st again in June of 1835. This time he sent one poem and six stories (Asselineau 411). His story, "Ms. Found in a Bottle," won, and he received one hundred dollars for it (Targ IX). Through the influence of one of the judges, John P. Kennedy, Poe became employed as an editor of the Southern Literary Messenger, published in Richmond (Asselineau 411). Under Poe's editorship, the Messenger 's circulation rose from 500 to 3500.Poe then went to New York, where he was unsuccessful. In the summer of 1838, he moved to Philadelphia. While in Philadelphia, he worked as the editor of both Burton's Gentleman's Magazine and Graham's Magazine (Asselineau 412). Even though he won a one hundred dollar prize for "The Gold Bug" (Robinson VI), he moved to New York. Poe found a job in New York as an assistant editor for the Evening Mirror. This was where "The Raven" first appeared on January 29, 1845. "The poem immediately caught the imagination of the public and was reprinted all over the country and even abroad in all kinds of newspapers and magazines, but Poe pocketed only a few dollars for his poems (Asselineau 413)." The year of 1845 was a lucky year for Poe. He published a collection of his tales and an edition of his poems named The Raven and Other Poems. He also became the editor of the weekly Broadway Journal. In 1849, Poe died in Baltimore (Targ IX). "Instead of really living, he took refuge from the physical world in the private world of his dreams-in other words-in the world of his tales (Asselineau 413)."In the "Masque of the Red Death", Poe uses his imagination throughout the story (Rogers 43). An epidemic has overwhelmed the entire country, killing numerous people. One by one they die until no one else remains. Death is king of all (Rogers 41)."The horror abysmal darkness, and absolute helplessness befalling the victims are described with vivid accuracy in tales such as 'The Fall of the House of Usher,' 'The Cask of Amontill...
