edgar allan poe mysteries- peach acid episode 3!

Everyone has heard of Edgar Allan Poe or his gothic presence in early 19th-century literature and poetry. Still, his life and death stirred a lot of speculation and curiosity about what inspired his work, what his work meant, and exactly what or who killed him. Known for his keen intellect and evocative, often macabre imagination, Edgar Allan Poe is often credited as one of the most groundbreaking authors of early-nineteenth-century America. Although Poe is remembered by most readers as the author of such stories as "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Fall of the House of Usher," critics recognize him for the versatility and range of his talents.

Edgar Allan Poe first came to the attention of the literary world as a magazine editor and critic. He wrote an estimated thousand essays, reviews, articles, columns, and critical notices that appeared in magazines, newspapers, and annuals. Poe was among the first to propose setting standards by which to judge literary works, what aspects should be criticized, and what should be praised and created while creating his own vision of what constituted good literature by studying dying writers that ranged from Plato and Aristotle to Milton and Coleridge, along with more philosophy endeavors like this in his 30’s. 

His influential theory of “unity of effect” states that the author of a short story should construct a tale to fit one overall purpose or effect but just as importantly, Poe is recognized for inventing the modern detective story, creating a new formula for the mystery genre (you know the ones); indeed, many of his principal techniques, particularly his use of deductive reasoning to elucidate the complexities of criminal behavior in his writing, form the foundation of the crime genre. 

On that same note, Poe's in-depth explorations of the interior lives of his characters helped pave the way for psychological realism, inspiring several later fiction writers, among them Fyodor Dostoevsky. Poe's critical writings, notably those on the relationship between philosophical principles and artistic style, also influenced the aesthetic theories of Charles Baudelaire, Stephanie Mallarme, and other members of the French symbolist movement of the mid-19th century to the first decade of the 20th century.

Born January 19th, 1809 in Boston, MA. He was the only child of his parents, Elizabeth Arnold Poe, a very talented actress, and David Poe, his father abandoned Edgar and his mother, who became terminally ill with Tuberculosis, dying in 1811, only a month before his third birthday, in December. John and Frances Allan raised him as a foster child in Richmond, Virginia. John Allan, a prosperous tobacco exporter, sent Poe to the best boarding schools and, later, to the University of Virginia, where Poe excelled academically. After less than one year of school, however, Poe was kicked out for gambling and John Allan refused to pay off his son’s debts.

Did you know? In this period, Popular english author Charles Dickens (author of A Christmas Carol, The Signal Man, Hunted Down, The Battle of Life: A Love Story, and Oliver Twist) met Edgar Allan Poe? During his 1842 tour of the United States, He met with Dickens at the United States Hotel located on Chestnut Street, where the two men discussed literature, especially the need for an international copyright law to protect the works and rights of all authors.

Poe's work was very successful and recognized in Philadelphia. The Walnut Street Theatre produced a short play based on Poe's popular mystery story, "The Gold Bug," and Poe spoke to large crowds several times talking about American poetry. He found a picturesque escape from the city by walking along the scenic Wissahickon Creek, which he wrote about in a short article entitled "Morning on the Wissahickon."

Edgar Allan Poe’s death is the most mysterious and disputed theory about his life along with his career. Notoriously most people believe he died from alcoholism, In 1831 he was accepted into the West Point Military Academy where he celebrated with bouts of over drinking, his friends even had a running inside joke that Poe could get belligerent drunk off of just one glass of wine. It wouldn't be a surprise that he died from these surrounding alcohol dependency.

One of the more prevalent theories states that Poe fell victim to forced voter fraud or “Cooping” as they used to call it. In the 19th century, corrupt politicians paid gangs to kidnap unsuspecting victims, disguise them, and force them to vote for a specific candidate multiple times in different outfits, because Identity was easily faked back then and elections could too be easily corrupted. If the victim refused to comply they would be beaten or forced to chug large amounts of liquor. He was found on election day by his friend, Dr. Joseph Snodgrass, on the street near Ryan’s Fourth Ward Polls, which was both an Irish pub and a place of voting. 

 His friend found him in a severely drunken state, wearing cheap clothes that didn’t fit and were not his usual style. He was rushed to the hospital slipping in and out of consciousness. He died a few days later, reportedly saying his last words “Lord help my poor soul”,  If this is true, then that would confirm the theory that he died from alcohol poisoning on October 7th, 1849. Poe’s Mother in-Law “Maria Clemm” that Poe referred to as “Muddy” noted that his death was reported as “congestion of the brain” synonymous with alcohal poisoing, but could this be suicide? 

The first woman Poe “fell in love with” was  Sarah Elmira Royster Shelton, rumored to have been his fiancée at the time of his death. Poe had known Shelton since childhood when they were neighbors and first took a romantic interest in each other. They fell out of contact when Poe left for University of Virginia and Shelton married another man. They did not speak again until 1848 after the death of Poe’s wife Virginia. By that time, Shelton was a widow and Poe took the opportunity to ask her to marry him. She declined, but he continued to pursue her for several months. Poe wrote to his aunt, Muddy, to tell her that the two would be married in October 1849 but he died just ten days before the supposed wedding date arrived, some conspire that he knew she diddnt love him and found the only solution to be suicide by overconsumption of alchohal since he knew he was so sensitive to it. He was known to drink after the death of his first wife.

However, Aside from alcoholism, historians and biographers have suggested alternative causes of death ranging from lesions on the brain, epilepsy and tuberculosis to cholera, syphilis and even rabies. Many members of Poe’s family have reported seeing him throw himself to the floor with fits of sporadic movement.  Back then they assumed it was due to his lack of spiritual identity and god was punishing his body and mind but of course now, this is a textbook- epileptic seizure with muscles spasms. The Rabies theory infers that one of his many cats got infected with the Rabies bacterial virus and bit him, causing him to days later. At the end of the day, Edgar Allan Poe’s demise does not define his career and legacy in 19th-century American Literature, the theories about his death don’t account for all the wonderful literary theories and analysis about his work, especially his horror and mystery