How Death, Substance Abuse , and Revenge Influenced Poes Work

Brandon Colon

Mr. D’Amico

English 11 Honors

25 May 2014

Effects of Death, Substance Abuse, and Revenge on Edgar Allan Poe’s Works

Nearly everyone is familiar with the deep, almost disturbing, gothic work of Edgar Allan Poe, but not many know the reasons for his twisted stories. From the time he was just a child major event severely affected they way he acted as well as the way his mind functioned. Edgar Allan Poe’s notorious drug and alcohol abuse combined with the death of those around him and constant criticism of critics took their toll on this notorious writer. Because of those three things his stories showed just how he felt about his enemies as well as the effects loss and depression had on his life.

Edgar Allen Poe was born to actors on January 19, 1809. However as a child his father abandoned him and his mother, and then his mother passed away due to tuberculosis. Afterwards he was adopted by the Allen family even though he was never legally adopted into the family. .“When he was 15, Edgar developed a crush on Jane Stanard, the mother of a classmate. Jane gave Edgar a kind of attentiveness, and he called her Helen, the name that meant “beauty” in classical literature. Edgar was devastated when she fell ill and died in April 1824. Her death by Tuberculosis mirrored that of Edgar’s young mother and the theme of young beautiful dying women would stay with him” (Frisch 13). The quote (Frisch 13) just shows the impact sickness had on his life. Not only did his mother die of tuberculosis but so did his favorite teacher, brother, foster mother, and first wife. Even when he grew up Poe never forgot about his teacher because years later he wrote a poem called To Helen of his attachments to her. Throughout Poe’s tragic life he struggled with just surviving and he constantly argued with his father about being kicked out of West Point after his father recommended him. Even when he finally died Poe’s father still refused to do anything for him and left...