Edgar Allan Poe A Man of Secrecy
Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 19, 1809 as Edgar Poe. He was the second son to Elizabeth Arnold Poe and David Poe. Both parents were actors, and shortly after Poe's birth, his father deserted his family around 1810. Edgar became an orphan before the age of three years, when his mother died on December 8, 1811 in Richmond, Virginia at the age of twenty-four years. His father died at the age of twenty-seven years old. After his mother's death, the childless couple, John and Frances Allan, took in Poe; his paternal grandparents took in brother William Henry; and foster parents cared for sister Rosalie. Allan was a strict and unemotional tobacco merchant and his wife was overindulgent. Poe was educated by the Allan's aid, in private academies, excelling in Latin, in writing verse and declamation. However, regardless of his education, he was looked down upon by the upper class of society, perhaps because Poe was never legally adopted by the Allan's, nonetheless he was regarded as an outsider by the Richmond elite. However, being the child of former actor's could have also added to his reputation of not fitting in with Richmond's culture at that time.The loss of his mother at an early ag
e definitely affected Poe, "The angels, whispering to one another, Can find, among their burning terms of love, None so devotional as that of 'Mother'" (To My Mother). In Tamerlane, he not only wrote about his father, but he wrote about his mother too. He had more respect for his mother than he did for his father. In Tamerlane he speaks much nicer of his mother. "O, she was worthy of all love! Love - as in infancy was mine - 'Twas such as angel minds above Might envy; her young heart the shrine on which my every hope and thought..." (Tamerlane). He thought of life with his mother and how it might have been. Poe's writing helped him cope with his troubles and explore new territory in literature. His interest in the supernatural, retribution, and perverse cause them to be included in his burial motifs; therefore sustaining his interest. The supernatural is the phenomena of the unexplained and Poe was overwhelmed by it's mystique. With this comes an atmosphere of mystery and arousal of fear. To Poe, death in itself became the supreme mystery. Poe illustrates his views of the supernatural in The Black Cat. Not only does this fictional tale keep his readers on edge with fear, but it also keeps them guessing about the author's state of mind that wrote it. Poe's intrigue in the supernatural and reincarnation may have been in that of his own immortality. Many of Poe's literary works deal with the source of wickedness as depicted in The Black Cat. He uses perversity to shock, and disgust the reader hoping to bring the reader to a different level of cognition. Some literary critics have portrayed him as being a true "sociopath", and psychotic; however, I believe their judgment to be unfounded. It's true Poe had many problems, and I feel what he put on paper to be from the intellectual mind of a genius! Edgar Allan Poe was born to this world a century too soon. He was misunderstood in every way throughout his life. His only longing in life was to be loved, only to have that fulfillment ripped away twice in his life, first his mother and than his wife Virginia. Clearly these events created so deep an impact on Poe that his writings reflect a tendency of lonely, desperate, and erratic tones, which parallel the nature of his behaviors. Poe's free and out of the ordinary style is very successful in incorporating the supernatural, perverse, and retribution into his work. He maintains his interest as well as the reader's by including subjects that are not prevalent. It is shocking, disturbing, and challenging to read. Some of Poe's literature has obvious relations to his own life, and how he coped with the problems that faced him. Having problems in ones life can escalate the soul to accomplish great things as he did. Poe's lifestyle is very much a part of style! URL: http.//www.usna.edu/EnglishDept/poeperplex/kennedyp.htm (21 July 2000).
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Approximate Word count = 1948
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)
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