Edgar Allan Poe Biography
Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts on January 19, 1809. His parents were two struggling actors. After he was born, his father abandoned him. His mother died before he was three. This left Edgar Allan Poe a foster child.
Poe’s father was an alcoholic and an indigent actor. Poe’s mother was a remarkably talented actress. She was sick with tuberculosis, and at the age of 24 she died. Poe’s memories of his mother were of when she died in a painful way on a straw mattress.
Edgar was the second of their three children. When Poe’s mother died, he was left alone. He was taken as a foster child into the home of John Allan. John took Poe to Great Britain where Poe was educated.
During the fall of 1823, when Edgar was 14, one of his classmates, Rob Standard, introduced Poe to his mother, Jane Standard. Edgar went to her when he had problems at home or school. In many ways, she became his mother.
Poe graduated with the highest honors of his class for high school. After high school, Poe served in the U.S Army under a false name, Edgar A. Perry, and an incorrect age. After the Army, he attended West Point from 1830-31. After that, he went to Baltimore to live with his aunt. Poe then married his cousin.
Poe’s style of writing might have come from the fact that the death of his mother haunted him for his life. He wrote an essay, “Theory of Composition,” in which he writes, “And equally is it beyond doubt that the lips best suited for such a topic are those of a bereaved lover”. Poe wrote those in memory of his mother who died at a young age.
Poe attended the University of Virginia to study law. He then went to Boston where he published “Tamer lane” another poems. During the fall of...