society at the time. Edgar Allan Poe remains a strange, complex figure to this day, but his impact remains significant nonetheless.
Sources
1. History.com Editors. (2009, November 24). Edgar Allan Poe is Born. HISTORY. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/edgar-allan-poe-is-born
2. Biography.com Editors. (2014, April 2). Edgar Allan Poe Biography. The Biography.com Website. https://www.biography.com/writer/edgar-allan-poe
3. Academy of American Poets. (n.d.). About Edgar Allan Poe. Poets.org. https://poets.org/poet/edgar-allan-poe
4. Geiling, N. (2014, October 7). The (Still) Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe. SmithsonianMag. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/still-mysterious-death-edgar-allan-poe-180952936/
5. Pruitt, S. (2015, October 26). The Riddle of Edgar Allan Poe’s Death. HISTORY. https://www.history.com/news/how-did-edgar-allan-poe-die
6. The Bronx County Historical Society. (2017). History of the Cottage. BronxHistoricalSociety.org. http://bronxhistoricalsociety.org/poe-cottage/history-of-the-cottage/