Edgar Allen Poe’s work was deeply affected by his tragic life. Born on January 19, 1809, Poe had two parents, Elizabeth and David Poe. On December 8, 1811 Elizabeth Poe died, while young Edgar was only two years old. His mother had separated from his father before her death, so Poe, his brother, and his sister were left without any parents. Edgar was taken in by a foster family Mr. and Mrs. John Allan. How Edgar Allen Poe's life may have affected his work: *His mom died when Poe was only 2 years old, and she had seperated from her husband, so Poe was left parentless. *He went to england for school @ the age of 6 and learned french/latin *He was seperated from his family when his mom died. *Poe's foster father, john allen, didn't give him much money, even though he had it. *Poe drank a lot and became in debt. *He was in the military, and probably witnessed a lot of killing *John allen didn't mention Poe in his will, and Poe was poor *He married his 13 year old cousin, Virginia. *He became editor of a newspaper, but left because of the low salary *He tried starting his own newspaper and failed. *He barely had enough money to support his family. *He became an editor at 'the broadway journal'. A year later, it became bankrupt and he lost his job again. *His wifes health was poor, and it hurt Poe. *Virginia died in 1847. *The death of virginia made Poe very depressed, but a year later, he got better. ***He sought out gratitude and recognition from his father, and was tormented by this throughout his whole life Giordano, Robert. "A short biography of Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849)." 27 June 2005. 8 March 2007 Wilson, James Southall. "Poe's life." Poe Museum. Poe Museum. 8 Apr 2008 .