1

AUTHOR’S BACKGROUND

Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe is an American poet, short-story writer, editor and literary critic. He was
born on January 19, 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts to David and Eliza Poe. He was orphaned in
his early childhood and was taken in by John Allan and his family. Poe was taken by the Allan
family to England and was placed in a private school. Returning to the United States, he spent a
short while at the University of Virginia but his foster father, displeased by his drinking and
gambling, refused to pay his debts and forced him to work as a clerk. Poe, disliking his new
duties intensely, quit the job and went to Boston.
Unable to support himself, Poe enlisted in the United States Army as a private. He used
the name Edgar A. Perry and listed himself as 22 years old instead of his 18. There he published
his first book, Tamerlane and Other Poems, anonymously in 1827. After serving for two years, he
attained the rank of Sergeant Major for Artillery. Poe then sought to end his five-year enlistment
early. Poe was discharged from the army on April 15, 1829. He then published his second book,
Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane and Minor poems, in 1829.
Poe published his third book, Poems, in 1831. The following year, he moved to Baltimore
and lived with his aunt Maria Clemm, her daughter, Virginia Clemm, Poe’s brother, Henry, and
their invalid grandmother, Elizabeth Cairnes Poe.
In 1833, Poe was awarded a prize for his short story MS. Found in a Bottle. The story led
to Poe’s becoming the assistant editor of the Southern Literary Messenger in August 1835. After a
few weeks, he was fired because of misconduct.
Poe secretly married his first cousin, Virginia Clemm, on September 22, 1835. He was
allowed to return to the Messenger after promising good behavior. He remained at the
Messenger until January 1837. During this time, he published many articles, stories, and reviews
that enhanced his image as a poet, story-writer, and critic.
On January 29, 1845, Poe published his poem The Raven that instantly became a
popular sensation. It instantly made Poe a household name.
Poe moved to a cottage in the Fordham section of The Bronx, New York, now known as
“Poe Cottage”, in 1846. Virginia Clemm died there in January 30, 1847, two years after the
publication of the phenomenal The Raven. Poe then returned to Richmond after his wife’s death.
Edgar Allan Poe died on October 7, 1849. The circumstances leading to his death are
unclear and the cause is still unknown. On October 3, 1849, Poe was found delirious on the
streets of Baltimore, Maryland. He was taken to Washington College Hospital wherein he died on
October 7.
 2

Edgar Allan Poe belonged to the Romanticism era, particularly in the dark romanticism
genre. Most of his works deal with death, its physical signs, premature burial, and other questions
and themes regarding death. A recognizable trait of his works is his frequent use of irony to create
humor, dark or otherwise. His poems are also known for their musical quality. Many of his works
are interpreted autobiographically, most of them pointing to the period of Virginia Clemm’s
sickness and death.
He is also known as the “Father of Modern and Detective Stories”. Poe’s early detective
fiction tales starring the fictitious C. Auguste Dupin laid the groundwork for future detective
stories.
“Where was the detective story until Poe breathed the breath of life into it?"
- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes
His most recognizable works are:
Stories:
• The Tell-Tale Heart
• The Pit and the Pendulum
• Murders in the Rue Morgue
Poems
• The Raven
• Annabel Lee

INTERPRETATIONS OF THE LITERARY PIECE

Annabel Lee

It was many and many a year ago,

In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of Annabel Lee;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.

She was a child and I was a child,

In this kingdom by the sea;
But we loved with a love that was more than love—
I and my Annabel Lee;
With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven
Coveted her and me.

And this was the reason that, long ago,

In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud by night,
Chilling my Annabel Lee;
So that her highborn kinsman came
 3
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulchre
In this kingdom by the sea.

The angels, not half so happy in heaven,

Went envying her and me—;
Yes!—that was the reason (as all men know,
In this kingdom by the sea)
That the wind came out of the cloud, chilling
And killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love it was stronger by far than the love

Of those who were older than we—
Of many far wiser than we—
And neither the angels in heaven above,
Nor the demons down under the sea,
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee.

For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee.
And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling—my darling—my life and my bride,
In the sepulchre there by the sea,
In her tomb by the sounding sea.

Annabel Lee was the last complete poem written by Edgar Allan Poe. It was written in
1849 and was first published as part of Poe’s obituary. Annabel Lee is said to be inspired by
Virginia Clemm, Poe’s wife, since it laments the death of a beautiful young woman.
The narrator describes his love for Annabel Lee, which began in a “kingdom by the sea”.
They were young when their love started but it burned so strongly that the angels in heaven got
jealous. Because of that, the narrator believed that she was killed. He wants to convince himself
that the angels were the ones who killed Annabel Lee. But, even if Annabel Lee was now dead,
the narrator believed that their love was so strong that it will endure beyond the grave. He
believes that their souls are still intertwined. He says in the last stanza that every night he dreams
of Annabel Lee. He compares the bright stars to her eyes. He also admits that every night he lies
down beside her tomb by the sea.
The poem focuses on an “ideal” love which is unusually strong; so strong that it can
withstand death. In this poem, it can be noticed that the narrator blamed the angels for Annabel
Lee’s death. Since he said that they were young when they fell in love with each other, it can be
assumed that he haven’t grown up that much yet since blaming Annabel Lee’s death on the
angels is a very childish assumption. He also tries to convince himself that his assertion is true in
the fourth stanza. The narrator here is also assumed to be a fisherman, one who considers the
sea as his kingdom.
 4

This poem is in contrast with The Raven, another of Poe’s works. In The Raven, the
narrator believes that he will “nevermore” be reunited with his love, Lenore. In Annabel Lee,
however, the narrator believes that he will be reunited with Annabel Lee because theirs souls are
forever intertwined.

The Cask of Amontillado

The Cask of Amontillado is one of Edgar Allan Poe’s more known works. It was first
published in the November 1846 issue of Godey’s Lady’s Book. It tells of the deadly revenge of
the narrator against his “friend”. In keeping with the fascination during the 19th century, this short
story deals with the idea of a person being buried alive, in this particular story by immurement.
Immurement is a form of execution wherein a person is chained or nailed to a wall and is left to
die from hunger and dehydration. It is different from premature burial, in the sense that, in that in
premature burial, the person dies from asphyxiation or lack of air.
Montresor, the narrator of the story, relates of the night that he took his revenge on
Fortunato, his “friend” and a fellow nobleman. Angry because of Fortunato’s insulting him, he
plots to murder his friend during the carnival.
He baits Fortunato by telling him that he has obtained a pipe of Amontillado, a rare and
valuable, and currently out of season, sherry wine. He isn't sure, however, and wants his friend's
expert opinion on the subject, since Fortunato is a connoisseur in wine. Fortunato, very vain of his
expertise in wine, goes with Montresor to the wine cellars of the latter's palazzo. They go deep
underground in Montresor’s family’s vaults. Montresor repeatedly expresses concern over
Fortunato, who has a bad cough because of the cold and damp surroundings, and suggests they
go back but Fortunato insists on continuing. Montresor then gives Fortunato Medoc, a French
wine, to supposedly ease his cough and warm them. Fortunato raised his bottle and toasted to
the dead. Montresor replied mysteriously.
“I drink to the buried that repose around us.”
“And I [drink] to your long life.”
-Fortunato and Montresor toasting before drinking the Medoc
During their walk, Fortunato once again insults Montresor by forgetting his family’s motto
and coat of arms. Montresor promptly mentions his family’s coat of arms - a golden foot crushing
a snake whose fangs are embedded in the foot's heel - with the motto Nemo me impune lacessit
(No one strikes me with impunity).When they reach the very last vault, Montresor tells Fortunato
that the Amontillado is inside. Fortunato, drunk and unsuspecting, entered and was quickly
chained to the wall by Montresor. Montresor then quickly walls up the niche, entombing his friend
alive.
 5

At first, Fortunato, who recovered from his drunken state faster than Montresor expected,
shook the chains furiously, trying to escape. Montresor stopped working for a while to enjoy the
sound. Fortunato then screams for help, but Montresor shouts, louder than Fortunato’s cries, to
drown out the sound and to mock him, knowing nobody can hear them. Later, Fortunato laughs
weakly and tries to delusion himself that everything is merely a joke and that they should get
going because Lady Fortunato is waiting for him. As Montresor finished the uppermost row of
stones, Fortunato wails despairingly "For the love of God, Montresor!" Montresor replies, "Yes, for
the love of God!" He listens for a reply but hears only the jester's bells ringing as he places the
last stone. He claims that he feels sick at heart, but dismisses this reaction as an effect of the
dampness of the catacombs.
In the last few sentences, Montresor reveals that it has been 50 years since he
committed the murder and that he has never been caught, and Fortunato's body still hangs from
its chains in the niche where he left it. Montresor, seemingly unrepentant, ends the story by
remarking: In pace requiescat (may he rest in peace).
This story begins around twilight, in an unnamed European city. The setting helped in
bringing up the dark mood of the story, merely because the horrible deed was done while a
carnival was taking place. The light-hearted and happy feel of the carnival was greatly contrasted
by the dark, damp and heavy atmosphere of the Montresor family vaults. The narrative is told in
Montresor’s point-of-view.
There are only three characters in this story. Montresor is the narrator of this story. He is
Fortunato’s fellow wine connoisseur, “friend”, and killer. Fortunato is the person whom Montresor
vows to enforce revenge on. Montresor plays on his weakness, his vanity of his expertise in
wines, to lure him to his death. Luchresi or Luchesi, though not playing a major part, is another
friend of both Montresor and Fortunato.
Poe’s recognizable use of irony is shown is this story. The word “fortunate” is the root
word of “fortunate” which, unfortunately, Fortunato is not. Fortunato’s jester outfit is also shown
not only to emphasize the carnival and it’s implications but to also show that Montresor intended
to make a fool out of Fortunato.
Other than the vague “many injuries”, it was never made clear just what Montresor’s
motive in killing Fortunato was. A clear driving force in revenge, though, was Montresor’s family
motto: Nemo me impune lacessit. Montresor wanted to follow this time-honored motto, so he
planned the “perfect crime”. 50 years later, he told this story, wanting to boast about following his
family motto and committing the “perfect crime”.
Many people are drawn to this story of a man hoping to find a “cask” of Amontillado but
ends up finding himself in his “casket”. The Cask of Amontillado remains one of Edgar Allan Poe’s
greatest and most famous works.
Visual Media

The Cask of Amontillado

Edgar Allan Poe

REFERENCES

• http://www.online-literature.com/poe/
• http://www.poedecoder.com
• Microsoft Encarta 2007
• Wikipedia.org