he managed to change reality for them. Edgar Allan Poe's skill was developed in his subject matter of death and its horrid truths. Poe's tales centered away from the life of a man and towards the effects of death on a man, whether it be his own or that of another. Poe was adept at creating an atmosphere of suspense with the minimum use of words and dramatic effects1.

Poe's best known works include such masterpieces as Annabel Lee, The Raven, The Fall of the House of Usher, The Mask of the Red Death, The Murders of the Rue Morgue, and many others. Each and every one of these titles, among others, share one common trait that is more than evident, they all deal with death. When these t

As far as Poe's literary career is concerned, he was far more than just a poet. Poe wrote many poems, short stories, and short prose pieces. His short stories and prose allow him more leeway with his words to make chills run down the spine of anyone who reads it. He is known to go into description of dark scenes that make the reader wish they were somewhere else.

Poe's personal family history may have had a strong influence on his melancholy being that would cause him to write as he did. By the age of six, his biological father had disappeared and left him deserted. His biological mother, whom he hardly lived with, died when Poe was only thirteen years old.23 Poe was sent to live with his foster parents, the Allans. He did not have the best relationship with the Allans. His eccentric and creative young mind was not appreciated, especially by the dominant male of the family, his foster father. There can be little doubt that the tension between the proud, dour, forceful Scot (John Allan) and his sensitive, imaginative adopted son produced one of the greatest tragedies in the history of our literature. It is in any estimation of Poe's life impossible to overestimate the dominating influence of John Allan; their lives were intimately connected for more than thirty years - ending with Allan's death.24 Another tragedy occurred when Poe left the country on a trip. He later returned to America, only in time to learn the severe illness of Mrs. Allen, who, in character, was the reverse of her husband, and whom he sincerely loved. He reached Richmond on the night after her burial.25

Now, The Fall of the House of Usher is not the only story that Poe wrote dealing with pre-mature burial. He seemed to be almost fascinated by the idea of it. For him, premature burial was a rehearsal of death, a foretaste of the silence and darkness of which the corpse would be dimly aware. The idea of living internment provided a focus for more generalized anxieties about dying, enabling the writer to explore and particularize his own ideation of death.8 In this manner Poe was able to connect death with the living. He successfully captured the horror that the dead do not know. He puts the living in the place of a corpse so that they may have a sample of what eternity is like for a soul-less body. This may be a frightening and disturbing thought, but it did not only

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Approximate Pages = 14 (250 words per page double spaced)