Legacy

Although Poe only lived till the age of 40, he accomplished many things most people never will aspire to. Through his hard work and dedication to his work, Poe has lived on, and continues to be a major part of literature today. In his memory, a museum has been built in his hometown Richmond, Virginia. In the Museum his life is depicted as well as many of his poems and short stories are put up on the walls. An interesting fact about Poe is that in his obituary, one of his enemies, Rufus Griswold, wrote a biography about Poe. Griswold depicted him as a "drunken, womanizing madman with no morals and no friends." Instead of disgracing Poe's name, Griswold's attack acted as an effective advertisement which drove up the sales of Poe's works. "Poe remains a familiar icon in pop culture; he also has a rich literary legacy, influencing short stories, criticism, detective fiction, and science fiction" (Richards). With a small amount of time and a limited amount of resources, Poe still made a great deal out of the life he had. He is much more than just a poet, but also a role model to others.

Works Cited

Richards, Rebekah. "Life and Legacy of Edgar Allan Poe: Biography of Author of "The Raven," "The Tell-Tale Heart," "Lenore"" Suite101.com: Online Magazine and Writers' Network. 2 Deb. 2010. Web. 14 Dec. 2010.

"Poe's Life Edgar Allan Poe Museum." Edgar Allan Poe Museum : Poe's Life, Legacy, and Works : Richmond, Virginia. Web. 14. Dec. 2010.

Picture Citation

"About The Museum Edgar Allan Poe Museum." Edgar Allan Poe Museum : Poe's Life, Legazy, and Works : Richmond, Virginia. Web. 14 Dec. 2010

Poe's Influence

Throughout Poe's career, he was involved in numerous jobs. Although he held jobs ranging from the military to the editor of prestigous magazines, Poe's fame remains attributed due to his brilliance in writing poems. His unique style of writing also contributed to his success and intrigued many people of his time. George Washington Peck, a United States representative states "that Poe will be considered as he is now, a poet of singular genius. There can be no question." Poe has gained a lot of credit because of his ingenuity. He expresses many different themes through his writing that many poets of his time never clearly touched on. "To some extent in his poems, and to an expressive degree in his tales, he pioneered in opening up areas of human experience for artistic treatment at which his contemporaries only hinted. His vision asserts that reality for the human being is essentially, subterranean, contradictory to surface reality, and profoundly irrational in character" (Quinn). Edgar Allan Poe is an essential part to literature, and provides a great deal of insight to topics never expressed before hand.

Works Cited:
Quinn, Arthur H. Encyclopedia of World Biography. 2nd ed Detriot, MI; Thomson/Gale, 2007. Print.

McArthur, Debra. "Poe's Influence." A students guide to Edgar Allan Poe. Berkeley Heights, NJ; Enslow, 2006. 131, Print.

Interesting Poems

Whenever the name Edgar Allan Poe comes to my mind, immediately I think of "The Raven". Being one of the greatest literary works of Poe's time, it remains to this day a classic. P. Pendleton Cooke from Bloom's Major Poets states that "The Raven" is a "great triumph of imagination and art." The poem's dark and murky tone always frightened me a bit, but it still does not take away from the brilliance of Poe's writing. Another great piece from Poe that I can easily identify with is "A Dream Within a Dream". I found interest in this poem because it was written only seven months before Poe's death. To me I think he was depressed and his life was insignificant as if it was nothing but a dream. "Poe questions if everything the poet experiences and sees is merely a dream, which leaves reality beyond his grasp" (Sova). Regardless, Poe's brilliance directly contributed to creating timeless poems to be shared with further generations.

Works Cited

Sova, Dawn B. "A Dream within a Dream'." Critical Companion to Edgar Allan Poe: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work, Critical Companion. New York: Facts on File, Inc., 2007. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts on File, Inc. Web. (Accessed December 6, 2010).

Cooke, P. Pendleton. "Edgar A. Poe," Southern Literary Messenger (January 1848). Reprinted in The Recognition of Edgar Allan Poe, ed. Eric W. Carlson: pp.21-23. Quoted as "Review of 'The Raven'" in Harold Bloom, ed. Edgar Allan Poe, Bloom's Major Poets. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishing, 1999. (Updated 2007.) Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts on File, Inc. (Accessed December 6, 2010).

Background

Edgar Allen Poe was born in Boston on January 19, 1809. Poe's parents were traveling actors, however within three years of his birth both of his parents tragically died. Poe was then taken in by a wealthy tobacco merchant, John Allan who raised him as a business man. Unfortunately for John Allan, Poe had aspirations to become a poet like his idol Lord Byron. In 1826 Poe left Richmond to attent the University of Virginia where he accumulated a great amount of poverty. Allan had sent Poe off with only one third of the necessary money, and at this time Poe burned his own furniture to keep warm. Furious at Allan, Poe returned to Richmond to find that his fiancee was engaged to another man. Depressed, Poe left Richmond in search of adventure which he found once he joined the U.S. Army. Two years later Frances Allan, Poe's only mother he had ever known, sent for Poe to come to her. However, by the time Poe arrived she had been buried already. Poe briefly reconciled with John Allan and he agreed to send Poe to Westpoint. Eight months later Poe was thrown out due to renewed hostile relations with John Allan once more. Once again Poe was poor and returned to his later father's home in which he called out to his local relatives. He was taken in by his Aunt Maria Clemm who treated him as her son. By this time Poe had published several books and began writing short stories which were becoming widely recognized. Soon after, Poe gained a job at the Southern Literary Messanger as a magazine writer. Once Poe turned twenty seven, he wedded his cousin Virginia Clemm in Richmond when she was only 14. Stressing from his low paying job, Poe and his family moved to New York City during the Panic of 1837. Finding New York a difficult environment he moved to Philidelpiha where he served as an editor of several magazines. Poe led a happy, humble life until his wife was diagnosed with tuberculosis which had already claimed several other family members of his. After writing the Raven and gaining fame, Virginia died at the age of twenty four. Devastated, Poe did not write for many months. He spent the next two years of his life moving from city to city looking for support for his new magazine called The Stylus. Poe spent the last few days of his life away from family who learned of his death in the news paper. Poe died at the age of 40 on October 7, 1949. The cause of his death still remains a mystery, however even in death his legacy still lives on.

Works Cited:

Edgar Allan Poe Museum : Poe's Life, Legacy, and Works : Richmond, Virginia. Rep. Poe Museum, 2010. Web. 02 Dec. 2010. .

Picture of Edgar Allan Poe. Image. Listal - the Stuff You Love! Movesi, TV, Music, Games and Books. Web. 05 Dec. 2010 http://www.listal.com/viewimages/376280