Edgar Allan Poe was an American novelist1, poet, literary2 critic3, and playwright4. He also invented the modern detective story. Poe was born as Edgar Poe in Boston on January 19, 1809. Poe's parents passed away when he was very young. Therefore, he was taken in by a couple called the Allans, who gave him his middle name. Poe's relationship with the Allans became difficult while he was at university. Eventually, he left school and joined the military.

　　Poe then went to live with his aunt and later married his 13-year-old cousin, Virginia Clemm. His first book of poetry was published in 1827, and in 1835, Poe became editor of the "Southern Literary Messenger." There, he began to write essays5 and literary criticism.

　　In 1845, Poe published the very successful poetry collection "The Raven6 and Other Poems." Sadly, Virginia died not long after that, and Poe's state of mind7 became unstable. Not much is known about Poe's death in 1849. He was found unconscious in the street and died at the hospital shortly after. Even so, Edgar Allan Poe's imaginative works have had a great impact on English literature.




　　艾德嘉‧愛倫坡是一名美國小說家、詩人、文學評論家以及劇作家。他也是現代偵探故事的始祖。愛倫坡在1809年一月十九日出生於波士頓，原名為艾德嘉‧坡。愛倫坡的父母親在他年幼時便雙雙辭世。他因此被一對姓愛倫的夫婦收留，而他中間的名字正是他們所取。愛倫坡念大學時與愛倫家的關係變差。最後他離開了學校並入伍從軍。

　　愛倫坡接著前去和他的阿姨同住，爾後與他十三歲的表妹維吉尼亞‧克里曼結為連理。他的第一本詩集於1827年出版，接著於1835年，愛倫坡成了《南方文學信使》的編輯。他在那裡開始書寫散文及文學評論。

　　1845年，愛倫坡出版了一本非常暢銷的詩集《The Raven and Other Poems》。不幸的是，維吉尼亞在這不久後便與世長辭，愛倫坡的情緒也變得反覆無常。愛倫坡死於1849年，其死因不明。他被人發現躺在街上不省人事，不久即在醫院中去世。即使如此，艾德嘉‧愛倫坡深富想像力的作品仍對英文文學有著深遠影響。

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