A haunting of E.A. Poe: A biographical study of Edgar Allan Poe’s selected literary works

Abstract

The study identified the biographical influences on Edgar Allan Poe’s selected short stories. It aimed to determine the significant parallelism between Poe’s life and his writings. Three short stories were analyzed: Ligeia, The Cask of Amontillado , and The Black Cat. Furthermore, the Biographical Criticism would ascertain the significant aspects in Poe’s life that were parallel to his works. These narratives were treated with thematic and character analysis with the aid of Biographical Criticism. The researcher connected the text’s elements to his life facts obtained from his biographies and other life documents. Findings showed that the characters from Ligeia : Ligeia and the unnamed narrator were drawn from Poe’s mother figures and himself, respectively. Moreover, the unnamed narrator from The Black Cat can be identified as Poe and the black cat as an allegory for slavery. On the other hand, the characters from The Cask of Amontillado were inspired from a legend Poe had heard. The themes regarding alcoholism, drugs, dysfunctional home, violence, betrayal, and death could be identified from his own predicament and struggles in life. Therefore, the biographical background of Edgar Allan Poe had influence his literary writings; thus, the knowledge about the life of an author could help in further understanding his or her literary text.