Edgar Allan Poe is a literary genius, an American writer, and editor born on 19th of January, 1809 in Boston. He is widely known for his written works, stories, and poetry in particular; the tales of mystery and the macabre which both gave him a notable remark. He was also considered to be one of the earliest people to be writing short stories. He was also a figure of American Romanticism during his era. One of his remarkable legacies is his detective fiction invention wherein the story entails a thrilling delight of mystery and crime. He was later credited with his astounding science fiction works and contribution. Although a genuinely creative mind, he went through a difficult career financially due to his solo writing career.
Family Background
Poe was abandoned by his father, David Poe, Jr, in 1810, and his mother, Elizabeth Arnold Hopkins Poe, died the following year. Edgar Allan Poe had a younger sister, Rosalie and an older brother, William Henry Leonard. Being an orphan at such an early age, he was adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Allan who lives in Richmond, Virginia. John Allan is a Scottish merchant who is successful in dealing with various goods such as tobacco, cloth, wheat, and slaves. Later in his adulthood, Poe had a constant argument with Allan due to debts and involvement in gambling, Poe’s secondary education became an issue because of the expenses for his study. Poe was only able to attend one semester at the University of Virginia and wasn’t able to continue due to financial reason. In 18247, Poe was enlisted in the Army where his writing career began. Thus, the
first collection of his poems, Tamerlane, and Other Poems. In 1829, Frances Allan died which lead a temporary reconciliation of Allan and Poe. When Poe failed as a cadet officer, he declared that he wishes to be a poet and a writer.
Love Affair
In 1836, Poe got married in Richmond with his first cousin Virginia Clemm who was then 13 years of age. The couple was forced to move to Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York City because of Poe’s nature of work. Two years after Poe released a successful poem, The Raven (1845 of January), his wife died of tuberculosis. After his wife had died, people believed that his works had also been affected. He had been long planning to produce his own journal and biography but wasn’t able to finish due to his death on October 7, 1849. There are many speculations of the cause of his deaths; alcohol, stress, cholera, drugs, suicide, tuberculosis, and more.
Although Poe lived shortly in the world of literary, he was able to establish his legacy and contribute greatly to the American literary. It influenced not only literary but also other fields such as cryptography and cosmology. There was also an award called Edgar Award under the Mystery Writers of America for exemplary work in the mystery genre.