Is there any famous quotes of Edgar Allen Poe that would be good to use in one of my reports? What was a major failure that he did?

-- Anonymous, February 12, 2004

Answers

One of his quotes that explains a lot of his works is: "The death of a beautiful woman is, unquestionably, the most poetical topic in the world."

Why? Here is a morbid answer, but it explains it well. Look at pictures of women (in his era, more precisely) that were dying or WERE dead. They still looked to be alive, even in death. Almost as if they were just sleeping, innocent and safe where the rest. They looked alive, still breathing. Highly morbid, highly disturbing, but that explains a lot of his writings.

A major failure, I can only list two: his inability to shake his addiction to alcohol and opium (it took a lot of his funds that didn't allow him to support his wife Virgina who was dying from tuberculosis - he couldn't afford shelter or food or warm clothing). Another major failure was his ability to retain jobs (he dropped out of school, military, editor jobs, etc) and fame as a writer/poet. He received some for THE RAVEN, but his fame soar after he died. His works became renowed and he is still considered one of the greatest American writers of the Romanticism period - AS WELL as one of the greatest American writers, period.

-- Anonymous, February 14, 2004