Part one of term paper
Edgar Allan Poe lived a hard life, which is reflected in his poetry. Its dark and gloomy settings along with often depressing topics mirror his difficult times. "The Raven" shows his feelings of loss when his wife, Virginia, died from an illness. Many of his poems contain the death of beautiful women, most of which, even though they were w ...

Part two of term paper
... was written when he was still a schoolboy. It was during this time that he lost his first love, whether she loved him in return is unclear. Her name was Jane Stith Stanard. Poe's affection for her may have stemmed from her kindness toward him at a time when he felt more "tolerated than desired, suffered rather than sought." (James A. Harrison, p.xiii vol.7) He was at a school in Richmond, Va. where, compared to the other boys, he was genetically lower class. It did not matter that he had more ...