In 1849, Edgar Allen Poe’s untimely passing shocked the world. Even more shocking and tragic however is the pain we’re all experiencing today, as the world-renowned poet would have turned 208 years old.
That’s 168 years of poetry we will never get to read. Damn you, rabies!
Even if you only know Poe’s work from his iconic poem, “The Raven,” you still feel his loss. The Raven reportedly took Poe nearly 10 years to complete. By my estimation, we could have had approximately 16.8 more ravens had his unforeseen death not occurred on that fateful night in Baltimore.
No one could have seen his death coming. Not Poe himself, nor his underage cousin/wife, or even his pet raccoon who was often described as, “loving,” “cuddly,” and “frothing at the mouth.”
So what can WE do to prevent another tragic loss of this nature? Rabies prevention should be at the forefront of the education debate, obviously. Oh, and we should probably look into the other suspected factors of his death such as heart disease, epilepsy, syphilis, meningitis, cholera, and alcohol abuse. But, like, after we stop rabies.
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I never fully appreciated Edgar Allen Poe in his prime — I was born a century and a half too late. But that doesn’t mean I don’t feel the pain of his death. Many of my friends in high school got into his stuff during their goth phases, and though I never came into contact with his legacy, I can still attach my identity to him and feel like a part of something important by sharing this article on Facebook. In fact, we all can.
And that’s probably the greatest gift he ever gave us.
Are you still mad at rabies for taking Edgar Allen Poe from us way too young? Let us know in the comments below!
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