36. Edgar Poe

36. 爱伦·坡

Edgar Poe, an American writer, was born in 1809. His parents were actors. Edgar was a baby when his father left the family. He was two years old when his mother died. He was taken into the home of a wealthy business man named John Allen. He then received his real name, Edgar Allen Poe.

美国作家爱伦·坡生于1809年。他的父母是演员。艾德加还是一个小孩时，他的父亲离家出走了。两岁时他的母亲去世了。他被带到了名叫约翰·艾伦的富商家。随后他得到了他真正的名字艾德加·爱伦·坡。

As a young man, Poe attended the University of Virginia. He was a good student, but he liked to drink alcohol and play card games for money. As an unskilled game player, he often lost money. Since he couldn't pay off his gambling money, he left university and began working for magazines. He worked hard, yet he was not well paid, or well known. At the age of 27, he got married. For a time it seemed that Poe would find some happiness, but his wife was sick for most of their marriage, and died in 1847.

作为一个年轻人，坡进入了弗吉尼亚大学就读。他是个优秀生，但是他喜欢饮酒以及打牌赌博。作为一个没有赌技的玩家，他经常输钱。由于还不起赌账，他辍学了，开始为杂志社工作。他努力工作，然而他的薪酬还是不高，也没什么名气。他在 27岁时结婚了。这个时候坡好像找到了一些幸福惑，但是他的妻子在他们婚姻的大部分时间里都在生病，并于1847年去世。

Through all his crises, Poe produced many stories and poems which appeared in different publications, yet he didn't become famous until 1845, when his poem, The Raven, was published. There is a question, however, about Poe's importance in American Literature. Some crities say that Poe was one of America's best writers, and even had a great influence on many French writers, but others They say that Poe's work is difficult to understand and most of his writing describes many unpleasant situations and events. Edgar Allen Poe died in 1849 when he was 40 years old. It is said that he was found dead after days of heavy drinking.

通过这些危机，坡创作了大量故事和诗歌，它们见诸于不同报刊，然而直到 1845年他的诗歌《乌鸦》发表之后，他才出名。然而，对于坡在美国文学中的重要性人们存有疑问。有的评论家说坡是美国最好的作家之一，甚至对于许多法国作家都产生了深远影响，但是也有人不同意。他们说坡的作品很难读懂，它的大部分作品描述了许多不愉快的场景或事件。艾德加·爱伦·坡在1849年去世，当时仅40岁。据说，他是死于连续多日斟酒。