Essay: The Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe

“If Only Poe Had Succeeded When He Said Nevermore to Drink” 

DIRECTIONS:

Pass out the Edgar Allan Poe packet

Annotate the essays.

Annotating means to underline important ideas, write comments, or definitions.

FACTS and VOCABULARY to HELP YOU UNDERSTAND the TEXT: 

Heroin: is a drug, an opiate

Heroine: is a female hero

Poe set off for Baltimore on the four a.m. steamer on Thursday, September 27^th.

There is no reliable witness or evidence regarding Poe’s whereabouts or activities between September 27^th and October 3^rd, when he is found sitting in a stupor at Gunnar’s Hall, a Baltimore tavern, strangely dressed and semi-conscious.

Tavern: a bar with a restaurant. In the 19^th century, many taverns also had rooms to rent.

Watering Hole: a slang term for a bar where many people, particularly locals, go to drink, socialize, and find out the latest gossip. 

Polling Place: where one votes

Dire: serious, urgent, darkly urgent

Onlookers: people who are standing around looking at or watching the event that is taking place.

Vacant stupidity: when one is not feeling well and is sitting staring, unfocused.

Dingy: dirty

Cast off clothing: Snodgrass thought that Poe had been robbed of his clothes, and that Poe was wearing  the clothes that had been “cast off” or thrown away by  someone else.

Muddy was Poe’s mother-in-law and his aunt. Poe married his cousin who was thirteen at the time of their wedding. 

Why did Herring refuse to take care of Poe?

 Herring had taken Poe and his family in when they needed shelter, and he thought Poe  was ungrateful, and when drunk he was abusive to Herring.

In what state was Poe in when he was carried into the carriage?

Insensible means not aware of your surroundings.  Poe was insensible and muttering when he was put into the carriage.

To Adorn means to decorate or to make more beautiful.

Stupor: Unaware of his surroundings, semi-conscious.

Tremor: a trembling or a shaking of the limbs

Delirium: a feverish hallucination

Spectral: ghostly

Why does Poe not like his cousin, Neilson?

 Poe believed Neilson was jealous of Poe’s literary reputation.

 Neilson offered a home just for Poe’s wife and mother-in-law, so they could get away from Poe.

 Poe thought Neilson was bitter.

Incoherent: unintelligible; not making any sense; crazy

Degradation: decline

Rouse: to raise up; to cheer up; to uplift someone’s spirits;

Feeble: weak

Exertions: extreme physical efforts

Euphemism: a phrase used to hide the unpleasant nature of something. An example would be using the term “cerebral inflammation” to hide the fact that the cause of death was alcoholism. We use euphemisms every day. We say,” I have to go powder my nose” or “I have to see a man about a horse” when we have to leave to go to the restroom. Even the word “restroom” is a euphemism for it disguises what we are actually doing there. We don’t “rest” in the restroom.

Cerebral: having to do with the brain

Inflammation: swelling

Cerebral inflammation: swelling of the brain.

What are the three explanations given for Poe’s death?

Create a time line from September 27^th to October 7^th detailing what we know about Poe’s life.

TIME LINE of the LAST TEN DAYS of EDGAR ALLAN POE'S LIFE: 

After his engagement was broken off with Elmira Shelton, Poe left Richmond, Virginia,  for Baltimore on the four a.m. steamer on Thursday, September 27^th.

There is no reliable witness or evidence regarding Poe’s whereabouts or activities between September 27^th and October 3^rd, where he is found sitting in a stupor at Gunnar’s Hall, a Baltimore tavern, strangely dressed and semi-conscious.

Poe was admitted into the hospital at five in the afternoon of Thursday, October 3^rd.

Poe arrived at the hospital in a stupor. He remained unconscious until three a.m. the next morning, Friday, October 4^th, when he developed tremors and became violently delirious, resisting the efforts of two nurses to keep him in bed.

Poe violently raved from 3 a.m. Friday, to Saturday evening – approximately, thirty hours.

Saturday evening he began to call out someone’s name until three o’clock Sunday morning, when he expired or died. He was deliriously calling out someone’s name for nine hours.

Poe raved a full day or more, through Saturday evening, October 6^th, when he started deliriously calling out someone’s name until three o’clock, Sunday morning, October 7^th.

Vocabulary:

Binge: an intense indulgence in something that is not particularly good for you.

Elizabeth tries to keep a healthy diet but every once in a while she engages in a chocolate binge.

Dylan Thomas was a Welsh poet who was as famous for his binge drinking as he was for his brilliant poetry.

Strewn: to be thrown about

Anselmo’s mom got mad at him when she found his clothes  strewn about the floor.

Ascribe: to attribute to someone.

The short story was ascribed to Dalicia.

Whitewash: to make someone seem better than s/he is; to paint or gloss over the flaws of someone.

Sentence: To make it seem that Poe died of rabies rather than the chronic alcoholism he suffered from is to whitewash the truth of his life and his death.

What are the names of the writers of this article, “If Only Poe Had Succeeded When He Said Nevermore to Drink”

The writers are Burton R. Pollin  and Robert E. Benedetto

The writers are refuting Dr. Bentitez’s claim that Poe died from rabies.

Refuting: rejecting or showing why an argument is incorrect.

They are saying there is no medical evidence to support the rabies argument.

Find their rebuttal and underline it.  

Rebuttal of Benitez’s claim that Poe died of rabies:

Jayla: Caterina, Poe’s beloved kitty, died of starvation and not rabies.

Salome: Every person who knew Poe at the time of his death would not have agreed with the rabies explanation. Every person who saw Poe during his last days said he was drunk. Even Poe’s letters were filled with references to his drinking.

According to eyewitnesses, Poe was drunk when he was discovered in a Baltimore saloon three days before his death.

According to eyewitness accounts, Poe was drunk and was suffering from chronic alcoholism at the time of his death.

The eye witnesses were people who knew Poe well. One was a doctor, Dr. John J. Moran, who treated Poe as he was dying; another was an editor, Dr. Joseph Snodgrass, who had worked with Poe and was called to help when Poe was discovered dying; another was a printer, Joseph Walker, who found Poe in what he described as an “alcoholic stupor” outside a tavern in Baltimore.

Furthermore, Dr. John J. Moran, the attending physician at Poe’s death, had corresponded with Poe’s aunt and mother-in-law, Marie Clemm, regarding Poe’s alcoholic condition in the final week of his life. And even Poe’s letters to his wife, and his mother-in-law/aunt confirmed the history of his alcoholic binges.

Vocabulary:

Incubation: a period during which a disease is asymptomatic. The patient has been exposed to the virus or bacteria, but does not have the symptoms yet – in other words,  is asymptomatic. The virus or the bacteria has invaded the body; for example, someone sneezes, spreading the cold virus, and you, unluckily breathe it in, allowing it access into your body.  The virus is now spreading throughout the body, invading cells but you are asymptomatic (without symptoms) and are unaware at that point that you are infected.

Assignment:

Read “Rabies Death Theory” by R. Michael Benitez, M.D.

Find the main idea

Find and highlight or underline the evidence Dr. Benitez uses to support his main idea

Circle or underline any words you do not understand.

Important Points of Dr. Benitez's Argument: 

Rabid patients cannot always recall the moment of contact with a diseased animal.

The incubation period for rabies can be as long as a year.

The site of the bite is often small and not detectable by the patient.

Nowhere did Benitez suggest that Caterina, Poe’s beloved cat, was the agent for the transmission of the disease – that she bit Poe and gave him rabies.

VOCABULARY:

Incubation: In medicine, the time from the moment of exposure to a disease until the symptoms begin to appear.

Incubation: a period during which a disease is asymptomatic. The patient has been exposed to the virus or bacteria, but does not have the symptoms yet – in other words,  the patient is asymptomatic. The virus or the bacteria has invaded the body; for example, someone sneezes, spreading the cold virus, and you, unluckily breathe it in, allowing it access into your body.  The virus is now spreading throughout the body, invading cells but you are asymptomatic (without symptoms) and are unaware at that point that you are infected.

Inoculation: A deliberate introduction into a human or animal of serum made with weakened or dead cells from a disease, which causes the white blood cells to fight the disease. This causes the person or animal to then be immunized or protected from the disease. 

Rhabdovirus: the active agent in the bodily fluids of a rabid animal or human. It is this virus that causes rabies.

Dr. Benitez's Points: 

Isabel:

Benitez: He does not admit that the lack of a bite or scratch is a weakness.

Lynn:

The incubation period for rabies may be as long as a year.

Asiah:

The lack of  a bite or a scratch does not mean that he didn’t die of rabies.

Kristina:

Just because Poe’s cat, Caterina, did not die from rabies does not mean that Poe didn’t contract it from another sources.

Application:

Imagine that you are writing a biography of Edgar Allan Poe. Write the last few paragraphs of your book, in which you tell about Poe’s death.

Structure of the Essay:

 First paragraph:

Set up the tragic circumstances of Poe’s last ten days.

Set up the question regarding the mysterious way Poe died. 

Briefly state the two theories regarding Poe's death - he either died from alcoholism and the complications of alcoholism, or he died from rabies. 

Second paragraph:

You may want to use the account of Dr. John J. Moran, Poe's attending physician, and the accounts of the eyewitnesses of Poe's death.  The information from the time line will be useful here. 

Third paragraph:

You need to include Dr. Benitez’ opinion that Poe died from rabies. You MUST USE his evidence.

Fourth paragraph:

You have to show how either Benitez is correct and use evidence to support Benitez’ claim, or show how Dr. Moran’s claim that he died from alcoholism is correct and use evidence to support his claim. 

You must use a counter claim to show why your opinion is right and why the other opinion is wrong.

Fifth Paragraph:

Final concluding paragraph in which you restate the main idea, briefly list your arguments, and briefly state why the opposing argument is wrong.  The last sentence should be your final thoughts about Edgar Allan Poe and his death.

Bill Murray as Edgar Allan Poe 

Start working on your five paragraph “last page of your Edgar Allan Poe biography” essay in which you discuss the various theories of how Poe died. The essay must include the medical and forensic (the letters from Poe to his family, and eyewitness accounts) evidence which suggests he died of alcoholism, cerebral inflammation, or exposure, or all three, and the medical evidence which suggests he died from rabies. Choose one of the theories – alcoholism or rabies – and use the evidence to defend your choice.

Structure of the Essay:

 First paragraph:

Set up the tragic circumstances of Poe’s last ten days.

Set up the question regarding the mysterious way Poe died.

Set up the two competing theories of how Edgar Allan Poe died: either from alcoholism or rabies.

Second paragraph:

You may want to use Dr. John J. Moran’s account of how Poe died, and the eye-witness accounts.  In this paragraph you may want to refer to the time-line you constructed of Poe’s final days to help you. 

Third paragraph:

You need to include Dr. Benitez’ opinion that Poe died from rabies. You MUST USE his evidence.

Fourth paragraph:

You have to show how either Benitez is correct, that Poe died from rabies, and use evidence to support Benitez’ claim, or show Dr. Moran is correct, that Poe died from alcoholism and its complications,  and use evidence to support Moran's claim. 

You must use a counter claim to show why your opinion is right and why the other opinion is wrong.

Fifth Paragraph:

Final concluding paragraph in which you restate the main idea, briefly list your arguments, and briefly state why the opposing argument is wrong.  The last sentence should be your final thoughts about Edgar Allan Poe and his death.

To help you get started, reread your notes, annotations, and the sources to refresh your memory. Then do a quick write where you quickly, and without regard to punctuation, grammar or spelling, write down everything you know about the topic. Everything - in whatever order the ideas come to you.  After you are finished, reread it and then begin organizing the information according to the structure above. The organizing of the information will be your first draft. 

One possible way to start your essay: 

It was on an unseasonably cold and rainy October afternoon in Baltimore that Joseph Walker found a drunken man in filthy, odd fitting clothes lying in a gutter. However, the drunk was not just any drunk; the drunk was the one of the greatest American writers of the nineteenth century. He was Edgar Allan Poe, the great master of horror and mystery stories, whose own mysterious death rivals some of his own greatest mystery stories.  The physicians, friends, and family members who were present with Poe at the time of his illness and death, seem to believe that Poe died from his long struggle with alcoholism – a battle he fought long and hard for many years and ultimately lost. However, one hundred fifty years later, a medical doctor working on the test case of a drunken man found in the gutter whose initials were E.P. realized that the case was that of Edgar Allan Poe, and that the great author did not die from alcoholism and its complications, but of rabies.

The last ten days of Poe’s life was baffling.  According to documents we know that Poe boarded a ^th  at 4 a.m. from Virginia headed to Baltimore, but after that we know nothing about his whereabouts or what he was doing until he was found, in  a drunken stupor in a Baltimore saloon, dressed in an other man’s shabby, cast-off clothes.

steamer on Thursday morning, September 27