Edgar Allan Poe Influences

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Edgar Allan Poe’s drug and alcohol abuse, combined with his dysfunctional and unsupportive family, played an extensive role in the darkness and mystery of Poe’s unique writing style. For most readers, the name of Edgar Allan Poe has become a symbol of horror and fear. Furthermore, the images and motifs created by Edgar Allan Poe have an immense influence on the following generations and works of other authors, so that they can become immersed in the popular culture. Poe’s memorable images and quotes became an essential part of the world’s cultural heritage, giving inspiration to the horror genre for years to come. As a result, many fans of the horror genre don’t even rate Poe’s works at its true value, taking his writings for granted. For nearly …show more content…
(July 18, 1784 - December 1811) and Elizabeth Arnold Hopkins Poe (1787 - December 8, 1811) (eapoe.org). Elizabeth Arnold took on the profession of becoming a stage performer, while her husband, David Poe Jr., studied law for many years, but eventually adopted the lifestyle of an actor along with his wife (Hirst 1). Both of Edgar’s parents died when he was at a young age due to the consumption of some sort and died within weeks of each other while in Richmond, Virginia (Hirst 1). Edgar had already faced tragedy in his childhood years, but little did he know that it was only the beginning of a lifetime of hardships. Edgar had two other siblings: William Henry Leonard (January 30, 1807 - August 1, 1832) and Rosalie Mckenzie Poe (December 20, 1810 - July 21, 1874) (eapoe.org). Because of the unexpected death of Poe’s parents, Rosalie and himself were adopted by a man named Mr. John Allan (Hirst 1). Edgar received an education and lived a wealthy lifestyle under the care of Mr. John Allan, but their relationship was fueled by volatility. They never saw eye to eye due to their strong-headed behavior and their independent spirits (eapoe.org). Edgar never really felt accepted due to his difficult life under the care of John Allan, so he developed a close and loving relationship with his Aunt Maria Clemm (eapoe.org). Edgar saw his Aunt as a mother because she treated him as her own and showed him motherly love that he never had the chance …show more content…
Poe’s writings inspired many authors, but one in particular was Arthur Conan Doyle, author of The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes, because of his mystery based writing style (oswego.edu). The Black Cat , The Cask of Amontillado, and The Tell-Tale Heart, are stories that are considered to fall into the horror genre of Poe’s works due to their eerie persona (poetryfoundation.org). Edgar Allan Poe’s story, The Pit and The Pendulum, is written about a man who falls into a pit, believes he is a victim of a tyrant and is to be buried alive, tormented by thirst, and is stricken with fear due to the deprivation of darkness and unfamiliar surroundings (Quinn 359). Edgar Allan Poe’s story,,The Murder of Marie Roget, is the story about a woman named Mary Cecilia Rogers, who was murdered, but the case had never been solved (Quinn 357-359). Poe changed the setting of the murder of Mary Cecilia Rogers to take place in Paris and claimed not to have known anything about what happened, but wrote the story to show the case should be approached once more (Quinn 358). Before the world had heard the name of Edgar Allan Poe, he published his first poetry collection in Boston in 1827 which was entitled, Tamerlane and Other Poems (poetryfoundation.org). Poe’s first volume was pushed aside until he published his second collection of poetry in 1829 entitled, Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane, and

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