Red Death Mask

Author: Edgar Allan Poe
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2001-12-01
Features: Shawnaugh once claimed, "America has produced two great writers—Edgar Allan Poe and Mark Twain." However, in American literary circles, there is no greater writer than Poe who has suffered such a tragic fate. Most of his life was spent in adversity, struggling against destiny. In early October 1849, Poe was in a delirious state for several days, calling out "God save me!" before dying in sorrow. This cry condensed his bitterness and frustration over a life of hardship. Poe's life was marked by poverty and misfortune. He endured not only toil and suffering but also the disdain of society and relentless attacks. Throughout his life, both during and after his death, he received little recognition in the United States, and opinions about him were divided. Those who knew him regarded him as an outstanding poet and a genius of the short story. But those who held prejudices against his work, character, and private life saw him as a rebel, a madman, or even an alcoholic and drug addict. In reality, according to extensive evidence, he was always kind and sincere toward those he loved; only toward those he hated did he show arrogance and uncompromising defiance. Regardless, his importance in American literary history is undeniable, and his contributions to American and even world literature are irrefutable. To study American literature, one cannot be unfamiliar with Poe's works, and to understand his works, one must first understand his life. Edgar Allan Poe was born on September 19, 1809, in a family of traveling performers in Boston. His mother, Elizabeth Arnold Hopkins, originally from England, was a talented and beautiful woman skilled in singing and dancing. She had played many leading roles in Shakespearean plays, such as Ophelia and Juliet. His father, David Poe, originally from Ireland, was the son of a small merchant in Baltimore. He initially studied law but later took up acting after falling in love with Elizabeth. The couple traveled and performed together, struggling to make a living. They had three children, Edgar being the second and the youngest a girl. To earn a living, Elizabeth went on stage less than half a month after Edgar's birth. David was mediocre and his acting unpopular, so the family lived in poverty and instability for a long time. His father drank heavily and eventually left his wife and children after an argument, disappearing without a trace; some say he died in New York when Poe was a year old. Elizabeth alone raised the three children, traveling with the theater. In 1811, she fell ill and died from overwork. Fortunately, the three orphans were taken in by kind-hearted people. At the time, Edgar was only three years old and was adopted by his godfather, John Allen, a wealthy tobacco exporter in Richmond, who also changed his surname to Poe. However, Edgar disliked the name and continued to sign his works as Edgar A. Poe in adulthood. During his childhood, he lived with his foster father in Richmond. At the age of six, the family moved to England. Initially, they stayed in Scotland for a few months before settling in London. He attended a boarding school run by Mrs. Dubois and later a private school in Stoke Newington, founded by Father Bransby, where he laid a solid foundation in classical literature. Five years later, the Poe family returned to Richmond, and Edgar attended local schools again. Fortunately, he was naturally intelligent and had a sharp memory, excelling in all subjects. He was also skilled in fencing, horseback riding, and swimming. He was deeply interested in Latin and French and enjoyed exploring history, physics, biology, and astronomy. He was proficient in mathematics, chemistry, and medicine, and was passionate about the works of great poets like Byron, Shelley, Keats, Moore, and Coleridge. He even learned to write poetry in Latin. He was truly a prodigy. At home, only his foster mother showed him some affection and care, while his foster father was a practical businessman, stern and reserved, with no understanding of music or poetry, let alone the imaginative, warm-hearted nature of the teenage Edgar. As a result, their relationship was always strained. He also longed for sympathy and love from others. During his middle school years, he fell in love with the mother of a classmate, Jane Stetson Stanard, but she soon passed away. Heartbroken, he wrote a poem in her memory titled "To Helen," which has been. At the age of seventeen, Poe entered the University of Virginia, marking the end of his reckless youth. His foster father treated him harshly, providing only a small allowance. His upbringing had made him believe he was a Southern aristocrat, and the friends he made at university were all wealthy, leading him to behave recklessly, often gambling and drinking excessively. He developed bad habits, accumulating gambling debts and a drinking problem. His foster father blamed him for his poor choices and behavior, insisting he leave the university. He returned to Richmond before completing his first year, only to discover that his teenage lover, Sarah Elmira Royster, was preparing to marry someone else, which deeply distressed him. They had been in love and had even secretly engaged before Poe went to university, but their letters were intercepted by his foster father, leading to misunderstandings and tragedy. At this time, his foster father had several mistresses and children outside of marriage, and Edgar could no longer stay at home. He left abruptly for Boston to seek a livelihood. In Boston, with the help of a printer named Calvin Thomas, he published a thin collection of poems titled "Tamerlane and Other Poems," signed "A Bostonian." These poems were imitations of Byron and Moore, with a small print run and priced at twelve and a half cents. Unfortunately, they received no attention at all. The young poet, penniless and alone, joined the army under the pseudonym Edgar Allan Pennypacker. Clearly, he was ashamed of this ordinary military experience, later falsely claiming he had been fighting in the Greek War of Independence and traveling to Russia. In reality, he was stationed in South Carolina and Virginia. After a year and a half, he was promoted to sergeant. In 1829, his foster mother died, and he took leave to return home for the funeral, then resigned from the army. He arrived in Baltimore and managed to publish his second collection of poems, "Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane, and Other Poems." He stayed with his aunt Maria Clemm for a while, where she lived with her seven-year-old daughter Virginia and Edgar's older brother William, who later died of tuberculosis. His younger sister Rosalie was adopted by a family in Richmond as an infant and was frail and mentally disabled. The family's fate was tragic. At the age of twenty-one, his foster father offered to continue supporting him on the condition that he attend West Point for five years. He agreed. He excelled in military science but couldn't tolerate the strict discipline of the academy, frequently skipping classes and being disciplined by military law for neglect of duty, eventually being expelled for dereliction of duty. This happened in early 1831. He returned to New York and found a publisher for his third collection of poems, "Poems by Edgar A. Poe." In 1833, he returned to Baltimore and won the first prize for a short story with "The Fall of the House of Usher" from the Baltimore Saturday Visitor, earning one hundred dollars. This prize saved his life and helped him formally embark on a literary career. In March 1834, his foster father died, and his entire inheritance was divided among his biological children. He received nothing and arrived in Richmond alone, becoming an assistant editor for the Southern Literary Messenger. His life was lonely and miserable, and his depression led him to drink to numb the pain, even considering suicide. Fortunately, his aunt Clemm and her daughter came to live with him. On September 22, 1835, he married his thirteen-year-old cousin Virginia. Poe's marriage caused much controversy. There is no doubt that he truly loved her, as evidenced by their correspondence. However, he always called her "my dear sister," possibly because he married her to gain his aunt's care, seeing in her the maternal love he had always sought. He needed a warm family and someone who understood and cared for him. It is said that their marriage was not happy due to their age difference, but this is just speculation. At the Southern Literary Messenger, he worked for nearly a year and a half, publishing his own novels, poems, and book reviews, but all were just to earn a living. In January 1837, he was dismissed due to excessive drinking, which affected his health and work, displeasing his employer. In February, the family moved to New York, where they finally found a publisher for his only novella, "Arthur Gordon Pym." It was a thrilling story about a shipwreck at sea, but it had no success after publication. In 1838, the family moved to Philadelphia, where he found a job as a hack writer, editing a textbook for a publisher based on an already obsolete treatise. Poe became a copywriter, copying entire sections verbatim. This was not the only time he engaged in plagiarism in his writing career; some of his poetry theories were copied from Coleridge without even changing the wording. However, Poe despised plagiarism by others. Once, he even criticized Longfellow as a plagiarist, showing that his own practice of copying was not intentional. Soon after, he became an assistant editor for the Gentleman's Magazine, where "The Fall of the House of Usher" and "William Wilson" were later published. Less than a year later, he left due to disagreements with the editor, Burton. He found a publisher in Philadelphia for a two-volume collection of his short stories, titled "Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque," earning only a few copies to send to friends. In 1841, he became the editor of the Graham's Magazine, where he published his detective novel "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," marking the birth of the detective genre. He then published "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym," "The Masque of the Red Death," and other important literary theories, perhaps his most triumphant period. Graham's Magazine saw a significant increase in circulation, rising from eight thousand to forty thousand copies per issue, while his salary remained at eight hundred dollars. In January 1842, Virginia suffered a hemorrhage while singing, and Poe was deeply grieved but still able to work. His masterpieces, such as "The Mystery of Marie Rogêt," "The Pit and the Pendulum," "The Tell-Tale Heart," "The Gold Bug," and "The Black Cat," were all written during this period. Later, he convinced a Philadelphia publisher to publish a collection of short stories, priced cheaply and printed in small quantities, which, as usual, had no success. At that time, his greatest ambition was to start his own magazine, but his plan, widely distributed, failed to attract support. In April 1844, he returned to New York to lobby, submitting a fantastical story about crossing the Atlantic in a balloon to the Sun, which sold out that issue, though his earnings were still meager. Soon after, Poe rented a small wooden house on Broadway (then known as Broadway), settling there. He wrote his famous poem "The Raven" in this house, which was published in the Evening Mirror in 1845, gaining attention and leading him to join the newspaper. He soon moved to the Broadway Journal, a newly founded newspaper that was losing money. Poe seized the opportunity to take it over but ultimately ruined it, ending his dream of founding a magazine. Despite this, his achievements that year were remarkable, publishing a collection of short stories and a poetry anthology titled "The Raven." Unfortunately, he remained poverty-stricken, and his wife urgently needed medical treatment, but they had no money for it. In 1846, the family moved to Fordham, a suburb of New York. Both were ill, and by winter, they had no money to buy coal. Virginia lay on a straw bed with no blankets, only a white sheet. In the freezing cold, she wrapped herself in her husband's old coat, clutching a large tortoiseshell cat for warmth. Someone raised money for Poe in the newspapers, but by then, Virginia was already gravely ill and passed away on January 30, 1847, without a word. Devastated, Poe's mental state deteriorated further, filled with hallucinations. After her death, he had little energy to write, producing only an essay on his cosmology titled "Eureka" and two famous poems, "Ullalume" and "The Bells." In September 1848, Poe proposed to Sarah Helen Whitman, a widow five years his senior, in Providence. She was also interested in literature, and they had exchanged poems since meeting in 1845. However, her family strongly opposed the marriage. Poe's pursuit failed, and in November, he bought opium and attempted suicide in Boston but only fell ill. After recovering, he continued to pursue her, but she agreed to marry him if he promised to stop drinking. As the wedding approached, he got drunk again after being persuaded by some young men, and under pressure from all sides, she called off the engagement. Enraged, Poe vowed never to associate with any woman who loved literature again. Shortly after, he expressed affection for another married woman, Nancy Richmond (Anne), and a poet, Sarah Anna Lewis, in New York, but both attempts failed. Soon after, he went to Richmond and Norfolk to lecture and unexpectedly met his teenage lover, Sarah Elmira Royster, who had become a wealthy widow. Grieving and in need of comfort, he proposed to her, and she accepted. On September 27, he returned to New York to prepare for the wedding and resolved to stop drinking. However, on October 3, he got drunk again and collapsed in the streets of Baltimore. He was taken to Washington University Hospital, where he remained unconscious. When he came to, he rambled incoherently for four days before dying at 5 a.m. on October 7. He was later buried in the Westminster Church Cemetery in Baltimore, alongside his beloved Virginia and his mother-in-law, Clemm, and his grandfather, David Poe. Despite his death, Poe did not find true peace. Just two days after his passing, the New York Tribune published a vicious attack by Ludwig. The article accused Poe of being an incurable alcoholic, a morally bankrupt scoundrel, arrogant, narrow-minded, jealous, and prone to anger, condemning him in every way. Strangely, the man who shot this poison arrow at Poe was Rufus Griswold, the executor Poe had designated for his manuscripts. This man, lacking talent and integrity, was filled with envy and hatred for Poe, using the guise of a memorial to defame him. While compiling a four-volume edition of Poe's works, he even altered his letters and forged some of his works. Poe had always been meticulous with his works, constantly revising them, but Griswold published uncorrected and flawed versions, even writing a biography of Poe that was not factual, using all kinds of despicable methods to ruin his reputation, with irreversible consequences. Especially in England, readers had long regarded Griswold as the authority on Poe's works and trusted him unquestioningly. Poe was not the only one attacking him. In the summer of 1849, Richmond journalist John Daniel, who often met Poe, also criticized his eccentric personality, selfishness, and lack of morals. Briggs, who had worked with Poe for several months in 1845, said Poe had no character and was a petty man. Fortunately, some righteous people came forward to defend Poe's reputation. N. P. Willis, for example, said that during the two years he knew Poe after 1844, he had always been steady, diligent, and gentlemanly, and he never saw him act arrogantly or morally corrupt. Poe's former boss, George Graham, described him as a man with a childlike heart, gentle, and the most approachable person he had ever met. He always stood up for others who were wronged and was indeed a man of integrity. Even the Whitehead woman, who had broken off her engagement to Poe, wrote a rebuttal titled "Is Poe a Morally Corrupt Man?" denouncing the shameless slander and fabrications of Griswold and others. Whether he was called a devil or an angel, any judgment on his character and lifestyle must not overlook his innate predispositions and his later circumstances, especially the physical and mental injuries he suffered in his later years. Take his alcoholism, for example. He knew that excessive drinking was harmful, yet he repeatedly swore to but could never break free from the temptation. Poe lost his parents at a young age and was sensitive, lacking warmth and security from childhood. The image of his loving mother haunted him, becoming an idol for his spiritual solace. Coupled with his many hardships and disappointments, the real world was unbearable to him. He could only escape into the realm of writing and alcohol, where he could roam freely. Once, he complained that his enemies attributed his mental instability to his drinking rather than his drinking to his instability. Near the end of his life, he said, "I often indulged in drink, but it brought me no pleasure. I sacrificed my life and reputation, disregarded reason, and drank recklessly not for pleasure but to escape painful memories, unbearable loneliness, and the impending end." However, he was not a dreamer, nor was he truly escaping reality. His relentless writing shows his realism. His literary criticism articles prove this even more, as only a clear mind can produce such well-structured, insightful works. Literary criticism was a significant part of Poe's writings. At the time, no one could rival him except James Russell Lowell. Lowell rarely praised others but hailed Poe as "the most sagacious, philosophical, and fearless critic." Contemporary literary critic Edmund Wilson also called "Poe's literary criticism truly the greatest work in American literary criticism." However, it cannot be ignored that when Poe was an editor for newspapers and magazines, he wrote many mediocre works to earn a living, so only a small part of his best works remain today. He always advocated "art for art's sake," and this artistic philosophy permeates all his works, including poetry, short stories, and essays. In these works, he claimed, "The purpose of all art is entertainment, not truth." He believed that "in poetry, only the creation of beauty—superb beauty—is the proper way to evoke pleasure. Music is an indispensable part of poetry, especially important for poets who seek to express superb beauty. In storytelling, the artist may strive to create excitement, terror, and strong emotions. And every work should produce a certain effect." His original essays, such as "The Philosophy of Composition" (1846), "The Principles of Poetry" (1850), and his critiques of Hawthorne's "Old Tales," as well as his reviews of the poetry of Longfellow, Coleridge, Wordsworth, Tennyson, and Dickens's "The Old Curiosity Shop," all demonstrate his profound insights and are still regarded as models of literary criticism today. He wrote over sixty short stories in his lifetime, though only four were detective novels, they are universally recognized as the pioneers of the genre. His masterpieces, such as "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," "The Mystery of Marie Rogêt," "The Purloined Letter," and "The Gold Bug," are considered the foundation of detective fiction and have had a great influence on later writers. In the first three novels, he created the character of the amateur detective C. Auguste Dupin, who can be seen as a precursor to Sherlock Holmes by Conan Doyle. Howard Haycraft, an expert on detective fiction, believes that "this Dupin is also Poe's self-idealized embodiment, as he was exceptionally intelligent from a young age and always sought to demonstrate his superiority. Therefore, Dupin is portrayed as having superhuman intelligence, keen observation, and the ability to predict events. To highlight his greatness, Poe also wrote a friend who deeply admires him and is inferior in comparison to narrate his deeds. Additionally, he included a foolish detective who is good-natured but often makes mistakes as a contrast. The crime scenes are usually set in