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Poe was born in 1809 in Boston, MA
to actor parents. Poe’s father
died soon afterwards in 1810 and his mother in 1811. Both of his parents died from what was
called consumption. Poe was
separated from his siblings, one of which died
young and another went insane.
John Allan and his wife took Poe in, but
his stepfather disowned him because he had gambling debts. Elmira Royster
and Poe pledged themselves to each other in 1826 but Poe went to study
law at the University
of Virginia. After
John Allan pulled Poe from the University and fought with him, Poe joined
the U.S Army then under the assumed name of Edgar A. Perry. However, he was dishonorably discharged
for intentional neglect of duties.
When he turned 27, he married his 13 year old cousin, Virginia Clemm. In
1842, Virginia was playing the harp at
a supper party when she began to cough up blood. Poe realized she too was suffering from
consumption. She became an invalid
for 5 years and then died. Poe
suffered from depression and insanity and attempted suicide in 1848. Some say that watching his beloved Virginia die drove Poe to self-destructiveness while
others say it was his creativity. In 1848, Edgar became engaged to a
woman named Sarah Helen Whitman, but the wedding was called off when Poe
wouldn’t cease his drinking. In
1849, he became engaged to Elmira Royster
again. Three days after his
birthday this same year, Poe disappeared for five days and was found in a
gutter delirious. He died October 7,
1849 with his last
words being “Lord help my poor soul.” (Mondragon)
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