“'Villains!' I shouted, “Dissimulate no more!” I admit the act! –tear up the boards! here, here! - It's the beating of his disgusting heart!'” (Poe). Edgar Allan Poe, a brilliant writer and poet, is well known for his creation of horror stories and mystery novels. He wrote suspenseful stories such as "The Crow" and "The Tell-Tale Heart" where in both stories he keeps the reader in suspense until the end. For example, "The Tell-Tale Heart" is about the main character who cares for an older man and begins to despise the old man's bad eye. Eventually the main character kills the old man and puts his body under the floorboards and ends up turning himself in due to his own madness and hallucinations. So, to understand how Poe managed to write such masterpieces, the reader must understand the life he lived and where his inspiration came from. He has had a very tough life, from losing his parents at a young age to having to drop out of college later in life. Poe also had a drinking problem, which ran in the family. So Poe's peculiar life provides insight into why and how he was able to write such intense and horror stories. In Boston, a young actress named Eliza Poe, gave birth to her second son, Edgar, on January 19, 1809. She had a very fulfilling career as an actress, playing nearly 300 parts including Shakespeare's Juliet (Meyers 2). After her first husband (Charles Hopkins) died for unknown reasons, she married David Poe Jr., originally raised to pursue a legal career (3). However, he ended up becoming an actor and joining Eliza's group. He ultimately played 137 roles (nineteen were Shakespearean), many of which were those of the romantic hero due to his handsome appearance and features (3). However, he could not act and m...... middle of paper......to separate my soul from the soul / of the beautiful Annabel Lee” (Poe). Works Cited Beebe, Annemarie. Inge, M. Thomas. Poemuseum.org. 2013. Edgar Allan Poe Museum. Web.28 February 2014Mackowiak, Philip. "The Mystery of Edgar Allan Poe". University of Maryland Medical Center. NP and Web. March 2, 2014. Meyers, Jeffery. Edgar Allan Poe: His Life and Legacy. New York: Cooper Square Press, 2000.Reprint.Poe, Edgar Allan. The best stories of Edgar Allan Poe. Kansas: Digireads.com Publishing.2010. PrintQuinn, Arthur H. Edgar Allan Poe: A Critical Biography - GoHastings. GoHastings.com. NP and Web. March 3, 2014Robinson, Marilynne. “Speaking of books; Beyond the Limit with Edgar Allan Poe”. New York Times.New York: New York Times. 1987. About Books. Archives..Wagenknecht, Edward. Edgar Allan Poe: the man behind the legend. New York: Oxford UP, 1963. Print.