Edgar Allen Poe’s contributions to American literature have become increasingly more prominent as the years have passed. As short fiction has become a more accepted genre in literary circles, Poe’s theories are studied with more passion. Although he lived a rather melancholy life, Poe did experience moments of joy, and desired to capture the beauty through poetic form. Indeed, what he left behind for the literary world was his gifted genus, revealed through his poetry, fiction, and criticism. The darkness that seems to surround Poe’s life began as an infant. Poe was born January 19, 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts. He was the second son of David and Eliza Poe, but soon after he was born, David abandoned the family. Then two years after that occurrence, Eliza died from tuberculosis. After her death, Edgar, his little sister, Rosalie, and his brother, William, were separated. While William was sent to live with his grandparents, and Rosalie was sent to a family in Richmond, Virginia, Poe moved to live with John and Fannie Allan (Silverman 1-15). John Allan was a well-known businessman, and Poe was no longer surrounded in poverty. John made sure that Poe was given a good education, and when living in England with the Allan’s, he went to private academies. The then moved back to the states, and Edgar enrolled at the University of Virginia in 1826. When he was there, he spent much of his money, and soon found himself in debt. He asked Mr. Allan to pay for it, but he refused, because he assumed that the debt was due to Poe’s constant gambling and consumption of alcohol (Silverman 29-38). It can be assumed that the greatest contributor to Poe’s disturbance was his addiction to alcohol. His foster family’s status made this problem a shameful vise, and a source of conflict. Poe used drinking as an escape of sorts, and his life was greatly affected by the substance. It disrupted his writ...
