Edgar Allan Poe was an American poet, writer, editor, and literary critic. During his lifetime, he received little recognition after winning only two award prizes but today as we know him, he has inspired several writers across the world, has a museum dedicated to him, and even has an American Football team named after one of his works. He wrote several works during his lifetime and many of them have gothic, romance, and mystery elements. Much like that, his life also was filled with endearing tragedies, mysteries, and interesting facts. Here we bring you a list of 12 such interesting Edgar Allan Poe facts.
1. Edgar Allan Poe was Named after a character from Shakespeare’s play
This is owing to his parents who were both actors and had given a performance of Shakespeare’s play King Lear the year he was born. This play featured a character named Edgar which is assumed to be the inspiration for his name.
2. He was a drop out who could never complete his college education
Poe lost his parents as a child. After which a foster family adopted him and sent him to the University of Virginia for study. Despite the rich family, he hardly received money to fund his expenses, leaving gambling as his last resort. Due to gambling, he incurred debts, ultimately leading him to leave his college after attending it for one year only.
3. He married his cousin when he was 27
Virginia Clemm, aged 13 at the time of their marriage, had become Poe’s wife. Although, soon after their marriage ended tragically with his wife’s death due to tuberculosis.
4. Lord Byron Inspired Edgar Allan poe
While Poe himself has been an inspiration to many writers, it is noteworthy to mention who had inspired this great writer. He day and night dreamt of becoming like Lord Byron who was a Romantic poet of the early 19th century.
5. He was extremely passionate about cryptography
Apart from writing, cryptography was another thing that interested him. Fascinated with ciphers, one of his short stories, “The Gold Bug” incorporated the code-breaking into one of the important elements of the story. In fact, he also asked for cryptographic challenges from his readers in a magazine in exchange for free subscriptions.
6. He was pioneer of Detective Fiction
While he is famous for his horror tales, he is also a key influencer for Arthur Conan Doyle who gave him the credit for creating the genre of detective fiction. His works that fit the genre include “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”, “The Mystery of Marie Roget” and “The Purloined Letter”.
7. Edgar Allan Poe discovered Big Bang theory before Its formulation
All of you would have been familiar with Big Bang theory but did you ever know that Poe’s work “Eureka: A Prose poem” came quite close to the actual theory. If you don’t believe it yet, pick it and give the work a try to find for yourself!
8. He was most definitely a cat person
Poe owned a cat whom he loved the most. His cat, Catterina, even sat on his shoulder when he wrote. The love they had for each other was so deep that the cat died right after his death.
9. “The Raven” had earlier been imagined as “The Parrot”
Poe had published his poem “The Raven” in 1845. Right after its publication, it received instant success. Later he revealed an interesting fact concerning the poem. He had earlier envisioned writing the poem with the imagery of a parrot owing to its capability of making utterances which is continuously seen in the poem. But he dropped the idea, as the colorful bird could not fit the melancholic tone of the poem. Hence, ultimately settling on raven as the appropriate imagery as well as the title.
10. Women in Poe’s life Inspired many of his poems
Many of his poems depict the yearning and love for women. “Anabel Lee” and “The Raven” record his tragic separation from his wife. Another of his poem, “To Helen” is about his love for Mrs. Jane Stith Stanard who was the mother of one of his friends. He even wrote his poem “Alone” inspired by the death of his foster mother.
11. His criticisms earned him a nickname and a rival
Edgar Allan Poe’s harsh criticisms led people to address him as a Tomahawk man. In fact, one of his criticisms offended Rufus Wilmot Griswold, who then swore to take revenge on him. Owing to that, Griswold tried to ruin Poe’s reputation after his death by circulating false rumors of his alcohol and drug addiction. But later, they turned out to be false allegations, reinstating Poe’s image.
12. His death was shrouded in mystery
He died in 1849. But right before his death, he mysteriously disappeared for five days. He was found, later, lying semiconscious in a tavern and taken immediately to a hospital. Though, even hospitalisation couldn’t save him and he died. Since then, various causes have been listed for his death including alcohol, murder, rabies, brain tumor, etc. but they all remain mere speculations, and the mystery surrounding his death still prevails.
Like these Edgar Allan Poe facts? Then check out 10 Edgar Allan Poe Quotes: An American Literary Pioneer.
