ng. In Poes belief, death should not be feared, but instead it should be sought (Quinn 137). As Poe had said in For Annie, The fever called Living is conquered at last (Buranelli 38). For Poe, when Virginia died she escaped the curse of life. In 1849, Poe met up with his former sweetheart, Sarah Elmira Royster and became engaged shortly after (Poe, Edgar Allan, World Book Encyclopedia 591). As fate would have it, just days before his wedding, Poe stopped in Baltimore and disappeared. On October 3rd, 1849, Poe was found lying in a side street anesthetized (591). He was taken to a hospital where he lay unconscious on his bed. After four days of complete unconsciousness, Edgar Allan Poe died on October 7th, 1849 (Poe, Edgar Allan, Encyclopedia Britannica 540). The cause of his death had remained a mystery since then. Several theories have been presented before the public, but only one has the evidence to back up its claimrabies. All of Poes works of literature possess a link to his own lifes stories and events. His characters profiles possess biographical insights into his loved ones lives. Poe learned sometime in his life that a good story possesses real life events and those events are what gives his stories a scent of truth. In one particular case, Poe wrote a passage in his story of Marginalia that could only apply to a person such as himself: I have sometimes amused myself by endeavoring to fancy what would be the fate of any individual gifted, or rather accursed, with an intellect very far superior to that of his race. Of course, he would be conscious of his superiority; nor could he (if otherwise constituted as man is) help manifesting his consciousness. This he would make himself enemies at all points. And since his opinions and speculations would widely differ from those of all mankindthat he would be considered a madman, is evident. How horribly painful such a condition! Hell could invent no greater torture than that of being cha...
