Edgar Allan Poe Death in His Life and Works.docx

Edgar Allan Poe Death in His Life and Works.docx

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EdgarAllanPoeDeathinHisLifeandWorks

EdgarAllanPoe:

DeathinHisLifeandWorks

ChapterⅠIntroduction

Thepopularityofanewliteraryinthelateeighteenthcentury,theGothicstory,wasowinggreatlytoEdgarAllanPoe,whose"horror"talesconjureupthedarksideofhumanbeing.

EdgarAllanPoe’swritingissynonymouswithterror,death,andGothichorror.Clearlyhehadanobsessionwiththetopicofdeath,aswellasanextremelymorbidfantasylife.

Thesubjectofdeathmakesanexcellentclimacticplotdevice,asmanygenerationsofwritershavediscovered.ButthereisnoAmericanauthorwhodealtwithdeathmoreexclusivelyormorememorablythanEdgarAllanPoe.InmostofPoe’sshortstories,hispreoccupationwithdeathrevealedthedownsideoftheAmericandream,andtheloneliness,whichresultedfrommaterialismandcompetition.

AsKennethSilvermanremarksthatthereasonwhyEdgarAllanPoeisconfinedtohisdreadfulsubjectmaybeattributedtothelossofsomanyofhisfemalerelativesandlovedones:

first,hismotherwhodiedwhenPoewasatanearlyage;thenhiswifeathisprime.ItwasthemiseryinhissoulthatprovidedPoewithhisuniqueperspectiveonreality.

Poe'sfatherapparentlyabandonedhisfamilyaroundthetimeofEdgar'ssecondbirthday.HismothertookEdgar,hisbrotherandsisterwithhertoRichmond,andshediedthereinDecemberofthatyear.EdgarwasseparatedfromhissiblingsandplacedinthecareofcoupleAllan.EdgarwastakentoEnglandtospendhisearlychildhoodatprestigiousboardingacademies.

WhilereturningtoRichmondin1820,Edgarcontinuedhiseducationatprivateschools,studyingverseandoratory.Poereceivedsupportandencouragementfromthemotherofaclassmate,JaneStithStanard,butshediedofbraintumorwhenhewasfifteenyearsold.Allanlookeduponthiswomanashisidealizedmother,andheruntimelydeathwastheapparentcauseofhisfirstextendedperiodofpsychologicaldepression,duringwhichheoftenvisitedhergrave.

PoemarriedhiscousinVirginiaClemm,whowasjustthirteenyearsoldatthetime.In1842,hisyoungwifeVirginiasufferedaburstbloodvesselandcontractedtuberculosis.TheinfluenceofthelatteronPoe'smindmaybereflectedinPoe’sfrequentparticipationofextendeddrinkingbinges,hisfinalresorttotheliquorbottlesafterVirginia’sillnessbecamemoreserious.

Poesufferedthehorrible,never-endingoscillationbetweenhopeanddespairafterhiswife’sdeathandlapsedintodepressionandharddrinking.Heconvertedtothecompositionoftheoreticalworksaboutliterature,humannature:

AProsePoem（1848）,inwhichheadvancedacompletetheoryaboutGod'swillandtheuniverse.

OnOctober3rd,1849,Poediedinpovertyinalocalhospitalafterutteringhisfinalwordsandepitaph,"Lordhelpmypoorsoul,"

However,themostprofoundinfluenceonPoe'swritingcareerandemotionalstabilitycamefromVirginiaClemm.Itishiswife’sdeaththatpromotesPoetopreserveherimageinhisart,asakindofromanticloverideal.Often,inPoe’sworks,goodnessispresentedassomethingofperfection,andprimarilytakesafeminineform. Itisalsousuallyportrayedasbeingquitefragile,andvulnerabletoexternalthreats. 

AnyonewhoknowsanythingaboutEdgarAllanPoe,knowsthathispoemsandstoriesareoftenquitedisturbing.Theyaretalesandpoemsthataddresssomeofthemosthiddenaspectsofmankind.Theyspeakofregression,repression,egos,denial,delusion,sexualfantasies,andmanyotherconditionsknowntothepsycheofhumans.InanyofPoe'sworksweseesomeoftheman,hischaracter,andhisstruggles.

TheBlackCatisagoodrepresentativeofshortstoriesbyEdgarAllanPoe.ItisreflectedinTheBlackCat,thecapacityforviolenceandhorrorlieswithineachofus,nomatterhowdocileandhumaneourdispositionsmightappear.

Poetellsthestoryfromthefirstpersonpointofviewtointensifytheeffectofmoralshockandhorror.Thereaderisinvitedtodelveintotheinnerworkingsofthedarksideofthemanmind.

TheBlackCatisoneofthemostpowerfulofPoe'sstories,andthehorrorstopsshortofthewaveringlineofdisgust.Poeconstructedthisstoryinsuchawaythattheeventsofthetaleremainsomewhatambiguous.Asthenarratorbeginstorecounttheoccurrencesthat"...haveterrified--havetortured--havedestroyed[him],"heremindsthereaderthatmaybe"...someintellectmorecalm,morelogical,andfarlessexcitablethan[his]own,"willperceive"...nothingmorethananordinarysuccessionofverynaturalcausesandeffects."

ChapterⅡDeathThemeinHisWorks

Inthelateeighteenthandearlynineteenthcentury,anewliterarygenresprungup,theGothicstory.IntheUnitedStates,themostprominentexponentofGothicfictionwasEdgarAllanPoe,whose"horror"talesconjureupthedarksidethatmanyofusatleasthalf-believeishiddenjustbeneaththesurfaceofthemostconventionallives.

CriticMarkEdmunsoncallsGothicliterature"theartofhaunting",addingthat"Gothicshowsthatlife,evenatitsmostostensiblyinnocent,ispossessed,thatthepresentisinthralltothepast.Allareguilty;allwill,intime,paytheprice.AndGothicshouldalsopossessthereader,scarehim,sohecanthinkofnothingelse.Hehastoreadit--orseeit--againandagaintoachievesomepeace."EdmunsonquotesChrisBaldick,authorofasplendidbookontheFrankensteinmyth,thatGothicliterature"shouldcombineafearfulsenseofinheritanceintimewithaclaustrophobicsenseofenclosureinspace,thesetwodimensionsreinforcingoneanothertoproduceanimpressionofsickeningdescentintodisintegration".

EversinceEdgarAllanPoebeganwritingintheearly1830s,hisworkhasbecomesynonymouswithterror,death,andGothichorror.Clearlyhehadanobsessionwiththetopicofdeath,aswellasanextremelymorbidfantasylife.

Thesubjectofdeathhasbeenconsideredthroughoutliteraryhistory.Itistheinevitabilitythatalllifeformsshare,nottomentionitmakesanexcellentclimacticplotdevice,asmanygenerationsofwritershavediscovered.Itpresentsanindestructibleforce,andforeveraltersthecourseofhumanevents.ThereisnoAmericanauthorwhodealtwithdeathmoreexclusivelyormorememorablythanEdgarAllanPoe.InmostofPoe’sshortstories,theprotagonistsaremuchliketheauthorhimself--lonelyandalienatedwhoattempttoisolatethemselvesagainstanunknownfate--causedeitherbytheforcesofnatureorbythemselves.Onalargerscale,Poe’spreoccupationwithdeathrevealedthedownsideoftheAmericandream,andthelonelinesswhichresultedfrommaterialismandcompetition,whichareoftendepictedinghostlyappearanceswhichresemble"imagesofdeathinlife".

WhileEdgarAllanPoe'sobsessionwithdeathhasbeenwell-documented,bothinhisbiographiesandwithinhisshortstoriesandpoems,themotivationbehinditrevealsmuchaboutthetorturedwriter.Recentlysomecritics,notablyKennethSilverman,havepostulatedthatthesourceofthismorbidimaginationmayhavebeenthelossofsomanyofPoe’sfemalerelativesandlovedones,beginningwithhismotherwhodiedwhenPoewasonlytwo.Manyofhisbiographersalsosuggestthatthismayhavehadsomebasisinthelossofhisparentsatanearlyage,orthefactthathedidnotsuccessfullybondwiththefamilywhoraisedhim.

EdgarAllanPoe'slifewasmarkedbydeathwhenhewasstillaveryyoungchild.AlthoughgoodfortunesmiledonPoeonnumerousoccasions,hecouldneverrelishthegoodbecauseofallofthebad thatprecededit.However,itwasthemiseryinhissoulthatprovidedPoewithhisuniqueperspectiveonreality,whichblendedthemacabreintothefabricoftheeverydayandthecommonplace.

ChapterⅢAGlimpseofEdgarAllanPoe’sLife

EdgarAllanPoewasborninBostononJanuary19th,1809.Hismother,ElizabethArnoldPoe,wasanactresswhohadattainedsomeprominenceasaleadinglady.Hisfather,DavidPoe,Jr.,hadpursuedasomewhatlesssuccessfulcareeronthestagepunctuatedbyalcoholicbinges.Althoughtheprecisedatesandotherdetailsareunclear,Poe'sfatherapparentlyabandonedhisfamilyaroundthetimeofEdgar'ssecondbirthday.WedoknowthathismothertookEdgar,hisbrotherWilliam,andSisterRosaliewithhertoRichmond,Virginiasometimein1811,andthatshediedthereinDecemberofthatsameyear.Edgarwasseparatedfromhissiblingsandplacedinthecareofachildlesscouple,JohnandFrancesAllan.JohnAllanwasanEnglish/Scottishmerchantwhokeptatightholdonthefamily'spursestringsbutwhoalsorecognizedthevalueofeducation.In1815,hetookhiswifeand"stepson"（EdgarwasneverlegallyadoptedbytheAllans）toEnglandonanextendedbusinesstrip.InEngland,Edgarspenthisearlychildhoodatprestigiousboardingacademies.

WhenAllanreturnedtoRichmondin1820,Edgarcontinuedhiseducationatprivateschools,studyingLatin,verse,andoratory.Hewasalsoanathleticyouth,asuperiorswimmerandmarksman.Buthewasnotpopular.Hewastauntedbyhispeersasthesonofactors（adisreputableprofession）whooccupiedanoddstatusintheAllanhouseholdasanunadoptedstepson.Poereceivedsupportandencouragementfromthemotherofaclassmate,JaneStithStanard,butshediedofabraintumorwhenhewasfifteenyearsold.MoresothanElizabethPoeorMrs.Allan,helookeduponthiswomanashisidealizedmother,andheruntimelydeathwastheapparentcauseofhisfirstextendedperiodofpsychologicaldepression,duringwhichheoftenvisitedhergrave.

In1825,however,JohnAllaninheritedalargesumofmoney,andthisabruptreversaloffortuneenabledhimtoenroll