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The death of Edgar Allan Poe on October 7, 1849, has remained mysterious: the circumstances leading up to it are uncertain and the cause of death is disputed. On October 3, Poe was found delirious on the streets of Baltimore, Maryland, "in great distress, and ... in need of immediate assistance", according to the man who found him, Joseph W. Walker.〔Bandy, 26–27〕 He was taken to the Washington College Hospital, where he died at 5 a.m. on Sunday, October 7. Poe was never coherent enough to explain how he came to be in this condition. Much of the extant information about the last few days of Poe's life comes from his attending physician, Dr. John Joseph Moran, though his credibility is questionable.〔Krutch, 4〕 Poe was buried after a small funeral at the back of Westminster Hall and Burying Ground, but his remains were moved to a new grave with a larger monument in 1875. The newer monument also marks the burial place of Poe's wife, Virginia, and his mother-in-law, Maria. Theories as to what caused Poe's death include suicide, murder, cholera, rabies, syphilis, influenza, and that Poe was a victim of cooping. Evidence of the influence of alcohol is strongly disputed. After Poe's death, Rufus Wilmot Griswold wrote his obituary under the pseudonym "Ludwig". Griswold, who became the literary executor of Poe's estate, was actually a rival of Poe and later published his first full biography, depicting him as a depraved, drunk, drug-addled madman. Much of the evidence for this image of Poe is believed to have been forged by Griswold, and though friends of Poe denounced it,〔Sova, 101〕 this interpretation had lasting impact. == Chronology == On September 27, 1849, Poe left Richmond, Virginia, on his way home to New York. No reliable evidence exists about Poe's whereabouts until a week later on October 3, when he was found delirious on the streets of Baltimore, outside Ryan's Tavern (sometimes referred to as Gunner's Hall).〔Silverman, 433〕 A printer named Joseph W. Walker sent a letter requesting help from an acquaintance of Poe, Dr. Joseph E. Snodgrass.〔 His letter reads: Snodgrass later claimed the note said that Poe was "in a state of beastly intoxication", but the original letter proves otherwise.〔 Snodgrass's first-hand account describes Poe's appearance as "repulsive", with unkempt hair, a haggard, unwashed face and "lusterless and vacant" eyes. His clothing, Snodgrass said, which included a dirty shirt but no vest and unpolished shoes, was worn and did not fit well.〔Jeffrey A. Savoye. "(Two Biographical Digressions: Poe's Wandering Trunk and Dr. Carter's Mysterious Sword Cane )", ''Edgar Allan Poe Review'', Fall 2004, 5:15–42. Retrieved on July 19, 2010.〕 Dr. John Joseph Moran, who was Poe's attending physician, gives his own detailed account of Poe's appearance that day: "a stained faded, old bombazine coat, pantaloons of a similar character, a pair of worn-out shoes run down at the heels, and an old straw hat". Poe was never coherent long enough to explain how he came to be in this condition, and it is believed the clothes he was wearing were not his own,〔 not least because wearing shabby clothes was out of character for Poe.〔Walsh, 68〕 Moran cared for Poe at the for-profit Washington College Hospital on Broadway and Fayette Street.〔Washington College Hospital, also known as "Washington University of Baltimore", closed in 1851. The hospital reopened as ''Church Home'' in 1854, and was subsequently renamed ''Church Home and Infirmary'', ''Church Home and Hospital'', ''Church Home Hospital'', and finally ''Church Hospital''. In 1999 Church Hospital closed, and nearby Johns Hopkins Hospital purchased the property. Church Hospital's main building, which includes the original hospital building where Poe died, was subsequently renamed the ''Church Home Building''. Many Baltimore natives refer to the location where Poe died as "Church Home Hospital".〕 He was denied any visitors and was confined in a prison-like room with barred windows in a section of the building reserved for drunk people.〔Meyers, 254〕 Poe is said to have repeatedly called out the name "Reynolds" on the night before his death, though no one has ever been able to identify the person to whom he referred. One possibility is that he was recalling an encounter with Jeremiah N. Reynolds, a newspaper editor and explorer who may have inspired the novel ''The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket''.〔Almy, Robert F. (J.N. Reynolds: A Brief Biography With Particular Reference to Poe and Symmes ), The Colophon, 2 (2), Posner Memorial Collection〕 Another possibility is Henry R. Reynolds, one of the judges overseeing the Fourth Ward Polls at Ryan's Tavern, who may have met Poe on Election Day.〔Walsh, 122〕 Poe may have instead been calling for "Herring", as the author had an uncle-in-law in Baltimore named Henry Herring. In later testimonies Moran avoided reference to Reynolds but mentioned a visit by a "Misses Herring".〔Bandy, 29–34〕 He also claimed he attempted to cheer up Poe during one of the few times Poe was awake. When Moran told his patient that he would soon be enjoying the company of friends, Poe allegedly replied that "the best thing his friend could do would be to blow out his brains with a pistol".〔Silverman, 435〕 In Poe's distressed state, he made reference to a wife in Richmond. He may have been delusional, thinking that his wife, Virginia, was still alive, or he may have been referring to Sarah Elmira Royster, to whom he had recently proposed. He did not know what had happened to his trunk of belongings which, it transpired, had been left behind at the Swan Tavern in Richmond.〔 Moran reported that Poe's final words were "Lord, help my poor soul" before dying on October 7, 1849.〔Meyers, 255〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Death of Edgar Allan Poe」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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