The Theme of Death in the Works of Edgar Allan Poe Essay

The Theme of Death in the Works of Edgar Allan Poe - Essay Example Poe was then sent to both the Chelsea and the Stoke Newington boarding schools in the suburbs f London. Although he was a brilliant student, excelling especially in mathematics, he did not enjoy his days spent there. In July f 1820 Mr. Allan's business collapsed, and they were forced to return to Richmond in order to avoid the creditors that Allan was indebted to. Edgar Allan Poe was obviously not typical in his style f writing nor in his style f life. His father left the family when he was young and his mother was dead by the time Poe was three from tuberculosis. "So precocious a child must have carried with him, deeply imprinted, the waning figure and the coughing paroxysms f his mother." (Darkening 9). For the remainder f his tragic life, things never seemed to improve much. He lost his wife (also his cousin), Virginia, two years before his own death. After his trouble with alcoholism and general bad health, Poe died when he was about 40 years old. The exact events surrounding his death are still uncertain and somewhat mysterious. (Parker 1-5) Most f Poe's literary works were inspired by life. "Alone" is Poe's way f vocalizing the unique and dismal life that he led. He, from an apparently young age, finds himself with such different feelings about life than most people. In this poem, Poe describes his own condition f loneliness. In the first three stanzas alone, Poe discusses that since his early childhood he didn't see the world as others saw it. Even as a child his emotions were very hard to express. Anything he expressed he kept inside. In the sixth stanza, Poe writes "My sorrow; I could not awaken", meaning that because he had his emotions bottled up, he couldn't even express his sorrow. Because he couldn't express his emotions, anything he loved he couldn't love with another person, he could only love alone. There was no way he could express himself emotionally. Poe continues to reiterate that since his childhood he had this mystery surrounding him, following him wherever he went. When he did anything or went anywher e, there was this mystery or shadow that continued to bind him. This mystery could be the problem f not expressing his emotions he inherited as a child or the element f self-companionship. "His was a deviant mind, and his soul, ever lost in mystery, was possessed f demons; even elements f nature assumed their form."(Darkening 9). Ultimately Poe emphasizes this mystery as an evil or "a demon" that was haunting him. The demon was present everywhere; even the elements f nature assumed its form. Poe describes the demon as the sun rolling around him, as the thunder from the storm. Everywhere he turns and looks this evil is lurking around him, making Poe unique from others. Poe describes his uniqueness as a result f the demon that he is consumed by. The reason why he is alone, and why he can only love alone is because f this demon which he inherited as a child. (VanSpanckeren 1-5) Numerous events in Poe's life can explain why Poe may have written this poem. This poem was written in 1830, around the year where his stepmother had died and when his stepfather had remarried. The death f his "beloved step-mother reinforced the morbid consistency f Edgar's mind."(Darkening 4-5). Her death probably caused more psychological problems to Poe. He lost his biological mother and his stepmother, both f whom helped provide emotional support for