The Insanity Of Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe was an extraordinary author whose horror and mystery stories leave an impression on readers even today. In some of Poe’s works, the narrator’s thoughts and actions make the reader question the narrator’s sanity. Two good examples are Poe’s poem “The Raven” and his short story “The Black Cat”; there is plenty of evidence to support that both of the narrators are not completely sane. In Poe’s “The Raven” and “The Black Cat,” both narrators exhibit symptoms of mental illness, including hallucinations, illogical thinking, mood swings, and substance abuse.

As he did continuously in his writing, Poe has left us with yet another mystery: the cause of his death. This conundrum has tormented scholars for decades. Was it rabies, meningitis, or even a brain lesion? Edgar Allan Poe’s cause of death was never official. His physician listed it as “congestion of the brain” on his death certificate, yet there was no way of knowing, especially since there was no autopsy performed. Many scholars do not agree with the physician’s diagnosis. Oddly, most of these scholars believe that Poe died as a result of rabies. Many other theories have been suggested such as a heart condition, meningitis, and diabetes. Although most people who have theorized about Poe’s death believe

Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most well-known authors in the world. He has wrote many poems,and short stories from: Annabel Lee, The Black Cat, and The Raven.Sadly, with all of his successful stories, Edgar Allan Poe was an alcoholic.Most of the money he made, which was only three hundred dollars his whole life,was spent on alcohol. His life was rough starting out due to tuberculosis that killed: his mom, his brother, adoptive mother, and his first wife Virginia. Since mostly everyone he ever loved was now dead because of a disease he lived a lonely life. He chased women and faced multiple heartbreaks yet, the most heartbreaking part of his life was the way he would die. Poe had disappeared for six days without a trace, he later turned up drunk

It’s proven in the book, Poe’s Final Days, that Poe had been drinking consistently for days leading up to his death. This is known

“Mr. Poe could not possibly send forth a book without some marks of his genius, and mixed up with the dross we find much sterling ore.” — (From a review of Poe’s Tales, September 6, 1845.) In 1845, Poe, 27, and Virginia, 13, married, and were happy for a time. In 1842, Virginia ruptured a blood vessel; the first sign of the ill health that plagued her short life. Poe turned to alcohol to cope with her illness and the stress of his dying wife. Two years later, Virginia died of tuberculosis, and Poe’s own death would follow shortly two years after that.

Edgar Allan Poe incorporated his own life into his stories and poems by including his emotions and difficulties with the death of his loved one's, alcoholism, and the afterlife. The death of Poe’s loved ones affected him greatly, and this is shown in many of his poems/stories. In his short story, The Masque of the Red Death, he states, “And now was acknowledged the presence of the Red Death. He had come like a thief in the night. And one by one dropped the revellers in the blood-bedewed halls of their revel, and died each in the despairing posture of his fall… And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all.” This is saying that the Red Death, which we can infer symbolizes tuberculosis, is killing everybody, and leaving darkness everywhere. This connects to

Insane characters add a thrilling and exciting twist on stories such as Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe and The Shining by Stephen King. There is something that appeals to people about a character that goes completely crazy and then does some rash things as a result of his or her insanity. The reason that people are attracted to characters that go completely out of their mind is because no one knows how to predict what is going to happen next. Many people find situations like this to be the most terrifying and thrilling. In mosts cases, authors never disclose to the readers that the character who is thought to be insane is actually insane. The authors leave this decision up to the readers to decide. Another

One theory of the case of Poe’s death is that he died from drinking too much alcohol. The theory supporting itself by some of Poe's family members. His uncle Henry Herring stating that

“I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity” (Edgar Allan Poe), considered America’s first renowned professional writer (and thus, starving artist). Edgar Allan Poe is most often associated with Gothic tales such as "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Masque of the Red Death." He is the master of horror and mystery

There is always one step from genius to insane. Whatever case we take, both genius and insane people have a kind of psychological shift from normal condition. This is well-known fact that early ages of human life impact person's fate to a large extent. To better understand Edgar Poe, its quite necessary to go back to his early ages. Poe knew sadness and grief his whole life.

Edgar Allan Poe can be considered a Gothic writer because his work exhibits several key traits of Gothic artwork. The Gothic romance of the early 17th century began as an artistic movement against the Enlightenment and, as a result, is characterized by its focus on the exact opposite of everything the Enlightenment stood for; such as death, decay, and reversal of the natural order. In exploring Poe as a Gothic writer this discussion will focus on his use of madness and the irrational in "The Cask of Amontillado" and "The Tell-Tale Heart", as well as the failure of reason in "The Pit and the Pendulum" and "The Cask of Amontillado".

Characters with Disturbed psyches in Edger Allen Poe's Stories Edger Allen Poe is an American writer, editor and literary critics. Most of the heroes of Poe's stories suffer from mental disorder, personal disintegration and sharp psychological disturbance. I will talk about two stories written by Edger Allen Poe, "The Tell Tale Heart" and "The Black Cat". These stories represent the highest achievement in the gothic horror story genre.

The death of his wife had a significant impact on Poe’s life since he resulted to drinking and feminism as a distraction (Kopley 264). Poe also developed depression where he which later affected his mental state. Although Poe mother and wife had died of tuberculosis, did not get infected mainly because his mother passed on when he was only three years (Kopley 264). Poe’s biological father had also abandoned him and his mother. Poe’s relationship with his adopted father was unhealthy since he mistreated him. He spent most of childhood in loneliness and financial constrictions. Instead of suffering from tuberculosis, Poe’s poetry and short stories were a reflection of the inner disarray and insecurities that he had experienced since his childhood. Poe’s lifestyle also resulted to death wishes cited in his poems such as “The Black Cat” and “The Tell-Tale Heart.” He had agony and pain which he expresses through only in writing (Kopley 264). The impacts of his wife’s death are evident in his mental health, depression, alcoholism, and

“The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe is a first-person narrative short story that showcases an enigmatic and veiled narrator. The storyteller makes us believe that he is in full control of his mind yet he is experiencing a disease that causes him over sensitivity of the senses. As we go through the story, we can find his fascination in proving his sanity. The narrator lives with an old man, who has a clouded, pale blue, vulture-like eye that makes him so helpless that he kills the old man. He admits that he had no interest or passion in killing the old man, whom he loved. Throughout the story, the narrator directs us towards how he ends up committing a horrifying murder and dissecting the corpse into pieces. The narrator who claims to

One misunderstanding that people have about Poe is that he was murdered. That is untrue and caused by circular reporting. Just because he went missing and they found his body meant that the press had an opportunity to make up something. Throughout the years that rumor has been around and many people believe it. Another rumor was that he was a madman. Poe did suffer from poverty and alcoholism but he was a successful writer and public speaker. Writers would portray him as a madman and leave out details about his life. His mother, adopted mother, and wife all died from tuberculosis. It was probably shocking to someone back then because it was common for sickness and death for people in the 1800’s. It was said the football team in Baltimore was