Edgar Allan Poe (no info on The Raven)

When and where was Edger Allan Poe born?

Boston, Massachusetts

1809

What happened to Edgar Allan Poe’s father?

He left his family

How did his mother die?

Tuberculosis

What were some differences between Edgar Allan Poe and his new foster father, John Allan

Poe was educated, confident, and kind, while his father was touch, harsh, and a businessman

What were some interests of Edgar Allan Poe, other than his writing?

Sports/athletics and drawing

How did he feel towards his new foster father?

They were both angry at each other and he hated his father

What did he pick as his new name?

Edgar A. Perry

When Poe’s foster father died, what did he inherit?

Nothing

What caused him to go into his worst drinking binge?

After a relative said Virginia was moving to another relatives house

How does he feel towards his cousin Virginia?

He was in love with her

What were some names he called Virginia?

My love, wifey, cousin

What type of relationship do Edgar and Virginia have?

A devoted and loving couple

What events in his life gave him inspiration to write?

The deaths of his loved ones

What in the “Tell-Tale Heart” resembles events in his life?

A main character who’s trying to maintain control over his sanity

What disease has killed all of the women he has loved?

Tuberculosis

Which of his writings shot him to fame during this time?

“The Raven”

What did the townspeople do in response to “The Raven?”

They loved it, it was sensational, they were amazed, and people would get nightmares from it

What was “The Raven” about symbolically?

Forgetting the weight and loss of “Lenore” and the never ending grief he would experience

Who does Lenore symbolize?

Virginia

How does he handle his life now that Virginia is gone?

He couldn’t handle life, he became chaotic, having many women at once

How does he feel towards women?

They will ease the world, they are angels

What happened to his drinking habit?

He got back into drinking, and it ruined everything

What are some theories of his death?

He was in a political kidnapping (to be a repeat voter), he got rabies, he was beaten up, ate poisoned food, or killed himself (newest theory)

What were his last words?

“God help my poor soul”

What did Poe consider to be the “heaviest” of his “trials”?

The want of parental affection

What were events that lead Edgar to be an orphan by his third birthday?

His dad was an actor who drunk lots of drinks, a mom who was an actor who left his dad and then died

Who was Edgar taken in as by a boy?

John and Frances Allan

Frances Allen was kind to Edgar, but he grew up feeling what?

Disappointment of his foster dad

What contributed to Edgar’s moodiness?

His foster dads criticism

Why did Poe go into debt while at the University of Virginia?

Gambling his money away

Why did Poe run off to Boston?

To make his own way in the world

Who was Poe’s aunt?

Maria Poe Clemm

Where did his aunt live?

Baltimore, Maryland

Whom did Poe marry in 1835?

His cousin, Virginia

What brought the three of them together? (him, his aunt, and Virginia)

The need and a strong sense of family

What part of Poe’s writing had the greatest effect on other writers?

His short stories

Poe laid the foundations for what type of modern story?

Detective

Poe was a master of what?

Physiological thriller

Through his writing, Poe wanted to leave behind the rational world and discover the unsettling truth that lies in the…

Dark, irrational depths of the human mind

Poe produced a “considerable body of work.” He accomplished this despite what problems?

Poverty and a serious drinking problem

Why did Poe drink?

To escape reality

What brought him at least a little fame?

“The Raven”

What were the circumstances around Poe’s death?

He just disappeared and was found a week later with different clothes on