Written by Jonnette Hay-Rivenbark Basic Facts

Written by: Jonnette Hay-Rivenbark

Basic Facts • Born in Boston, MA, 1809 • Wrote poetry and short stories • Also editor and critic • Best known for short stories

A Man Before His Time • Short stories: macabre • Short stories: precursors to detective and crime fiction • Leader of literary American Romantic movement • Influenced science fiction genre

Unrecognized in Life • Penniless, malnourished and ill • Cause of death undetermined • Believed related to drugs, alcohol • Died at 40

Family Background • Born to Scotch-Irish family • Mother: actress • Father: actor Elizabeth Poe David Poe Jr. Single click speaker to hear audio clip >>>>

First Loss • Parents toured East performing in theaters • Had three children before Edgar • Father abandoned family

From Orphan to Foster Child • Mother died of tuberculosis • Edgar taken to live with the Allans • Allan successful tobacco merchant in Richmond, Virginia John Allan

A New Name and Country • Middle name, “Allan” comes from foster father’s last name • 1815: Allans moved to England • Attended school in Stoke Newington

Trouble Prompts Return • Mrs. Allan had taken ill • London branch of Allan’s business did not fare well • Returned to Richmond five years later

Poe’s Youth Video Single click screen to view video

Misspent Youth • Poe the athlete • Attended University of Virginia for only one year • Spent too much money • Mr. Allan would not send more • Gambled to get money Single click speaker to hear audio clip >>>>

Desperate Move • Gambling debts caused strained relationship with Allan • Enlisted in U. S. Army under name Edgar A. Perry • Allan assisted in his release from army

Another Loss • Foster mother died • Dying wish: Poe’s and his foster father’s reconciliation • Briefly worked on reconciliation

Return to the Military • Allan got Edgar appointment as cadet at West Point • Found military life confining • Longed for writing career

Last Chance with Mr. Allan • Poe purposefully disobeyed an order • Was expelled from West Point • Caused Allan to stop speaking to Poe

Poe Meets Allan Video Single click screen to view video

Marriage • Foster father died • Poe moved to Baltimore, MD • Lived with aunt and her daughter, Virginia • 1836: Poe married 13 -year-old Virginia Aunt Maria Clemm Single click speaker to hear audio clip >>>>

Ghosts Re-enter • Had a loving relationship • In 1842 Virginia diagnosed with tuberculosis • She became an invalid Virginia Clemm

Too Much to Bear • Poe affected by Virginia’s suffering and death • Caused deep depression

Final Degradation • Failure of The Broadway Journal • Took to drinking heavily • Critics’ jabs took their toll • Became paranoid • Scheduled to give lectures • Found in Baltimore gutter, unconscious

Death • Taken to a hospital • Died October 7, 1849 • Many theories about cause of death

Death Theories • Some theories regarding Poe’s death – Murder – Epilepsy – Diabetes – Tuberculosis – Liver failure – Rabies

Poe House Video Single click screen to view video

Early Career • Needed money after leaving college • Published Tamerlane and Other Poems • Published Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane, and Minor Poems

Early Career • Poems by Edgar Allan Poe, Second Edition • Five short stories appeared in Philadelphia Saturday Courier • Editor of Southern Literary Messenger

Career Moves • Published short novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym • Editor of Burton’s Gentleman’s Magazine • Published Tales of The Grotesque and Arabesque

Career at an End? • Editor of Graham’s Magazine • Editor of The Evening Mirror • Tried publishing The Broadway Journal

Career Ups and Downs • 1845 published “The Raven” • “The Raven” brought success • Published Tales by Edgar A. Poe

Then and Now • Best known as literary critic during lifetime • Today well-known for poems and short stories • Wrote in Gothic style

Poe’s Perspective • Considered his poems his greatest works • Believed poetry should be: – Musical – Composed logically – Expressive of beauty Single click speaker to hear audio clip >>>>

Contributions: Short Story Genre • Is the founder of the short story • Believed short story should: – Create a single effect – Include only details that relate to effect

Contributions: Detective Story • Created the detective story • “Murders in the Rue Morgue” led to new genre • Hero solves crimes through logic

Famous Works • “The Masque of the Red Death” (1838) “The ‘red death’ had long devastated the country. No pestilence had ever been so fatal, or so hideous. Blood was its Avatar and its seal—the redness and the horror of blood. ”

“The Fall of the House of Usher” 1839 “During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens, I had been passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly dreary tract of country; and at length found myself, as the shades of the evening drew on, within view of the melancholy House of Usher. ”

“The Murders in the Rue Morgue” 1841 “The mental features discoursed of as the analytical, are, in themselves, but little susceptible of analysis. We appreciate them only in their effects. We know of them, among other things, that they are always to their possessor, when inordinately possessed, a source of the liveliest enjoyment. ”

“The Tell-Tale Heart” 1843 “True! —nervous —very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad? The disease had sharpened my senses —not destroyed —not dulled them. ”

“The Raven” 1845 “Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore, While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door. ” Single click speaker to hear audio clip >>>>

“The Cask of Amontillado” 1847 “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge. You, who so well know the nature of my soul, will not suppose, however, that gave utterance to a threat. At length I would be avenged; this was a point definitively, settled. ”

Gothic Style • Poe’s writing style is Gothic • Gothic style derived from Romantic Movement • Usually involves unusual settings and macabre plot • British authors wrote Gothic novels during same era

Romantic Rebellion • Evolved from Romanticism • Romanticism: rebellious literary movement

Differences Between Romantic and Gothic • Romantic: sees hope in individual • Gothic: sees potential for evil in individual • Romantic: sees beauty in nature • Gothic: sees darkness and supernatural

Typical Poe • Poe is considered master of American Gothic writing • Settings: decaying castles, dilapidated estates • Males: often the narrators, and usually insane • Females: beautiful, but dead or dying

The Plots’ Themes • Poe’s plots involve: – Murder – Live burials – Physical and mental torture – Retribution from beyond the grave

Theory and Practice • Poe explored human mind through writing • Placed characters in extreme situations • Revealed true nature of characters

Recurring Themes • Poe’s recurring themes in his writings include: – Death and dying – Mistaking life for death – Dialogue between living and dead

More Recurring Themes • Themes, continued: – Love and hate – Self versus alter ego – The macabre

Poe Theme Video Single click screen to view video

Rapid Changes • America was rapidly changing • Romantic Movement in writing • Dawn of Industrial Revolution • Expansion to the West

Romanticism Revisited • Romanticism was literary movement in Europe and America • Rebellion against rationalism of Age of Reason • Reaction against strict rules of Puritanism • Celebration of individual

Romanticism: Its Aspects • Aspects of Romanticism: – Glorified individual spirit – Splendors of nature, both generative and destructive – Individuals’ emotions and imagination

Changes in 19 th Century • America experiencing Industrial Revolution • Country changing from agricultural to industrial economy • Changed from rural to urban society

More 19 th Century Changes • Began in U. S. around time after Civil War • Industries lured explorers to frontier • Industry led to wealthy and poor

In Conclusion • Literary expansion • Recognized American author • Varied genres • Timeless quality

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