Edgar Allan Poe

ADRIANA CHOCHELOVÁ 6.A

His life

American writer and poet

Born in Boston, 1809 (Elizabeth and David Poe – both actors)

Orphaned in 1811 with older brother and younger sister

Taken by John and Frances Allan

Attended a university but spent most of his money on gambling

Moved to Boston and enlisted in the army

In army he ralised he wanted to be a writer and tried to resighn

Moved to Baltimore, 1835 married his cousin Virginia (1847 Tubercolosis)

Died on October 7 1849 to drug and alcohol overdoses

His work Horror, sci-fi, detective and sometimes humorous stories

During Academy, his first book “Tamerlane and other Poems“

Worked as magazine editor and critic in Richmond and later in Philadelphia

Lot of short stories (Fall of the House of Usher, The Gold Bug,…)

"The Murders in the Rue Morgue" - the first modern detective story

Wrote only one novel “The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket“ 

1845 published The Raven

The most stories and poetry written during last 2 years of his life

His work inspired many authors

The Raven Narrative Poem, Trochaic Octameter

First published in 1845 in the New York Evening Mirror

One of the most known american poems

Noted for its musicality, stylized language, and supernatural atmosphere

Tells of a talking raven's mysterious visit to a distraught lover, tracing the man's slow fall into madness

Interesting Facts The famous creepy portrait depicting Poe as a baggy-eyed weirdo was

far from what he really looked like. Actually, he was a very athletic and handsome sportsman.

The American football team the Baltimore Ravens are named in honor of The Raven poem

Poe had a very keen interest in cryptography and tried to popularize this field. (Used in The Gold Bug)

“The Raven“ was originally sold to The American Review for $9

Charles Dickens and Edgar Allen Poe were pen friends and even met once in Philadelphia

Poe was a keen cat lover. Supposedly, he often wrote with his cat on his shoulder. (inspired The Black Cat)

One of his favorite hobbies was space and cosmology. His 1848 essay called “Eureka: A Prose Poem“ contained a theory that presaged the Big Bang theory by 80 years.

Links City in the Sea

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZdWe5w3K7Y

Tim Burton‘s Vincent

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0zkFo3IkcY