Edgar Allan Poe is perhaps the most enduringly phantasmagoric figure on the American literary scene. While the nomenclature &#8220;Gothic Romanticist&#8221; comes close to capturing Poe&#8217;s spirit, he evinces a doubleplus dose of strangeness in his stories and poems. Indeed, he is best known, both in France (where his work remains hugely popular) and in the United States, for his tales of mystery and horror, which have made him one of the most widely read and influential writers in American literature.
Poe was born in Boston. His parents, David and Elizabeth Poe, were both actors, but they died when Poe was young, leaving him to be raised by John and Frances Allan, a wealthy couple from Virginia. Despite their wealth, Poe&#8217;s relationship with the Allans was strained, and he often clashed with John Allan over his plans to pursue a career in writing.
After attending the University of Virginia for one year, Poe enlisted in the United States Army and served for two years before being discharged. He then moved to Baltimore, where he began to write and publish his work. In 1835, he became the editor of the Southern Literary Messenger, a magazine that became known for its promotion of American literature and writers.
During his time at the Southern Literary Messenger, Poe became known for his literary criticism as well as his own writing. He championed the work of American writers such as Nathaniel Hawthorne and Washington Irving and argued for the importance of developing a distinct American literary tradition. He also began to publish his own work, including his most famous poem, &#8220;The Raven,&#8221; which was first published in 1845.
In addition to &#8220;The Raven,&#8221; Poe is best known for his tales of mystery and horror. His short stories, such as &#8220;The Fall of the House of Usher,&#8221; &#8220;The Pit and the Pendulum,&#8221; and sublime highlight, &#8220;The Cask of Amontillado,&#8221; are characterized by their Gothic atmosphere, psychological depth, and use of symbolism and allegory. They are suffused with the writer&#8217;s odd, searching, and no doubt deeply troubled personality.
Mania, revenge, and fixation are his key themes.
Like his stories and poems, Poe&#8217;s personal life was likewise marked by tragedy and turmoil. He struggled with alcoholism throughout his life, and his wife, Virginia, died of tuberculosis at a young age. The author died under mysterious circumstances in Baltimore on October 7, 1849, and was found in a ditch, of all places. The cause of his death remains unknown, but it is believed that he may have succumbed to the effects of a prolonged and heavy reliance on alcohol.
His life, like many of his stories, remains an irresistible, if cautionary, tale.