Edgar Allan Poe.
Edgar Poe was born on January 19, 1809, in Boston, Massachusetts. He was orphaned at .
the age of three, due to the death of both his mother and his father. Both of his parents .
were traveling theatrical performers. Poe was taken in by John Allan, a wealthy tobacco .
merchant living in Richmond, Virginia. It was there that he was baptized Edgar Allan .
Poe. At the age of six, Poe was taken to England with his new family and placed in private .
school, where he studied for five years. Upon returning to the states in 1820, he continued .
his studies in private schools and then attended the University of Virginia. He was only .
there for a year before getting into financial trouble by gambling and drinking. John Allan .
refused to help him pay off his debts, forcing him to take a job as a clerk. .
Disliking his job and new responsibilities, he quit his job and moved back to Boston. .
There he wrote his first book, Tamerlane and Other Poems, which was published .
anonymously in 1827. Soon after the release of this book, Poe enlisted in the army as a .
means of financial support. Despite his refusal to help Poe financially, John Allan arranged .
for his discharge from the army and had him appointed to West Point as a cadet. His stay .
there lasted only 6 months and he was dismissed for not following orders. Before leaving, .
in 1831, his fellow cadets gave him the money he needed to have his second book, Poems .
by Edgar A. Poe-- Second Edition published. It was in this book that the poems, To Helen .
and Israfel, both of which later became famous works, were first found. These two poems .
show the use of Poe's language in a musical way, this style makes his work stand out from .
other poets of this time. .
Poe moved back to Baltimore in 1832 and was staying with his aunt and cousin, Maria .
and Virginia Clemm. While there he had five short stories published in the Philadelphia .
