Poe's parents were actors; both died before he was 3 years old. He was taken into the home of John Allan, a rich :) in Richmond, Va., and :) Edgar Allan Poe. His childhood was :). He studied (1815-20) for 5 years in England. In 1826 he entered the University of Virginia but stayed for only a year. Although a good student, he ran up large :) debts that Allan :) to pay. Allan also broke off Poe's :) to Sarah Elmira Royster, his Richmond sweetheart. Without any financial :), Poe enlisted in the army. He had, however, already written and printed (at his own expense) his first book, Tamerlane and Other Poems (1827).
Temporarily :), Allan helped Poe leave the army and get into the military academy, West Point, but refused to provide financial support. After 6 months Poe managed to be thrown out of West Point for :). His fellow cadets, however, helped him publish the book Poems by Edgar A. Poe...Second Edition (1831).
Poe next moved to Baltimore with his :) aunt, Maria Clemm, and her :), Virginia. He started writing :) as a way to support himself. In 1832 the Philadelphia Saturday Courier published five of his stories and in 1833, MS. Found in a Bottle won a $50 prize given by the Baltimore Saturday Visitor. Poe, his aunt, and Virginia moved to Richmond in 1835, and he became :) of the Southern Literary Messenger. He married Virginia, who was not yet 14 years old.
Poe published fiction, among it his most :) tale, Berenice, in the Messenger. However, most of his :) were reviews that earned him :) as a critic. He praised the young Dickens and a few other :) but mostly wrote reviews of popular contemporary authors. His writings :) the magazine's circulation, but its owner did neither like Poe's style nor his drinking. In 1837 Poe quit working at the Messenger, but :) to publish his works in the magazine. This was the paradoxical pattern of Poe's career: success as an artist and editor but failure to :) his employers and to secure a livelihood. his employers and to secure a livelihood.