He then became engaged to another woman, but never made it to marriage. Virginia died of Tuberculosis at age 24, leaving Poe devastated. Poe then fell in love with her daughter, Virginia, and he married her when she was only fourteen years old. He then moved to Baltimore to be taken in by his aunt, Maria Clemm. After he left West Point, he was in poverty, and John Allan died, leaving him nothing in his will.

Many other odd or unfortunate events happened in Poe’s life. Poe’s name appears about midway down the list of top offenders, with 44 offenses and 106 demerits for the term”. National Archives Blog wrote, “The Conduct Roll for July–December 1831 lists the number of offenses committed by cadets and their corresponding demerits. While he started again as an excellent student, it seems he was kicked out nearly eight months later. This was just the beginning of his ill-fated adolescent years.Ībout two years later, Poe was accepted into West Point Military Academy. Gambling was definitely not his strong-suit, and he ended up drowning in $2,000 worth of debts, according to The Raven Society. He resorted to gambling, which left everything to go downhill from there. John Allan did not send him enough funds for tuition, leaving him in a bind. After some unfortunate events, Poe was not able to return to the University. According to The Raven Society at the University of Virginia, it is stated, ‘Generally well-liked, Poe was considered talented, if slightly odd by his peers’. He ended up attending the University of Virginia where he did very well. It seems as if John Allan wanted Edgar to follow in his footsteps as a businessman, as Edgar also did excellent in school.

This resulted in Poe being taken in by the wealthy tobacco merchant, John Allan, and his wife, Frances Valentine Allan. Unfortunately, within three years, both of his parents died.

Though Poe of course had normal and happy moments in his life, it seems that darkness consumed most of him, as none of his well-known poems contain any sort of light or positivity.Įdgar Allan Poe was born to traveling actors in Boston on January 19, 1809. By researching Poe’s past, it is apparent he went through many tragedies in what seems to be a very short life. It seems as if his most famous work was ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’, which raises questions to if he had a personal meaning behind the short and gruesome story. Although ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ is dark, it is also extremely captivating, along with everything else he wrote as well. ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ is a perfect example of his many gloom-ridden works. Based on research, it appears that Poe’s dark childhood is the main contribution to his eerie writings.

Tale of the heart