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November 7th, 2022
ENGL 201
Professor Christopher Robinson
Edger Allen Poe
Many incredible poets were found in the American Renaissance and American Romantic
Periods. Their work displayed the hardships and challenges of their time in the reasonably new
America. Their poetry withheld topics such as the sorrow of war, the difficulties in finding a
home, death, sickness, and family value. During the American Romantic Period, one poet
brought a unique, dark, and mysterious type of poetry that the world had never seen before. This
poet was Edgar Allan Poe, and his writing style created a new genre that has stayed in practice
since.
Edgar Allan Poe’s writing became known during the American Romantic Period. Poe was
born in Boston, Massachusetts, but raised as a foster child in Richmond, Virginia, three short
years later after the death of his parents. Poe grew up attending boarding schools in which he
excelled and then later attended the University of Virginia; however, after only a year of college,
he was forced to leave due to his parent’s inability to pay for school because of Poe’s gambling
problems. In the year 1827, Poe joined the army. This was the beginning of his poetry journey.
While serving the country, he wrote his first poems Tamerlane and Other Poems. After releasing
his first work, which got little attention from the public, he moved back to Richmond to live with
his aunt and cousin. During this time, Poe became an editor for the Southern Literary Messenger.
At the age of twenty-seven, Poe married his cousin Virginia who was only thirteen.
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Throughout this time of Poe and Virginia’s marriage, Poe worked as an editor for
Gentleman’s Magazine, Graham’s Magazine, and the Broadway Journal. He also wrote his most
well-known work, such as The Tell-tale Heart, The Raven, and The Murders in the Rue Morgue.
Sadly, after only eleven short years of marriage, Virginia passed away from tuberculosis, a
disease that caused infection in the lungs and killed many in the 19th century. After the death of
his wife Virginia, Poe became depressed, and his habit of abusing alcohol intensified. In the
Book Fame after Life: The Mystery of Edgar Allan Poe’s Death by Kirsten Mollegaard, the
author discusses the unique death of Poe. Poe died at forty, and the cause of his death is still
unknown. Mollegaard states, “While the scholarly production of narratives pertaining to Poe’s
death is both ingenious and in many instances very well argued, to this day it remains
inconclusive what exactly Poe died of” (Mollegaard p 136). Many medical professionals have
studied his death and have come up with multiple different potential causes, the most unique
being rabies; however, the cause of death for the poet will forever stay inconclusive.
Edgar Allan Poe did not live a pretty life. From a young age, he was surrounded by death
and illness. He knew the pain and sorrow of constantly losing loved ones such as his parents and
wife. Through the darkness of his work, a reader can see the effects it had on him. In his poem,
Annabel Lee, the narrator discusses his love for Annabel and her death. Throughout this poem,
Poe does a fantastic job of keeping rhythm while discussing the love that the narrator has for his
wife Annabel; however, Jacky W. Dumas, author of The “Annabel Lee” Blues: Re-Reading
Edgar Allan Poe’s Rhythm and Rhyme Scheme points out an interesting change in writing.
Dumas says, “The next appearance of the long-short foot interruption appears in line 16 which
begins with a dactyl followed by a trochee: “Chilling my Annabel Lee” (Poe). By disturbing the
short-long flow at this point, the poem emphasizes the cruel nature by which the narrator’s love
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died” (Dumas p. 3). In Poe’s work, the reader can see a change in his use of rhyming. This
unique change in writing, though small, and many may not notice if not paying close attention, is
significant and bold. One may interpret this change as how quickly a loved one may leave us.
Before Annabel’s death, he is describing her and how their one purpose was to love each other.
Then in just a few short sentences, Annabel is dead, taken by the sea. Poe does a fantastic job of
describing his undying love for her after her death. This poem is much different from his other
work. It focuses on love and the beauty of a woman. Unlike his other work, this poem is not
unsettling in the sense of horror; it is disturbing in his ability to be completely vulnerable. He lost
the woman he loves, and although she has died, he will never lose that love for her.
Edgar Allan Poe’s most famous poem is The Raven. Author Paul Lewis of the article The
Raven says, “From the start, it was clear that “The Raven” was not only a literary work but a
cultural phenomenon, and event” (Lewis p. 275). His poem, released in 1845, was quite long,
consisting of eighteen stanzas. Throughout the poem, a man who is heartbroken over the death of
his love Lenore is conversating with a raven who has flown into his room. This poem, like
Annabel Lee, is a story of the morning of a loved one; however, The Raven is much darker and
more mysterious, unlike Annabel Lee, which is written in a less cold style. In the poem, the man
conversates with a raven, but the raven only responds with the word “nevermore.” He asks the
raven questions concerning Lenore and whether they will be together again. With the continued
response “nevermore” from the bird, the man starts to lose his temper and eventually his mind.
This poem impacted society by showing that the effects of losing someone you loved are
everlasting. Instead of focusing on the happy moments that the two once had together, Poe
focused on the undying love he still had and the pain that it caused him. Similar to Annabel Lee,
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Poe uses small changes in rhyming, which create a tremendous difference in the emotion of his
writing.
The poems were dark, unsettling, and supernatural, a type of writing that was not as
popular during the American Romantic Period. Poe brought to light a new sense of writing.
Through his work, a reader could see the depression and despair he was facing. Although Poe
was known for being a cold and irritable man his writing gave people the ability to see why. He
used his dark writing style, to connect with the reader and create a sense of empathy. Depression,
loneliness, and heartbreak are challenges that most people still face to this day, and they will be
till the end of time; therefore, because of this alikeness that we all have, Edgar Allan Poe’s work
will forever impact the world.
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Work Cited
Dumas, Jacky W. “The “Annabel Lee” Blues: Re-Reading Edgar Allan Poe’s Rhythm and
Rhyme Scheme.” The Comparatist, vol. 43, no. 1, 2019, pp. 313-323.
Mollegaard, Kristen, and University of Hawai'i at Hilo. “Fame after Life: The Mystery of Edgar
Allan Poe’s Death.” Folklore (Tartu, Estonia), vol. 65, no. 65, 2016, pp. 129-150.
Lewis, Paul. “The Raven.” The Edgar Allan Poe Review, vol. 22, no.2, 2021, pp. 274-311.
Barzun, Jacques. “Edgar Allan Poe.” Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.
2022, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Edgar-Allan-Poe.
