Edgar Allan Poe Biography

Edgar Allan Poe Biography

Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 19, 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts and died on October 7, 1849 in Baltimore, Maryland. Poe’s mother died when he was very young and soon after his father abandoned him and left him with no one. After some time John Allan adopted Poe and welcomed him into his family. Poe was instantly accepted and everyone loved him. Before reading Edgar Allan Poe: A Critical Biography by Arthur Hobson Quinn I believed that Poe had a great imagination, though sometimes dark, and that all of his stories were made up from ideas that he had seen throughout his life or dreamed up while sleeping. In Edgar Allan Poe: A Critical Biography by Arthur Hobson Quinn Edgar is portrayed to be a troubled young man with psychopathic tendencies, his life was not one of glamour and he was not a great person. Edgar Allan Poe is ¬known as one of the darkest, most neurotic of the poets, editors, short story writers and critics to have ever lived.

Poe did not excel in school and barely pushed through during his highschool life, some say he did not graduate high school, but most believe he did. This habit of not succeeding in school, lead Poe to decide to apply to West Point, a military academy. Where Poe lived from December, 1829 to May, 1930 is not known, but he was for sure in Richmond for a part of the time. During this year he was mainly waiting for approval in the West Point Academy. Poe was finally accepted into West Point in March, 1830 through the influence of Powhatan Ellis, a Senator from Mississippi, and the brother of T.H Ellis. John Allan, his former guardian gave him his permission to go to West Point and the money to do so on March 31st. Many say that Poe’s time at West Point was good for him and that he carried it out well. Once accepted into West Point his relationship with John Allan, who was now a drunkard, was slightly rocky and they did not speak for a while,