Edgar Allan Poe's Impact On American Literature

Edgar Allan Poe has provided many different impacts to American Literature such as the genre of “detective fiction” (Edgar Allan Poe). He has also paved the way for the modern short story. In almost all important American writers, since his time, there are signs of influence from him. Edgar Allan Poe lived a childhood and adulthood full of devastating deaths and hardships for the young man. Poe was born on January 19th, 1808 in Boston, MA. His mother and father were David and Elizabeth Poe and they were both actors. Elizabeth Poe died in 1811, when Edgar Allan Poe was only 2 years old (Biography of Edgar Allan Poe). In between the time that Edgar was born and Elizabeth’s death, she had separated from her husband and took the children with
The most reoccurring hardships was that of the death of the people that he loved the most and, also, never being financially stable (Edgar Allan Poe). Before Poe was the age of 3, both of his biological parents had passed away and he was sent to live with a foster family (Poe's Life). In 1829, his foster mother, Mrs. Allan died which was a huge loss for Poe. The two were very close because John Allan was an abusive alcoholic and Mrs. Allan would protect Poe as much as she could during his outbursts (Poet: Edgar Allan Poe). In Mrs. Allan’s free time, she would teach Edgar Allan Poe as many different school subjects as she could, including: reading, writing, and history. Even though they were never close, Poe was again lost when his foster father, John Allan, died. Poe’s struggle with the loss of this man came because Allan was Poe’s only source of financial support, though very little (Edgar Allan Poe). When John Allan died, Edgar Allan Poe started to add Opium to his alcohol which took a huge toll on his mental health and his work (Poe's Life). Poe began to write more about sudden death and made many drunken appearances in public. Though already a heavy alcoholic, when Poe’s wife Virginia died in 1847, he started to drink to the point that his health deteriorated (Poet: Edgar Allan Poe). This death was the last straw for Poe. In 1849, Poe set out for a job in
He does the same thing in other poems such as “Ulalume” and “Annabel Lee.” In the story, the narrator is unable to free himself of the memories of Lenore (Biography of Edgar Allan Poe). He even goes as far as to ask the Raven if there is “Balm in Gilead,” and spiritual salvation (Poe’s Poetry “The Raven” Summary and Analysis). Basically, he asks the raven if Lenore exists in the afterlife and the raven denies this just by saying “Nevermore.” However, in the poem “Lenore,” Poe is able to conclude that he should not cry because he will meet his beloved Lenore in Heaven (Nilsson, Christoffer).
Through his depression, Edgar Allan Poe was able to open up many different doors for writes of all different types during his time on earth. Many people that have gone through the same hardships that Poe did would just live a depressing life. Whereas Poe was able to turn his depression into beautiful works of literature. Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most important authors and poets to spend time studying because he was able to turn death into