Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most well-known writers from the 1800’s. Having written seventy poems and sixty-six short stories, he had to get his inspiration from somewhere. The dark and depressing moods of his works were likely influenced from his childhood. Poe’s father abandoned his family while Poe was very young, and not long after his mother died of tuberculosis. He was put into foster care with a foster mother whom he loved, but she too died of tuberculosis. This left Poe only with his foster father who was not fond of Poe. After the tension grew to be too much, Poe decided to leave the Allan residence. Once leaving, Poe met the love of his life, Virginia. After eleven years of happy marriage, Virginia …show more content…
All three stories are set at some kind of mansion or kingdom. “It was many and many a year ago/In a kingdom by the sea,” is a quote that comes from the poem, “Annabel Lee”. The speaker is talking about where Annabel Lee and he live in these lines. He describes it as a, “kingdom by the sea.” “The Masque of the Red Death” describes their living arrangements like this, “…and retired to the deep seclusion of one of his castellated abbeys. This was an extensive and magnificent structure, the creation of the prince’s own eccentric yet august taste.” “Castellated abbey" means a sacred castle. It goes on to point out that the building is gigantic and wonderfully built. In the short story “The Fall of the House of Usher” Poe gives us background information on the family. Before the story, the Ushers were a wealthy, well-known family. To show off their money and power they lived in a castle like any other wealthy family would. Now as the speaker approaches, he describes the neglected state of the mansion. However, he also states this, “Nevertheless, in this mansion of gloom I now proposed myself a sojourn of some weeks.” He notes the looks and size of the house to be grand. Poe uses the setting of a kingdom or mansion to emphasize that wealth does not get a person out of a ruthless situation. In a way, this was Poe’s way of getting revenge on his foster father. John Allan was a wealthy tobacco grower. By writing these stories and poems Poe shows money is not everything like Allan thought it