The Complete Poetical Works of Edgar Allan Poe: Including Essays on Poetry — John Shaqi
The Complete Poetical Works of Edgar Allan Poe: Including Essays on PoetryPoe, Edgar Allan
General
The Complete Poetical Works of Edgar Allan Poe: Including Essays on Poetry
Poe, Edgar Allan
Fantasy poetry, American
Between the lines may be read the history of his own love. "The Egeria
of _his_ dreams--the Venus Aphrodite that sprang in full and supernal
loveliness from the bright foam upon the storm-tormented ocean of _his_
thoughts," was a little girl, Elmira Royster, who lived with her father
in a house opposite to the Allans in Richmond. The young people met
again and again, and the lady, who has only recently passed away,
recalled Edgar as "a beautiful boy," passionately fond of music,
enthusiastic and impulsive, but with prejudices already strongly
developed. A certain amount of love-making took place between the young
people, and Poe, with his usual passionate energy, ere he left home for
the University had persuaded his fair inamorata to engage herself to
him. Poe left home for the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, in
the beginning of 1825. lie wrote frequently to Miss Royster, but her
father did not approve of the affair, and, so the story runs,
intercepted the correspondence, until it ceased. At seventeen, Elmira
became the bride of a Mr. Shelton, and it was not until some time
afterwards that Poe discovered how it was his passionate appeals had
failed to elicit any response from the object of his youthful affection.
Poe's short university career was in many respects a repetition of his
course at the Richmond Academy. He became noted at Charlottesville both
for his athletic feats and his scholastic successes. He entered as a
student on February 1,1826, and remained till the close of the second
session in December of that year.
"He entered the schools of ancient and modern languages, attending the
lectures on Latin, Greek, French, Spanish, and Italian. I was a member
of the last three classes," says Mr. William Wertenbaker, the recently
deceased librarian, "and can testify that he was tolerably regular in
his attendance, and a successful student, having obtained distinction
at the final examination in Latin and French, and this was at that
time the highest honor a student could obtain. The present regulations
in regard to degrees had not then been adopted. Under existing
regulations, he would have graduated in the two languages above-named,
and have been entitled to diplomas."
These statements of Poe's classmate are confirmed by Dr. Harrison,
chairman of the Faculty, who remarks that the poet was a great favorite
with his fellow-students, and was noted for the remarkable rapidity with
which he prepared his recitations and for their accuracy, his
translations from the modern languages being especially noteworthy.
Several of Poe's classmates at Charlottesville have testified to his
"noble qualities" and other good endowments, but they remember that his
"disposition was rather retiring, and that he had few intimate
associates." Mr. Thomas Boiling, one of his fellow-students who has
favored us with reminiscences of him, says:
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