Shamaya Camm 3A

Edgar Allan
Poe
Research Paper

Shamaya Camm
Mrs. Coulter 3A
TA Honors English 9
16 November 2014

Edgar Allan Poe Research Paper

Edgar Allan Poes death is still a fascinating mystery today. Its no secret he is a famous
American writer, yet the theories on how he died are questionable. The three main theories that
will be discussed in this paper are he died of cerebral inflammation, he had rabies, and he was
kidnapped by political people on a voting day. The theory that is most evident of Edgar Allan
Poes death is he was kidnapped by political people on a voting day.
Source A Poes Final Days from Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never Ending
Remembrance states Poe died of cerebral inflammation caused by exposure to the elements and
drinking too much alcohol. Poe left Richmond, VA to when someone saw him at a tavern in
Baltimore. A4 Kenneth Silverman suggests that Poes death could have been a combination of
too much drinking causing him to not protect himself against the stormy weather (224).
Realistically, if Poe was consuming too much alcohol theres no way he could take a trip from
Richmond VA to someone seeing him in Baltimore. When highly intoxicated most people
cannot think straight let alone take a very extensive trip.

Source B Poes Death is Rewritten as Case of Rabies, Not Telltale Alcohol from The
New York Times tells a cardiologist contends that Poe did not die of drunkenness but of rabies.
B #2 Dr. R. Michael Benitez worked on Poes case as part of a clinical pathologic conference
where participants tried to diagnose the illness from the written medical history alone (226). Its
almost impossible to diagnose somebody when you dont even have the actual persons remains
to test. Medical records from that time are drastically different from the advanced medical
records we have today. The only really factual information we can use from that time is the
recorded documentations of the people that worked on Poe such as doctors and nurses.
Source C Biography: Edgar Allan Poe, an A & E video gave the theory Poe was
kidnapped by political people on voting day. It was said during that time political people would
kidnap citizens then give them an abundance of alcohol so they would vote for the politician they
wanted elected. One important piece of information stated in this video was he was not
wearing clothes that fit him, seemed to belong to another person when kidnapped the political
people aka thugs could have easily removed his clothes replacing them while Poe was under
the influence. I believed this theory is the most practical thing because its an actual occurring
event which can happen and is backed up with evidence of his appearance and where he was
found at.
All in all, the most believable sensible theory on Edgar Allan Poes death is he was
kidnapped by thugs then given an abundance of alcohol. Evidence backed the theory up which
is true-life and happens every day in this time. The conclusion that can be drawn from this
research and applied to the 21st century world is the world is changing every day. Throughout
the changes some things dont change such as a substance or traumatizing event. Humans are
still humans no matter the timeframe with living life you go through obstacles.

Works Cited
A&E Network, and Craig Haffner, prods. "Edgar Allan Poe." BIOGRAPHY. 1994. Television.
"Poe's Death Is Rewritten as Case of Rabies." New York Times 15 Sept. 1996: 225-26. Print.
Silverman, Kenneth. Edgar A. Poe.: Mournful and Never-ending Rememberance. New York:
Harper Collins, 1991. 222-24. Print.