Poe's PerspectiveLiterary genius Edgar Allan Poe lived a troubled life. During his forty years of existence, Poe struggled with the deaths of countless family members, including his cousin-wife. These violent events caused him to develop depression, a mental illness. In his short story “The Masque of the Red Death,” the views Poe developed during his tumultuous life are reflected in his writing. The theme of this short story emphasizes the inevitability of death in descriptive details because Edgar Allan Poe met death so many times. He also makes social comments about materialism and the value of life because he grew up in a wealthy family where he received more allowances than love. Poe's melancholic tone in this story can also be attributed to the illness and death to which he saw his wife succumb. The depression that Edgar Allan Poe developed due to his turbulent and unfortunate life is described in his story "The Masque of the Red Death" in how he deals with death and the materialistic nature of human beings. It is no wonder that Edgar Allan Poe developed depression as a result of the many emotionally draining events in his life. At an early age, Poe lost his father to tuberculosis and his mother in a fire in the theater where his parents performed. His brothers were also daunting figures. His brother died at twenty-six as a man of lost potential, and his sister is described as "so hopelessly dull that she could never achieve proficiency in anything in school" (Pruette 371). Edgar Allan Poe saw the atrocious qualities possessed by his blood relatives and probably thought that those qualities were innate to him too. This would have played a role in his depression, since he sees it...... middle of paper......, Edgar Allan Poe's life influenced his writing in a bleak, anti-upper-class way . This is because Poe had to deal with the deaths of many loved ones and because he grew up in a materialistic environment. Poe's brilliance lay in his unique and intriguing perspective on life, which was reflected in his literature. Eventually, depression consumed him and he began to commit suicide. In November 1848 Edgar Allan Poe attempted suicide by taking the drug laudanum. This marked the end of Poe's literary golden age during his lifetime. Poe left an everlasting imprint on the world with his literature, made brilliant by his diverse points of view as a result of his tumultuous life. His state of mind is best illustrated by this quote from Edgar Allan Poe: "My life seems wasted - the future seems a sad void: but I will fight on and 'hope against hope'" (Pruette 398).