Poes Life

13 Pages 3165 Words

e of her children, and the constant poverty. She made her last performance on October 11, 1811. After a rapid decline, Eliza died of tuberculosis (Silverman, Kenneth pg. 29).
Mr. And Mrs. Luke Usher, (who gave their names to Poe’s most famous story) took care of Poe and his sister after Eliza’s illness. Poe later said that he had never known his mother nor enjoyed the affection of his father. Poe almost surely retained some memory of his mother spitting blood, coughing, crimson hemorrhages and his mother on his deathbed. (These images probably stayed with him until his death, allowing him to write on the all too real darkness he saw as a young child). Poe’s foster parent’s only sent him to the nicest and most expensive schools in the area. By the time he was through high school, Poe was able to speak French fluently (Timmerman, John Pg. 13).
Many of Edgar’s stories were about places he had lived in his childhood: “A tale of the Rugged Mountains” in Charlottesville, “The Gold Bug” in South Carolina. And “William Wilson” in Stoke Newington. This is also reason to believe that Poe used his life experiences for his stories (Roseinheim, Rachmen Pg. 44). Poe’s English teacher Joseph Clarke called Edgar a “Borne artist who wrote genuine poetry, while the other boys cranked out mechanical verse.” Once when Thomas Ellis, a childhood friend of Edgar’s was playing near a lake with Poe. Poe received the great idea that it would be fun to throw him in. When Edgar realized that Thomas was drowning, he showed no concern for his own safety and jumped in to save his friend (Wilson, James S. Pg. 16). As Poe grew older he became reclusive and wouldn’t ever ask any of his friends to come over. His traumatic infancy had lasting problems on him. The following is a poem that Poe wrote:
Alone-
From childhoods hour I have not been.
As others were I have not seen.
As others saw I could not bring.
My passions from a...