If you are interested in retracing the life and times of infamous writer Edgar Allan Poe, then you might want to travel to some of the locations that the author once lived with his family. This article mainly concentrates on a range of destinations to add to an Edgar Allan Poe-related trip, as well as some of the museums you will find along the way.
Common Themes in Poe’s Works
The best known fiction works of Edgar Allan Poe are from the Gothic genre. He often wrote about themes that centered on questions of death, the effects of decomposition, the physical signs of being dead, premature burials, the mourning process, and the reanimation of the dead.
The Baltimore Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum
Preserved as the Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum, there is a Baltimore home that Poe lived in when he was around 23 years old. This would be about the same time that he lived with Maria Clemm and Virginia. The house may have also been occupied by his grandmother and possibly his brother William Henry Leonard Poe. The home is open to the public, and is also used by the Edgar Allan Poe Society.
Surviving Poe Home in Philadelphia
If you are ever in Philadelphia, then you might be able to stop by the last house rented by his wife Virginia, and his mother-in-law Maria while they were in the city. Called the Spring Garden home, the author lived there from 1843 to 1844. Today, the National Park Service is in charge of preserving the home with a little help from the Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site.
Poe Home in the New York City
The last home that Edgar Allan Poe lived in was in Bronx. New York and is preserved as the Edgar Allan Poe Cottage. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. After residing a short time in Turtle Bay, Manhattan, the Poe family moved to this home around May of 1846. He lived there with his wife Virginia and her mother Maria.
The Meaning Behind “The Tell-Tale Heart”
This short story was first published in 1843 and is told by a narrator who remains unnamed. Readers will encounter his pleas to prove that he is a sane individual ”“ all while describing a murder that he committed. The narrator reveals that he killed an old man with a blind eye. He carefully calculated his plan, and hides the dead body in the floorboards ”“ after dismembering it. The guilt of his actions emerges when he starts to hear the man’s beating heart under the floorboards. The story was first published in James Russell Lowell’s The Pioneer in 1843. Many see the story as one of Poe’s most famous shorts, and is considered a classic in Gothic fiction circles.