Poe – Boy

There are many traumatizing things that happened to Poe. One prominent thing that stands out in Poe’s life is death. One example of how it affected his  writing is “The Masque of the Red Death.” In this story, a country is haunted by a deadly plague called the Red Death. It sweeps across the nation quickly, much like the Black Plague did in Europe. If you were to catch it, you were quarantined and shut out from the others. The symptoms were horrible: cutting pain and dizziness was followed by blood seeping out from your pores. The disease is very similar to tuberculosis, which was a very important illness in Poe’s life. His mother, foster mother, and wife all died of tuberculosis. Three woman who were the only people he ever loved. Another theme that is shown from Poe is the death of a young woman. Innocent woman, full of life, dies in a strange and horrible way. The cause of death is generally unusual and different. The way women played a part in his life affected how Poe wrote.