Criticism > Contemporary Literary Criticism > Poe, Edgar Allan - The Debate Over Poe’s Use of Alcohol and Drugs

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The Debate Over Poe’s Use of Alcohol and Drugs

The characteristic themes in Poe’s work are those “of horror, terror, strange fantasies and psychological abnormalities.”¹ A myth has developed, over the years, which attributes these themes to the writer’s drinking and drug-taking. Before any comment can be made about the influences of drugs and alcohol on Poe’s work, the facts should be reduced to their proper proportion.

Poe was not a heavy daily drinker and was abstemious for long periods of time. He drank in times of emotional turmoil, when excitement or crises overtook him. In his own words he drank not for pleasure but to escape from “torturing memories … insupportable loneliness … a dread of some strange impending doom.”² His terrors drove him to seek comfort in drink; it was not drinking or drug-taking that brought on the terrors.

Reports of Poe’s addiction to opium have been grossly exaggerated in...

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1. Introduction
2. Introduction
3. Biography
4. The Influence of Poe’s Life on his Work
5. The Debate Over Poe’s Use of Alcohol and Drugs
6. Poe at Work
7. Poe's Works
8. Poe on Poe
9. Frequently Asked Questions About Poe
10. Copyright

1. Edgar Allan Poe