Edgar Allan Poe - Life of an Author
Edgar Allan Poe
The life of an author
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Edgar Allan Poe
The life of an author
Contents
Goals for this lesson
Overview
Early Life and Education
Early Writing and Military Life
Literary Beginnings
Rise to Fame
Final Years and Mysterious Death
Review Questions
Goals for this lesson
After today’s class…
You understand who Edgar Allan Poe is and what happened in his life.
You can use your knowledge on Edgar Allan Poe’s life when analyzing his texts (future classes/exam).
2. Overview
Born on January 19th, 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Privileged upbringing
Orphaned
Served in the military
Literary career launched in 1833
Sudden & Mysterious Death in 1849 at the age of 40.
Edgar Allan Poe (Poe Museum)
3. Early Life and Education
Family Dynamics
Born to traveling actors Eliza & David Poe.
Infant years filled with turmoil
Father abandoned the family in 1810
Mother died of tuberculosis in 1811
After being orphaned, Edgar Allan Poe and his two siblings were separated into different families. Edgar’s siblings were adopted, but Edgar was only fostered by the Allan family in Richmond, Virginia.
The Poe Family
Education & Financial Turmoil
Being part of the Allan family gave Edgar the opportunity to have a classical education in Scotland and England between 1815 and 1820.
In 1826, Edgar attended the University of Virginia
However, financial struggles would lead to him gambling to cover his tuition costs.
Eventually Edgar amassed $2000 in debt → which is about $70.500 in today’s economy
This led to severe fights with his foster father
University of Virginia Campus
Troubles in Love
In 1825, Edgar became engaged to a lady called Elmira Royster
This union was not approved of by Royster’s father
When he returned home to Richmond in 1826, Elmira became engaged to another man.
She would have four children with a man called Alexander B. Shelton, but only two would survive past infancy.
Edgar and Elmira would reunite later in life.
Elmira Royster
4. Early Writing and Military Life
Pseudonym
In 1827, Edgar moved to Boston and published his first collection of poetry, ‘Tamerlane and Other Poems’, under the pseudonym ‘A Bostonian’
The choice for a pseudonym was most likely made because of the constant fights with Poe’s foster father, and Poe’s refusal to publish writing under his foster father’s name “Allan”.
The Allans: John Allan (right) and Frances Allan (left)
Military Service and Academy
Struggling financially, Poe then enlisted into the U.S. Army under the name Edgar A. Perry, rising quickly to the rank of sergeant major.
When Poe’s foster mother died, his foster father helped Poe to leave the army and gain him admission at the Military Academy at Westpoint.
Poe however, shirked his duties and responsibilities which got him expelled for ‘gross negligence’ and ‘disobedience of orders’ in 1831.
West Point Academy Campus
5. Literary Beginnings
Moving Away
Poe used his departure from the military as an opportunity to spend more time on his writing
Whilst doing this, he moved in with his aunt, Maria Clemm, and her daughter, Virginia Clemm, who lived in Baltimore, Maryland.
By 1835, Poe would marry Virginia who would unfortunately die in 1847 from tuberculosis, just as Poe’s mother did.
Virginia Clemm
Literary Succes
While he was living with the Clemm Family, Poe started writing short stories (the medium for which he is still famous today)
By 1833, his story ‘MS. Found in a Bottle’ launched his career as an author when it won a literary prize and was published in an issue of ‘The Visitor’ (a Baltimore newspaper)..
By 1835, Poe was editing the ‘Southern Literary Messenger’ in Richmond, where he gained notoriety for his sharp literary critiques.
Front page of the ‘Southern Literary Messenger’
6. Rise to Fame
Multiple Successful Works
Poe’s most productive years as a writer began in 1838 whilst living in Philadelphia, where he wrote some of his most iconic works, including ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’, ‘The Black Cat’ and ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’.
In 1841, Poe published ‘The Murders in the Rue Morgue’, which was regarded as the first modern detective story and would influence future writers of this genre. Poe quickly solidified his reputation as a skillful horror writer with such psychological and atmospheric storytelling.
Cover image for ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’
The Iconic Breakthrough
However, it was in 1845 that Poe achieved widespread fame with the publication of his poem ‘The Raven’. Though this brought little financial reward, it did forge his success in the literary world for many years to come.
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.
“’Tis some visitor,” I muttered, “tapping at my chamber door
Only this and nothing more.”
Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December;
And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
Eagerly I wished the morrow;—vainly I had sought to borrow
From my books surcease of sorrow—sorrow for the lost Lenore
For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore—
Nameless here for evermore.
The first two stanza of ‘The Raven’ (Poetry Foundation)
7. Final Years and Mysterious Death
Final Years
Despite his success as an author in later years, Poe’s personal life was marked by tragedy from infancy through to adulthood.
Poe would go on to suffer from depression and poor health following the death of his wife Virginia in 1847.
Two years later in 1849, Poe reunited with his first love, Elmira Royster Shelton, who was now a widow.
The couple planned to marry; however, this marriage would never go ahead due to Poe’s sudden and mysterious death in 1849.
Elmira Royster’s grave monument inscribed with an adaptation of the second stanza of ‘Annabel Lee’ by Poe
Mysterious Death
On the 3rd of October, 1849, Poe was found disoriented in a Baltimore tavern wearing clothes that were not his own.
He was quickly hospitalised but was pronounced dead on the 7th of October, 1849 at the age of 40.
The cause of death remains a mystery to this day, with theories ranging from alcohol poisoning to rabies.
Edgar Allan Poe’s grave
8. Review Questions
True or False Statements
True or False Statements (Check)
Multiple Choice Questions
1. What is the origin of Poe’s middle name, Allan?
a. This was his biological father’s name.
b. This was his foster family’s surname.
c. This was the name of the town in which he was born.
d. This was the name of his first poem.
Multiple Choice Questions
2. What is the title of Poe’s first published poetry collection?
a. ‘The Raven’
b. ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’
c. ‘Tamerlane and Other Poems’
d. ‘MS. Found in a Bottle’
Multiple Choice Questions
3. What is the name of the poem that earned Poe widespread fame in 1845?
a. ‘The Black Cat’
b. ‘The Masque of the Red Death’
c. ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’
d. ‘The Raven’
Multiple Choice Questions
4. Which illness claimed the lives of both Poe’s mother and wife?
a. Cholera
b. Tuberculosis
c. Influenza
d. Smallpox
Multiple Choice Questions (Check)
1. What is the origin of Poe’s middle name, Allan?
b. This was his foster family’s surname.
2. What is the title of Poe’s first published poetry collection?
c. ‘Tamerlane and Other Poems’
3. What is the name of the poem that earned Poe widespread fame in 1845?
d. ‘The Raven’
4. Which illness claimed the lives of both Poe’s mother and wife?
b. Tuberculosis
Exercise 1 – Short Answer Writing (Comprehension)
Answer in full sentences.
Describe Edgar Allan Poe’s childhood and explain how it was unstable.
Why did Poe have a difficult relationship with his foster father, John Allan?
Explain how Poe’s military career ended.
Which events in Poe’s life might have influenced the dark themes in his writing?
Exercise 2 – Paragraph Writing (Biography)
Write one well-structured paragraph (120–150 words).
Prompt:
Explain how Edgar Allan Poe’s personal life influenced his career as a writer.
Use at least three details from the PowerPoint (for example: orphanhood, poverty, death of loved ones, military life).
Example answers exercise 1
1. Describe Edgar Allan Poe’s childhood and explain how it was unstable.
Edgar Allan Poe’s childhood was unstable because his father abandoned the family and his mother died when he was very young. After becoming an orphan, he and his siblings were separated and he was only fostered, not adopted, by the Allan family. This lack of a permanent family caused insecurity throughout his life.
At least mention orphaned (father left, mother died), was fostered instead of adopted
Example answers exercise 1
2. Why did Poe have a difficult relationship with his foster father, John Allan?
Poe had a difficult relationship with John Allan because of constant financial problems and disagreements about Poe’s career. John Allan did not support Poe’s ambition to become a writer and refused to help him with his gambling debts from university. This led to frequent arguments and estrangement
At least mention, financial troubles (gambling debts from uni)
Example answers exercise 1
3. Explain how Poe’s military career ended.
Poe’s military career ended when he deliberately neglected his duties at the Military Academy at West Point. His actions resulted in his expulsion for gross negligence and disobedience of orders in 1831. After this, he fully focused on his writing career.
At least mention gross negligence and expulsion
Example answers exercise 1
4. Which events in Poe’s life might have influenced the dark themes in his writing?
Several tragic events in Poe’s life likely influenced the dark themes in his writing, including the early death of his mother and the later death of his wife from tuberculosis. His lifelong poverty, struggles with depression, and mysterious circumstances surrounding his own death also contributed to the gloomy and psychological nature of his work.
At least mention mother and wife with tuberculosis, gambling depth and struggles with mental health (despression)
