BIOGRAPHY Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts on January 19th, 1809 to Elizabeth Poe and David Poe. His father abandoned the family shortly after birth and within three years of Poe being born, his mother died of tuberculosis. After his mother's death, John and Frances Allan took him in to their house. Poe began his education in the private schools in Scotland and London as he moved around England with the Allan"˜s. He moved back to the United States in 1820 where he discovered that he had inherited a fortune from his uncle. In 1826 Poe enrolled at the University of Virginia where he studied several foreign languages. However, before graduation, Poe did not receive enough money from John Allan to pay for his books and the debts that he owed. So within ...view middle of the document...
Allan died and brought back the relationship with Poe and Mr. Allan. Also in 1829, Poe wrote his second book of poems. With the help of Allan, Poe got an appointment to the West Point Military Academy in 1930. After the battling with John Allan began again, Poe received a discharge from West Point after ignoring orders in January of 1831. Soon after the discharge, Poe wrote his third book of poems. In December of 1835, he began editing for the Southern Literary Messenger. He worked as editor for two years as he married his cousin, Virginia Clemm, in Richmond on May 16th, 1836. After Poe left the Messenger in 1837, Poe moved to Philadelphia where he became editor of several magazines during his time spent there. During this period his wife, Virginia, became ill with tuberculosis just as his mother did. As this happened, Poe's stories and poems started talking more about death and less about love, as in his earlier years. His magazine, The Broadway Journal, began to fail as his wife illness got worse. On January 30th, 1847 his wife died after a long battle with tuberculosis. After her death he became a drunk. Poe had always had drinking problems, but now they became more noticeable. Poe moved around a lot until his mysterious death in Baltimore. Poe was found unconscious on a street and taken to a hospital where he later died on October 7th, 1849.Poe's life reflected greatly on his writing styles. He used three main writing styles in his short life. In his earlier years of writing, Poe expressed romance and love in his poems. The year in which Poe was excused from West Point was the year his writing style first changed. He then began writing about the sorrows and burdens of life and how they affected him. Towards the end of his life, Poe's stories took the theme of death. These are considered some of his best works also. They lasted until his death in 1849.
