Edgar Allan Poe was born January 19, 1809, and died October 7, 1849; he lived only forty

years, but

during his brief lifetime, he made a permanent place for himself in American literature and also in world

literature. A few facts about Poe's life are indisputable, but, unfortunately, almost everything else about Poe's

life has been falsified, romanticized, slanderously distorted, or subjected to grotesque Freudian interpretations.

Poe, it has been said at various times, was a manic depressive, a dope addict, an epileptic, and an alcoholic;

moreover, it has been whispered that he was syphilitic, that he was impotent, and that he fathered at least one

illegitimate child. Hardly any of Poe's biographers have been content to write a straight account of his life. This

was particularly true of his early biographers, and only recently have those early studies been refuted. Intrigued

with the horror and mystery of Poe's stories and by the dark romanticism of his poetry, his early critics and

biographers often embroidered on the facts of his past in order to create their own imaginative vision of what

kind of man produced these "strange" tales and poems. Thus Poe's true genius was neglected for a long time.

Indeed, probably more fiction has been written about this American literary master than he himself produced;

finally, however, fair and unbiased evaluations of his writings and of his life are available to us, and we can

judge for ourselves what kind of a man Poe was. Yet, because the facts are scarce, Poe's claim to being

America's first authentic neurotic genius will probably remain, and it is possible that Poe would be delighted.

Both of Poe's parents were professional actors, and this fact in itself has fueled many of the

melodramatic myths that surround Poe. Poe's mother was a teenage widow when she married David Poe, and

Edgar was their second son. Poe's father had a fairly good reputation as an actor, but he had an even wider

reputation as an alcoholic. He deserted the family a year after Poe was born, and the following year, Poe's

mother died while she was acting in Richmond, Virginia.

The children were parceled out, and young Poe was taken in as a foster-child by John Allan, a rich

southern merchant. Allan never legally adopted Poe, but he did try to give him a good home and a good

education.

When Poe was six years old, the Allans moved to England, and for five years Poe attended the Manor

House School, conducted by a man who was a good deal like the schoolmaster in "William Wilson." When the

Allans returned to America, Poe began using his legal name for the first time.

Poe and his foster-father often quarreled during his adolescence and as soon as he was able to leave

home, Poe enrolled at the University of Virginia. While he was there, he earned a good academic record, but Mr.

Allan never allowed him the means to live in the style his social status demanded. When Poe tried to keep up

with his high-living classmates, he incurred so many gambling debts that the parsimonious Mr. Allan prevented

his returning for a second year of study.

 Unhappy at home, Poe got money somehow (probably from Mrs. Allan) and went to Boston, where he

arranged for publication of his first volume of poetry, Tamerlane and Other Poems (1827). He then joined the

army. Two years later, when he was a sergeant-major, he received a discharge to enter West Point, to which he

was admitted with Mr. Allan's help. Again, however, he felt frustrated because of the paltry allowance which his

foster-father doled out to him, so he arranged to be court-martialed and dismissed.

Poe's next four years were spent in Baltimore, where he lived with an aunt, Maria Clemm; these were

years of poverty. When Mr. Allan died in 1834, Poe hoped that he would receive some of his foster-father's

fortune, but he was disappointed. Allan left him not a cent. For that reason, Poe turned from writing poetry,

which he was deeply fond of — despite the fact that he knew he could never live off his earnings — and turned

to writing stories, for which there was a market. He published five tales in the Philadelphia Saturday Courier

in 1832, and because of his talent and certain influential friends, he became an editorial assistant at the Southern

Literary Messenger in Richmond in December 1835.

The editor of the Messenger recognized Poe's genius and published several of his stories, but he

despaired at Poe's tendency to "sip the juice." Nevertheless, Poe's drinking does not seem to have interfered

with his duties at the magazine; its circulation grew, Poe continued producing stories, and while he was

advancing the reputation of the Messenger, he created a reputation of his own — not only as a fine writer, but

also as a keen critic.

Poe married his cousin, Virginia Clemm, in 1836, when she was fourteen years old. He left the

Messenger the following year and took his aunt and wife to New York City. There, Poe barely eked out a living

for two years as a free-lance writer. He did, however, finish a short novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym,

and sold it to the Messenger, where it was published in two installments. Harper's bought out the magazine

in 1838, but Poe never realized any more money from the novel because his former boss had recorded that the

Narrative was only "edited" by Poe.

From New York City, the Poes moved to Baltimore, and for two years, the young family lived in even

more dire poverty than they had in New York City. Poe continued writing, however, and finally in May 1839, he

was hired as a co-editor of Burton's Gentleman's Magazine. He held this position for a year, during which he

published some of his best fiction, including "The Fall of the House of Usher" and "William Wilson."

Because of his drinking, Poe lost his job the following year. This was unfortunate because his Tales of

the Grotesque, which had been published several months earlier, was not selling well. Once again, Poe and his
wife found themselves on the edge of poverty, but Poe's former employer recommended Poe to the publisher of

Graham's, and once again Poe found work as an editor while he worked on his own fiction and poetry.\

In January 1842, Poe suffered yet another setback. His wife, Virginia, burst a blood vessel in her throat.

She did recover, but Poe's restlessness began to grow, as did the frequency of his drinking bouts, and he left

Graham's under unpleasant circumstances. He attempted to found his own magazine and failed; he worked on

cheap weeklies for awhile and, in a moment of despair, he went to Washington to seek out President Tyler.

According to several accounts, he was so drunk when he called on the President that he wore his cloak inside

out.

Shortly afterward, Poe moved his family to New York City and began working for the Sunday Times.

The following year was a good one: James Russell Lowell praised Poe's talent and genius in an article, and

Poe's poem "The Raven" was published and received rave reviews. Seemingly, Poe had "made it"; "The Raven"

was the sensation of the literary season. Poe began lecturing about this time and, shortly afterward, a new

collection of his short stories appeared, as well as a collection of his poetry.Most biographers agree that Poe

died of alcoholism — officially, "congestion of the brain." However, in 1996, cardiologist R. Michael Benitez,

after conducting a blind clinical pathologic diagnosis of the symptoms of a patient described only as "E.P., a

writer from Richmond," concluded that Poe died not from alcoholic poisoning, but from rabies. According to

Dr. Benitez, Poe had become so hypersensitive to alcohol in his later years that he became ill for days after only

one glass of wine. Benitez also refutes the myth that Poe died in a gutter, stating that he died at Washington

College Hospital after four days of hallucinating and shouting at imaginary people.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

SIGNIFICANCE: Author, Poet, Literary Critic

PLACE OF BIRTH: Boston, Massachusetts

DATE OF BIRTH: January 19, 1809

PLACE OF DEATH: Baltimore, Maryland

DATE OF DEATH: October 7, 1849

PLACE OF BURIAL: Baltimore, Maryland

CEMETERY NAME: Westminster Burial Ground

 Pioneering author, editor, poet, literary critic, husband, son...Edgar Allan Poe lived just to the age of 40

but his works continue to captivate readers around the globe today.

Early Life

Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston in 1809. Both of his parents were actors. His mother, the much

admired Elizabeth Arnold Poe was a talented actress. His father, David Poe was considered less talented. The

Poes performed at theaters throughout the Eastern seaboard, from Boston to Virginia. In 1811, Elizabeth Poe

died of tuberculosis in Richmond, Virginia, leaving orphaned Edgar, his infant sister Rosalie, and his older

brother Henry. David Poe, apparently had abandoned his wife and children earlier and was not present when she

died.

The three children were separated and raised by different families. Edgar was taken in by the successful

Richmond merchant John Allan, and his frail wife Frances. The Allans had no children of their own. They raised

Edgar as part of the family and gave him their middle name, but never legally adopted him.

In 1815, Edgar traveled with the Allans to England and Scotland, where John Allan planned to expand

his tobacco business. Edgar attended boarding schools throughout the five years the family lived overseas. After

John Allan’s business venture failed, he moved the family back to Richmond, Virginia in 1820.

From University of Virginia to West Point

Edgar continued his studies in Richmond. He entered the University of Virginia in 1826 at the age of 17.

During the year he attended the university, Edgar excelled in his studies of Latin and French. He was unable to

complete his studies at the university because Allan refused to pay debts Edgar had incurred during the school

year. Allan and Edgar quarreled over the debts, of which a large portion was incurred from gambling.

Shortly after his quarrel with his foster father, Edgar Allan Poe left Richmond for Boston where he

hoped to pursue a literary career. His first book of poetry, Tamerlane and Other Poems was published there.

Unable to support himself, and receiving little assistance from his foster father, Poe enlisted as a private in the

US Army on May 26, 1827 for a five year term. He entered under an assumed name and lied about his age,

claiming to be 22 years old when he was only 18. Poe was assigned to Battery H of the First Artillery at Fort

Independence in Boston Harbor. On October 31, 1827 Battery H was ordered to Fort Moultrie to protect

Charleston Harbor. He sailed on the Brigantine Waltham, arriving for duty in Charleston on November 18.
 At Fort Moultrie, Poe was promoted to artificer, the rank of a noncommissioned officer or enlisted man

who had a mechanical specialty. On December 11, 1828, Poe’s battery sailed for duty at Fortress Monroe,

Virginia where he attained the rank of Sergeant-Major, the highest possible rank for a non-commissioned

officer. His quick progress up the ranks can be attributed to his education, high social standing, and competence.

Despite his accomplishments, Poe left military service in April 1829 and hired a substitute to complete his

obligation.

A brief reconciliation between Poe and Allan occurred upon the death of Frances Allan in 1829. Allan

assisted Poe in obtaining a discharge from the regular Army and an appointment as a cadet at the US Military

Academy in West Point. Entering West Point in July 1830, Poe was again plagued by restlessness. One of his

roommates described him as having “the appearance of being much older. He had a worn, weary, discontented

look, not easily forgotten by those who were intimate with him.” The financial hardship along with the

realization that literature was his true vocation, led to Poe’s decision to resign from the Academy. Allan, as Poe's

guardian, refused to give him permission to resign. Unable to obtain permission to resign, Poe chose to neglect

his duties and was court-martialed for “gross neglect of duty” and “disobedience of orders.”

Editor and Author

After leaving West Point, Poe eventually moved to Baltimore where he lived with his impoverished

Aunt Maria Poe Clemm and her young daughter, Virginia. Poe continued to write poetry and prose. In 1833, he

won a $50 prize and attention for his short story “Ms. Found in a Bottle.” The attention he gained led to a job

offer as an editor for the Southern Literary Messenger in Richmond. Poe accepted the position and moved to

Richmond in 1835. His aunt and cousin joined him the following year. Poe married his thirteen year old cousin,

Virginia, shortly afterwards.

The Poes and Mrs. Clemm moved to New York City in 1837 with the hope of Edgar finding work in the

literary field. The city, as well as the rest of the country was in the midst of a depression caused by the financial

“Panic of ’37.” Unable to find work, Poe moved to Philadelphia in 1838. The six years he spent in Philadelphia

proved to be his most productive, and perhaps the happiest years of his life. He worked as an editor and critic

for one of the nation's largest magazines, Graham’s Magazine. Some of his most famous stories were written in

Philadelphia, including the “Fall of the House of Usher,” “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” “The Mask of the

Red Death,” and “Ligeia.” Poe referred to South Carolina settings in several short stories, including “The

Balloon-Hoax" and “The Oblong Box." By far his most popular story inspired by Sullivan’s Island was “The
Gold Bug,” originally published in 1843. In 1842, his beloved wife became ill with tuberculosis. Her illness and

the constant strain of financial problems, caused Poe to sink into deep bouts of depression.

Professional and Personal Loss

The Poes and Mrs. Clemm moved to New York City in 1844. Poe continued to work as an editor and

critic. He gained his greatest fame as a poet after his poem “The Raven” was published in 1845. In the same

year, he achieved his lifelong dream of owning a literary journal. Unfortunately, the journal failed within a few

months. The Poes and Mrs. Clemm moved outside of New York City to a small cottage in 1846. Virginia died of

tuberculosis the following year.

Death

For the next two years Poe continued to write poetry, short stories, criticism and plan for his own literary

journal. After a successful lecture tour in the South and an extended visit in Richmond, Poe seemed to be finally

recovering from the loss of Virginia, and making plans for the future. On his way back to New York City, Poe

stopped in Baltimore where he died of “acute congestion of the brain.” The day was October 7, 1849; Edgar

Allan Poe was 40 years old.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Who Was Edgar Allan Poe?

Edgar Allan Poe was an American writer, poet, critic and editor best known for evocative short stories

and poems that captured the imagination and interest of readers around the world. His imaginative storytelling

and tales of mystery and horror gave birth to the modern detective story.

Many of Poe’s works, including “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Fall of the House of Usher,” became

literary classics. Some aspects of Poe’s life, like his literature, is shrouded in mystery, and the lines between fact

and fiction have been blurred substantially since his death.

Early Life and Family

Poe was born on January 19, 1809, in Boston, Massachusetts. Poe never really knew his parents —

Elizabeth Arnold Poe, a British actress, and David Poe, Jr., an actor who was born in Baltimore. His father left

the family early in Poe's life, and his mother passed away from tuberculosis when he was only three.
 Separated from his brother William and sister Rosalie, Poe went to live with John and Frances Allan, a

successful tobacco merchant and his wife, in Richmond, Virginia. Edgar and Frances seemed to form a bond,

but he had a more difficult relationship with John Allan.

By the age of 13, Poe was a prolific poet, but his literary talents were discouraged by his headmaster and

John Allan, who preferred that Poe follow him in the family business. Preferring poetry over profits, Poe

reportedly wrote poems on the back of some of Allan's business papers.

Money was also an issue between Poe and John Allan. Poe went to the University of Virginia in 1826,

where he excelled in his classes. However, he didn't receive enough funds from Allan to cover all of his costs.

Poe turned to gambling to cover the difference, but ended up in debt.

He returned home only to face another personal setback — his neighbor and fiancée Sarah Elmira

Royster had become engaged to someone else. Heartbroken and frustrated, Poe moved to Boston.

Army and West Point

In 1827, around the time he published his first book, Poe joined the U.S. Army. Two years later, he

learned that Frances Allan was dying of tuberculosis, but by the time he returned to Richmond she had already

passed away.

While in Virginia, Poe and Allan briefly made peace with each other, and Allan helped Poe get an

appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point. Poe excelled at his studies at West Point, but

he was kicked out after a year for his poor handling of his duties.

During his time at West Point, Poe had fought with his foster father, who had remarried without telling

him. Some have speculated that Poe intentionally sought to be expelled to spite Allan, who eventually cut ties

with Poe.

Editor, Critic, Poet and Writer

After leaving West Point, Poe published his third book and focused on writing full-time. He traveled

around in search of opportunity, living in New York City, Baltimore, Philadelphia and Richmond. In 1834, John

Allan died, leaving Poe out of his will, but providing for an illegitimate child Allan had never met.

Poe, who continued to struggle living in poverty, got a break when one of his short stories won a contest

in the Baltimore Saturday Visiter. He began to publish more short stories and in 1835 landed an editorial

position with the Southern Literary Messenger in Richmond.

 Poe developed a reputation as a cut-throat critic, writing vicious reviews of his contemporaries. His

scathing critiques earned him the nickname the "Tomahawk Man."

His tenure at the magazine proved short. Poe's aggressive-reviewing style and sometimes combative

personality strained his relationship with the publication, and he left the magazine in 1837. His problems with

alcohol also played a role in his departure, according to some reports.

Poe went on to brief stints at Burton's Gentleman's Magazine, Graham's Magazine, The Broadway

Journal, and he also sold his work to Alexander’s Weekly Messenger, among other journals.

In 1844, Poe moved to New York City. There, he published a news story in The New York Sun about a

balloon trip across the Atlantic Ocean that he later revealed to be a hoax. His stunt grabbed attention, but it was

his publication of "The Raven," in 1845, which made Poe a literary sensation.

That same year, Poe found himself under attack for his stinging criticisms of fellow poet Henry

Wadsworth Longfellow. Poe claimed that Longfellow, a widely popular literary figure, was a plagiarist, which

resulted in a backlash against Poe.

Despite his success and popularity as a writer, Poe continued to struggle financially and he advocated for

higher wages for writers and an international copyright law.

Wife

From 1831 to 1835, Poe lived in Baltimore, where his father was born, with his aunt Maria Clemm and

her daughter, his cousin Virginia. He began to devote his attention to Virginia, who became his literary

inspiration as well as his love interest.

The couple married in 1836 when she was only 13 years old. In 1847, at the age of 24 — the same age

when Poe’s mother and brother also died — Virginia passed away from tuberculosis.

Poe was overcome by grief following her death, and although he continued to work, he suffered from

poor health and struggled financially until his death in 1849.

Poems

Poe self-published his first book, Tamerlane and Other Poems, in 1827. His second poetry collection, Al

Aaraaf, Tamerlane, and Minor Poems, was published in 1829.

 As a critic at the Southern Literary Messenger in Richmond from 1835 to 1837, Poe published some of

his own works in the magazine, including two parts of his only novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym.

'The Raven'

Poe’s poem "The Raven," published in 1845 in the New York Evening Mirror, is considered

among the best-known poems in American literature and one of the best of Poe's career. An unknown

narrator laments the demise of his great love Lenore and is visited by a raven, who insistently repeats one

word: “Nevermore.” In the work, which consists of 18 six-line stanzas, Poe explored some of his common

themes — death and loss.

'Annabel Lee'

This lyric poem again explores Poe’s themes of death and loss and may have been written in

memory of his beloved wife Virginia, who died two years prior. The poem was published on October 9,

1849, two days after Poe’s death, in the New York Tribune.

Later in his career, Poe continued to work in different forms, examining his own methodology and

writing in general in several essays, including "The Philosophy of Composition," "The Poetic Principle" and

"The Rationale of Verse." He also produced the thrilling tale, "The Cask of Amontillado," and poems such as

"Ulalume" and "The Bells."

Death

Poe died on October 7, 1849. His final days remain somewhat of a mystery. Poe left Richmond on

September 27, 1849, and was supposedly on his way to Philadelphia. On October 3, he was found in Baltimore

in great distress. Poe was taken to Washington College Hospital, where he died four days later. His last words

were "Lord, help my poor soul." At the time, it was said that Poe died of "congestion of the brain." But his

actual cause of death has been the subject of endless speculation. Some experts believe that alcoholism led to

his demise while others offer up alternative theories. Rabies, epilepsy and carbon monoxide poisoning are just

some of the conditions thought to have led to the great writer's death.

Legacy

Shortly after his passing, Poe's reputation was badly damaged by his literary adversary Rufus Griswold.

Griswold, who had been sharply criticized by Poe, took his revenge in his obituary of Poe, portraying the gifted

yet troubled writer as a mentally deranged drunkard and womanizer.

 He also penned the first biography of Poe, which helped cement some of these misconceptions in the

public's minds. While he never had financial success in his lifetime, Poe has become one of America's most

enduring writers. His works are as compelling today as they were more than a century ago.

An innovative and imaginative thinker, Poe crafted stories and poems that still shock, surprise and move

modern readers. His dark work influenced writers including Charles Baudelaire, Fyodor Dostoyevsky and

Stephane Mallarme.

Biographical Information

Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston on January 19, 1809, the second son of David Poe Jr. and Elizabeth

Arnold Poe, both stage actors. The family lived in abject poverty and moved frequently during Poe's first years,

during which time his parents pursued acting engagements in New York, Maryland, and Virginia. Poe's father

abandoned the family when Poe was still a small child, and his mother died in Richmond, Virginia, in December

1811. Shortly after his mother's death, Poe was adopted by John Allan, a wealthy Richmond merchant, and his

wife, Frances. In 1815 the young boy went with the Allans to Great Britain, living in Scotland and London for

the next five years. After returning to Richmond in 1820, Poe attended private schools, where he excelled in

literature, classics, and oratory; he also began to write poetry.

In spite of his academic accomplishments, Poe remained relatively isolated. Scholar Eric W. Carlson has

argued that Poe's humble origins remained a source of shame throughout his life and that because of his

background he never gained acceptance among Richmond's social elite. In 1826, Poe became a student at the

University of Virginia, studying classical and modern languages. Although his adoptive father paid Poe's tuition

and lodging, he refused him additional funds for books and other basic expenses. To cover his living costs, Poe

turned to gambling, incurring massive debts that forced him to withdraw from the university. Unable to repair

his fractured relationship with Allan, Poe moved to Boston and enlisted in the army. He published his first book

of verse, Tamerlane and Other Poems: By a Bostonian (1827), around this time. A second poetry collection, Al

Aaraaf Tamerlane, and Minor Poems, was published in 1829. A year later Poe, intent on launching a military

career, enrolled at the United States Military Academy at West Point; financial difficulties continued to plague

him, however, and he abandoned his training after only six months. His third collection of verse, Poems, By

Edgar A. Poe, came out in 1831.

After living briefly in New York City, Poe settled in Baltimore, where he moved in with his aunt, Maria

Clemm. In Baltimore, Poe began writing short stories, publishing several of them in the Philadelphia Saturday

Courier in 1832. In 1833, his story "MS. Found in a Bottle" won first prize in a contest promoted by the
Baltimore Saturday Visitor. Although the prize earned Poe $50, it ultimately did little to alleviate his financial

struggles, and John Allan's death in 1834 failed to provide Poe with an adequate inheritance. Desperate for a

steady income, Poe accepted an offer to become a staff writer and editor for the Southern Literary Messenger, a

new magazine based in Richmond. In 1835 he moved to Richmond with his aunt and her 12-year-old daughter,

Virginia Clemm. Poe married Virginia a year later, shortly before her 14th birthday.

According to most biographical accounts, Poe thrived during his tenure at the Messenger; he published

more than 80 essays, poems, and reviews in the periodical, while gradually attracting a sizeable readership. In

1837, he resigned from his editorship, although he continued to contribute fiction and criticism to the magazine.

For the next year Poe lived with his family in New York before relocating to Philadelphia in early 1838. During

this period he published his only novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket (1838), as well as

several important short stories, including "Ligeia" (1838) and "The Fall of the House of Usher" (1839). In 1839

he took a position as the editor and principal literary critic of Burton's Gentleman's Magazine; he was fired a

year later, however, after attempting to launch his own rival magazine.

Poe's first book of short fiction, Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque, was published in 1840. Over the

next few years Poe published two additional story collections, The Prose Romances of Edgar A. Poe, No. 1.

Containing the Murders in the Rue Morgue, and The Man That Was Used Up (1843) and Tales by Edgar A. Poe

(1845), as well as his most significant book of poetry, The Raven and Other Poems (1845). Virginia contracted

tuberculosis during this time; she died in January 1847. Poe's own health began to deteriorate, his condition

exacerbated by heavy alcohol abuse.

In the remaining two years of his life, Poe was romantically involved with a series of women and was

briefly engaged to the poet Sarah Helen Whitman, but their relationship ended abruptly in late 1848. That year

saw the publication of Eureka: A Prose Poem, the final work published in Poe's lifetime. His struggle to earn a

living and refrain from drinking continued to take its toll. He managed to place essays, stories, and poems in

various magazines and delivered lectures on poetry. Poe died in Baltimore on October 7, 1849. Although

biographers speculate that his death was alcohol related, the exact cause remains unknown. A posthumous

collection of prose writings, The Literati . . . Together with Marginalia, Suggestions, and Essays (1850), was

published a year after his death.

Major Works

To modern commentators Poe remains best known for his short stories, almost all of which were

collected in three volumes published during his lifetime: Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque, The Prose
Romances of Edgar A. Poe, and Tales by Edgar A. Poe. Many scholars divide Poe's short fiction into two

categories: horror tales and detective stories. Poe's horror tales typically revolve around characters who have

reached states of extreme alienation, terror, and madness and often contain elements of the supernatural. In "The

Tell-Tale Heart" (1843), a murderer is plagued by the persistent echo of his victim's heartbeat, compelling him

to confess his crime; "The Black Cat" (1843) features a protagonist who becomes obsessed with killing his

beloved pet cat; the narrator of "The Cask of Amontillado" (1846), tormented by the "thousand injuries"

inflicted upon him by an old rival, achieves his long-awaited vengeance by burying his victim alive in a brick

tomb. The sense of menace in other stories is far more subtle. In "Some Words with a Mummy" (1845), a

revivified Egyptian mummy, speaking to a group of modern scientists, offers an ominous indictment of

nineteenth-century democracy. The narrator of "Ligeia" (1838), distressed by the death of his first wife,

imagines her soul's resurrection in the body of his second wife. "Ligeia" is also noteworthy in that it contains

the poem "The Conqueror Worm," a dark vision of the power and inevitability of death.

Poe's detective stories concern the complex, sometimes misleading relationship between human

reasoning and empirical reality. Characterized by Poe himself as tales of "ratiocination," these stories revolve

around crimes so strange and inexplicable that they prove nearly impossible to solve. The best known of these

works include "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" (1841), "The Mystery of Marie Roget" (1842), and "The

Purloined Letter" (1845). These three stories feature the character C. Auguste Dupin, an amateur sleuth whose

powers of imagination and deductive reasoning enable him to recognize crucial details that elude more

conventional police inspectors. A number of scholars have asserted that Dupin became the prototype of the

modem fictional detective and served as the model for such characters as Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot.

In addition to his fiction, Poe authored a number of important poems over the course of his career.

Although his poems are not widely read today, several are still familiar to modem readers; among the most

famous are "To Helen" (1831), "Lenore" (1843), and "The Raven" (1845). Poe's critical writings, in particular

his review of Nathaniel Hawthorne's story collction Twice-Told Tales, also remain noteworthy among scholars.

The commentary, first published in April 1842, has played a pivotal role in the field of Hawthorne criticism. In

the 1846 essay "The Philosophy of Composition," Poe undertakes an in-depth analysis of his own artistic

methods. "The Poetic Principle," first delivered as a lecture in 1848 and later included in the posthumous

volume The Literati, offers an invaluable exposition of Poe's aesthetic philosophy, notably the idea that the

ultimate aim of art is art itself, independent of social or political contexts. This idea influenced European

aesthetic theories of the late nineteenth century and became the foundation of the French symbolist movement.