Edgar Allan Poe worked hard. He became a successful editor （編輯）. He published three books of poetry. He also began writing stories. Five of his stories were printed in a publication in Philadelphia （費(fèi)城）, Pennsylvania （賓夕法尼亞州） in eighteen thirty-two. Yet he was not well paid. His life was difficult. He was poor, and he was troubled by sicknesses of the body and mind. Poe suffered from depression （沮喪）. He feared he was insane. He drank alcohol to escape his fears. The alcohol had a very bad effect （影響） on him.
In eighteen thirty-five, Poe began editing （編輯） the Southern Literary Messenger in Richmond, Virginia. The following year, at the age of twenty-seven, he married Virginia Clemm. She was the daughter of his father's sister. She was only thirteen years old. Poe and his wife moved often as he found work at magazines and newspapers in Philadelphia and New York.
For a time, it seemed that Poe would find some happiness. But his wife was sick for most of their marriage. She died in eighteen forty-seven. After his wife's death, Poe's problems with alcohol increased. He died two years later, at the age of forty. He was found dead in Baltimore （巴爾的摩, 美國馬里蘭州的一城市） after days of heavy drinking.
Through all his crises, Edgar Allan Poe produced many stories, poems, and works of criticism. Some of his stories won prizes （獎）. Yet he did not become famous until eighteen forty-five. That was when his poem “The Raven” was published.
There is no question that Poe suffered from emotional （情緒的） problems. One critic said Poe's spirit was torn. He said Poe's stories were often about his own divided nature. Each person in his stories showed a different side of the writer. There is a question, however, about Poe's importance. Some critics said he was one of America's best writers. Others disagreed （不認(rèn)同）.
One critic said Poe discovered a new artistic universe （宇宙） —— a universe of dreams. It was a place where the line between reality and unreality is extremely thin.
Even those who praised Poe agreed that there are many difficulties in his work. These difficulties place Poe's writing outside the main body of American literature. Most American writing is realistic. Poe's interests and way of writing were not realistic at all. Poe's work has been praised （贊揚(yáng)） most in France. He had a great influence on many French writers.
Poe's best-known poem is “The Raven.” Some people love it. They say it is like music. Others hate it. They say it sounds forced and unnatural （不自然的）—— like bad music.
“The Raven” is about a man whose great love, Lenore, has died. She is gone forever. But the man cannot accept that all happiness is gone. He sits alone （單獨(dú)的） among his books late at night. He hears a noise at the window. Here is the beginning of the poem：
READER：
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore ——
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping —— rapping at my chamber door.
“'Tis some visitor,” I muttered, “tapping at my chamber door ——
Only this and nothing more.
In eighteen thirty-five, Poe began editing （編輯） the Southern Literary Messenger in Richmond, Virginia. The following year, at the age of twenty-seven, he married Virginia Clemm. She was the daughter of his father's sister. She was only thirteen years old. Poe and his wife moved often as he found work at magazines and newspapers in Philadelphia and New York.
For a time, it seemed that Poe would find some happiness. But his wife was sick for most of their marriage. She died in eighteen forty-seven. After his wife's death, Poe's problems with alcohol increased. He died two years later, at the age of forty. He was found dead in Baltimore （巴爾的摩, 美國馬里蘭州的一城市） after days of heavy drinking.
Through all his crises, Edgar Allan Poe produced many stories, poems, and works of criticism. Some of his stories won prizes （獎）. Yet he did not become famous until eighteen forty-five. That was when his poem “The Raven” was published.
There is no question that Poe suffered from emotional （情緒的） problems. One critic said Poe's spirit was torn. He said Poe's stories were often about his own divided nature. Each person in his stories showed a different side of the writer. There is a question, however, about Poe's importance. Some critics said he was one of America's best writers. Others disagreed （不認(rèn)同）.
One critic said Poe discovered a new artistic universe （宇宙） —— a universe of dreams. It was a place where the line between reality and unreality is extremely thin.
Even those who praised Poe agreed that there are many difficulties in his work. These difficulties place Poe's writing outside the main body of American literature. Most American writing is realistic. Poe's interests and way of writing were not realistic at all. Poe's work has been praised （贊揚(yáng)） most in France. He had a great influence on many French writers.
Poe's best-known poem is “The Raven.” Some people love it. They say it is like music. Others hate it. They say it sounds forced and unnatural （不自然的）—— like bad music.
“The Raven” is about a man whose great love, Lenore, has died. She is gone forever. But the man cannot accept that all happiness is gone. He sits alone （單獨(dú)的） among his books late at night. He hears a noise at the window. Here is the beginning of the poem：
READER：
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore ——
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping —— rapping at my chamber door.
“'Tis some visitor,” I muttered, “tapping at my chamber door ——
Only this and nothing more.