Edgar Allan Poe is a very important figure in American literature, and is famous for his gothic and sometimes disturbing stories. Much of his inspiration from stories of this kind may have come from his childhood and his life in general, where he experienced many traumatic events, such as the death of his parents, foster mother, and other family members.
After Poe's parents died he was adopted by the Allans, who were a wealthier family. After Mrs. Allan died, however, Mr. Allan did not have the best relationship with Poe. He sent Poe to university without enough money, and even left Poe out of his will when he died. These experiences, as well as Poe's poverty later in life may have influenced him to follow the romantic literary trend of rebelling against the aristocracy and traditions and aspects connected to it.
Poe spent a lot of time alone during his life, and also a lot of time in bad living conditions because he was very poor. This may have influenced his writing by influencing the settings and the moods of some of his pieces.
Poe witnessed a lot of deaths in his lifetime, which also may have influenced the morbid nature of his stories. In addition to the deaths of his mother and other family members, Poe also experienced the death of his very dear wife, Virginia Clemm. He also experienced other less-than-satisfactory marriages, which may contribute to the overall dismal mood of his writing.
I find your connection between Poe's dark style and the deaths he experienced interesting. Do you feel that it "scarred" him and his mood is subconscious, or is he making his writing stronger by using past experiences?
ReplyDeleteI agree I think all of the negative experiences in Poe's life definitely contributed to his writing's sad and morbid nature. I think especially the fact the he was very much alone throughout his entire life probably had the largest impact on him though.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your point that Poe's depressing experiences affected his literary pieces that he wrote later in his life.
ReplyDeleteIt can be true that the hardships that Poe experienced contributed to his pieces in literature, but it can also be maybe how he coped with them and how they affected his mental state.
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