Sabrina T.
December 28, 2010
AP English 11
Keeble
Mysterious and Romantic: Edgar Allan Poe
Born on January 19, 1809 and living through October 7, 1849, Edgar Allan Poe lived in the era of the
American Romantic Movement and was considered a Transcendentalist. Poe's work was different than most
literary artists of his time, though, as his poetry and short stories were part of the "Dark Romanticism" sub
genre. Common Transcendentalist ideals stated that a man should follow his conscience and if he wanted to
find truth and become wise, and only through self-reliance was this possible. Poe's work was based loosely
off of these Transcendentalist ideas, with a darker theme. Dark Romantics believed that by following your
conscience, you will continually find that life is a dark and mysterious place, and that its truths are hellish.
Dark romanticism often showed individuals failing at their attempts of improving life as opposed to mainstream
transcendentalists who advocated social reform. Poe's dark short stories and poetry were direct reflections of
his life, as he did not live a conventional one.
Poe was born Edgar Poe to a pair of traveling actors in Boston, who died within three years after his
birth. Poe was split from his two siblings and taken in by John Allen, a wealthy tobacco merchant, and his
wife, who raised him a businessman. Poe had little interest in the tobacco business, though, which was made
obvious by the many poetic verses found written on the backs of his Step Father's ledger sheets. By age
thirteen, he had compiled enough poetry to publish a book, although he was not allowed.
In 1826, Poe left his Step Parents to attend the University of Virginia, where he excelled in his classes
while gathering a considerable amount of debt. Allen had sent him away with too little money, and Poe was
forced to take up gambling to try to raise the money to pay his tuition, but he failed. Desperate, he burned his
furniture to keep warm. Miserable and humiliated, Poe returned to the home of his Step Parents for a short
period, before storming out in a depressed rage to begin his quest to become a great poet. He published his
first book Tamerlane, and then enlisted in the United States Army before his Step mother contracted
tuberculosis and died. She had already been buried when he returned home to see her for the final time.
Poe enlisted into military school, got thrown out, and published a few short stories before he settled
down and began writing for a magazine, The Messenger, and making it wildly popular. He soon moved to
New York with his new wife, his cousin Virginia, where he wrote for a couple of different magazines and
wrote a few more short stories, barely making enough money to survive. In 1842, the same disease that took
his mother, brother, and foster mother, claimed his wife as well. Poe published a final book, The Raven,
making him vastly popular, before he died a mere two years after the death of his wife. Days after his death,
Rufus Griswold wrote a beastly obituary of Poe that he hoped would cause the public to dismiss him, but the
distorted images of him actually drove the sales of his books higher than they had ever been.
It is easy to see that Poe's writing was directly influenced by his life. Although he was not a great fan of
transcendentalist ideas- he thought that they were much to bright to portray the real world- he did incorporate
John Locke's idea of Empiricism- the idea that knowledge was gained through the senses and through
experiences- and Transcendentalist ideas into his stories and poetry. Romantics had fascinations with death,
love and incest, and Poe took these attractions to an entirely new level with his style of writing. In fact, Poe
was considered a transcendentalist because his style was so unique at the time. Nobody had ever seen such a
dark and mysterious type of literature, and many found his tales of despair mystifying.
Poe's short stories and poems have left a dark reminder in our minds, one that tells us that even though
the sun is shining, cold truths still lay underneath the ground. His tales of hopelessness have made him a
name we will not forget, simply because his style is so unique. "In visions of the dark night I have dreamed of
joy departed- But a waking dream of life and light hath left me broken-hearted." (from A Dream) His poetry
causes us to think deeper about life and ask, What kind of world do I live in?
Works Cited:
"Who Is Edgar Allan Poe?" poemeuseum.org. Poe Museum. n.d. Web. December 28, 2011.
"Dark Romanticism." en.wikipedia.org. Wikipedia. n.d. Web. December 28, 2011.
"Edgar Allan Poe." en.wikipedia.org. Wikipedia. n.d. Web. December 28, 2011.
"Edgar Allan Poe -poems-" poemhunter.com. PoemHunter.Com- The World's Poetry Archive. 2004. Web.
December 28, 2011.
"Transcendentalism." en.wikipedia.org. Wikipedia. n.d. Web. December 28, 2011.
Scharf, Douglas. "Edgar Allan Poe: Biographical Contexts For 'The Fall of the House of Usher.'" American Literature Research and Analysis Web Site. Edgar Allan Poe "The Fall of the House of Usher. Dr. Jim Wohlpart. April 2000. Web. December 29, 2011. itech.fgcu.edu.
Vermillion, Kerry and McCumber, Quinn. "Beyond Empiricism and Transcendentalism: Historical Contexts for "The Fall of the House of Usher."American Literature Research and Analysis Web Site. Edgar Allan Poe "The Fall of the House of Usher. Dr. Jim Wohlpart. April 2000. Web. December 29, 2011. itech.fgcu.edu.
