The Underlying Madness in Poe'

             The Underlying Madness in Poe's The Tell Tale Heart
             The TellTale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe begins with a man attempting to prove his sanity. In all actuality this attempt reveals his madness: " True! Nervous, very very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad?"(Poe 132) This story shows Poe's underlying desires to kill, his true madness, and thoughts of revenge.
             To understand the true madness behind The Tell Tale Heart you must first understand the life of Edgar Allan Poe. He was born on January 19th 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts. Poe's parents were David Poe, an actor and Elizabeth Arnold Poe, an actress. Poe was cursed upon birth. Shortly after his birth his father abandoned the family and left Poe and his mother to fend for themselves. Not long after that, the cruel hands of fate struck Poe again by claiming his mother. In 1911, when Poe was a mere two-year-old his mother passed away, leaving him with his second loss of a loved one. After his father's disappearance and his mother's death Poe was sent to live with his godfather, John Allan. John Allan was a wealthy merchant based in Richmond, Virginia. He was wealthy and could provide a good life for Poe. In 1815, Poe and his new family moved to England to provide Poe with an education. They returned from England in 1826 and Poe enrolled at the University of Virginia. Here Poe was involved in immoral acts of gambling and drinking. He developed gambling debts, which caused friction between him and his father. After eleven months at the University, Poe dropped out due to his debts, but mostly for John Allan's refusal to pay for them. When he returned home he was invited to a party being thrown by his sweetheart before college, Sarah Elmira Royster. While at the party he realized it was her engagement party, this was a blow to Poe's heart. After he and his father had their quarrel ove...

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The Underlying Madness in Poe'. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 11:00, March 29, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/36511.html