Edgar Allan Poe

1
Edgar Allan Poe

• 1809-1849

2
the author

• American poet, short-story writer, editor
  literary critic, Poe is considered part of the
  American Romantic Movement.
• Best known for his tales of mystery terror,
  Poe was one of the earliest American
  practitioners of the short story is considered
  the inventor of the detective-fiction genre. He
  was the first well-known American writer to try
  to earn a living through writing alone, resulting
  in a financially difficult life career.

3
an orphan dropout

• His childhood was a miserable one. He lost both
  of his parents when he was very young then was
  adopted by a wealthy merchant, John Allan. Poes
  time with the Allans was unhappy.
• He entered the University of Virginia later
  West Point, but did not finish either.

4
tragic loss

• He worked as an editor writer most of his life,
  living in poverty.
• At 27 he married his 13 year-old cousin,
  Virginia, whose death in 1847 left him
  inconsolable. He died two years later.
• Theories state he may have suffered from
  addictions to alcohol opium.

Virginia Clemm Poe died at age 24 of tuberculosis.
5
death theories

• 1857 Murder (Beating)
• 1860s Cooping
• 1874 Epilepsy
• 1921 Dipsomania
• 1926 Heart
• 1970 Toxic Disorder
• 1970 Hypoglycemia
• 1977 Diabetes
• 1984 Alcohol Deficiency
• 1989 Porphyria
• 1992 Delirium Tremens
• 1996 Rabies
• 1998 Murder (Beating)
• 1999 Epilepsy
• 1999 Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Records show Poe died in Washington College
Hospital his cause of death remains a mystery.
6
Poe has been called

• inventor of the detective story
• master of the psychological horror story
• Americas 1st great literary critic

7
list of works

• Among all his writing, his poems short stories
  are more famous.
• Tales of the Grotesque and the Arabesque
• MS. Found in a Bottle
• The Murders in the Rue Morgue
• The Fall of the House of Usher
• The Masque of the Red Death
• The Cask of Amontillado
• The Tell-Tale Heart
• The Raven
• Annabel Lee
• The Poetic Principle
• The Philosophy of Composition

The Simpsons version of The Raven
8
features of his work

• Detective science stories
• Gothic elements
• High emotion anger, surprise, and esp. terror!
• Supernatural horrors fear of unknown
• Deep analysis of human psychology
• He noticed subconscious of human mind nearly one
  hundred years before Freud.
• He was also the first American author to use
  neurotic characters as main characters in his
  stories.

9
evaluation

• Poe is a controversial misunderstood literary
  figure in the history of American literature.
• Emerson dismissed him in three words the jingle
  man
• Twain declared his prose to be unreadable
• Whitman was the only famous literary figure
  present at the Poe Memorial Ceremony in 1875
• Today, Poes particular power has ensured his
  position among the greatest writers of the world.

10
references

• Ciaffaroni. Edgar Allan Poe. AuthorStream,
• 2002-2011. Web. 15 Oct. 2011.
• The Museum of Edgar Allan Poe. Poe Museum,
• 2010. Web. 15 Oct. 2011.