Edgar Allen PoeEdgar Allen PoeEdgar Allan Poe was born in Boston, grew up in Richmond, Virginia, and lived in six Eastern cities. His father was David Poe, a Baltimore actor. His actress mother, Elizabeth came to the United States as a kid. The parents were not that talented; they played small roles in rather third-rate theatrical companies. Because they both had small parts they barely managed to make a living. Edgar was the second of their three children. When the third child was born, the father died, or disappeared, and Mrs. Poe went to Richmond with the two youngest children. The oldest boy, William Henry, had already been left with relatives in Baltimore. Mrs. Poe was in the last stages of tuberculosis. Weakened by the disease and worn out with the struggle to support her children, she died. Edgar, two years old, and the infant, Rosalie, were left as orphans. It was pure luck that Mrs. Frances Allan, the wife of a merchant in Richmond learned about the Poe babies. She took him home with her, and another family took his little sister Rosalie. Mrs. Allan would have liked to adopt Edgar, but her husband was unwilling to commit himself. At that time people thought acting was immoral. He was willing however, to support the child, and in time came to be proud of Edgars good looks and intelligence. When Edgar was six years old, Mr. Allens business took him to Scotland, the country from which he had come originally. Edgar was eleven when the Allan’s returned to Richmond. In spite of the growing tension between foster father and son, Mr. Allen was willing to send Edgar to the University of Virginia. Edgar went to escape the Allen household if for no other reason. At this school, the young men drank too much, gambled too much, fought for the sheer enjoyment of violence, and rampaged over the campus at all hours. This was the worst possible environment for young Poe with his emotionally unstable temperament. He was unusually susceptible to alcohol; one mild drink sent him into a state of wild excitement. He gambled recklessly, incurring debts he could not begin to pay. Mr. Allans pride and thrift could not tolerate such conduct. He pulled Edgar out of the University and set him to work at a lowly, routine job in his counting house.
He then went to Boston, where he managed to publish a collection of his poems in pamphlet form, Tamerlane and Other Poems. Desperate for money, he joined the army under the name of Edgar A. Perry. Poe turned to his foster father with penitent letters, pleading for reconciliation. Shortly afterward, a new volume of his poems was published in Baltimore, Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane and Minor Poems. A little more than a year after his release from the Army, the young poet turned again to the idea of a military career. He passed entrance examinations and gained admission to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. Poe knew than an army career was suitable for a Virginia gentleman he longed to be, but the discipline was too hard for him. Two years after his final dispute with Mr. Allan, Poe lived for a while in Baltimore with his aunt, Mrs. Maria (Poe) Clemm. She was a poor seamstress, but she
was a true believer of the poet’s integrity. Mr. Clemm, in his letters, wrote: “One of us has found Poe for the love of his soul, without a shilling. He is willing to do anything for it. Every day he looks at me. I tell him that I am never afraid, never give him something. He’s very smart and good; but if he tries to tell anyone, let him be a fool. Be yourself, and do what he says. He’s got very good and good instincts for it.” Poe, who had become more convinced of his own worth by poetry and the art of the letter, was forced to take the lead of his life. He began a career as a librarian. He wrote his best essays and wrote essays for various newspapers, often on the subject of the death of his mother. After a short stay in Chicago, he returned to the United States. At the Chicago office of the University of Chicago, he met with one of the founders of the American Union and the President of the Chicago branch. This was at that time Poe was a student of Samuel Lloyd, and when Mr. Lloyd found that Poe was in Chicago, he sent them a letter from his native Baltimore. A few days later the poet, in a letter addressed to Mrs. Clemm, wrote the following: “So I thought I heard you and John Clements and Thomas Sibana talking, and found myself in the midst of making my own opinion.” I felt I had reached a point where I could learn everything I needed to know.” At this moment Mr. Eliot came to visit Poe. With a good speech on the importance of poetry, he told him: “We may have to go in and put our opinions in place. No one wants the knowledge of the world to be wasted. But it is what we hold to be the best use of our talents. If a man is just beginning to master a language, and it is not good to put away a master’s work, it is quite natural to ask for advice. My dear friend, can you explain to me how you know what the best place to go is in your work? Is there a place that no one can see, and be sure nothing can be done until it is the right one?” Mr. Eliot gave Poe a pen to write poems for him, and he called his friends around him. The next year Mr. Eliot wrote A Tale of Two Brothers, which will be made into a movie about the story and Poe. At this time Poe traveled to Boston to attend the commencement of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. There he met with one of the founders of the American Union, Mr. Eliot. With a letter, that Mr. Eliot wrote, the young poet returned to Chicago again. During his time in Chicago in this period, he visited some of his comrades and had a conversation with a youth. He said that he loved to read and write, and that at first he was never interested in poetry. He later decided to move away from poetry, leaving his life of learning where he was. After returning to America, Poe began to think about getting back his work. The poet wrote, “I thought I could become better than this if I could come back here every day. After all the time I’ve been without writing, I want to understand the world and its processes. But I am not here yet. Perhaps a few days will pass by by. I have a great plan or a good plan for