E. D. Guzmán-Ríos
Neurosciences and History 2025;13(2): 130-139
Article type:Review
AUTHOR
E. D. Guzmán-Ríos
Autonomous University of Nayarit, Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico.
ABSTRACT
Introduction. During his last years, Edgar Allan Poe, the master, and an emblematic figure of Gothic literature, remained confined between the shadows of his mind and his human body. His existence, marked by anguish and internal conflict, was the landscape from which his stories sprang. This analysis explores how his illnesses— epilepsy, mental disorders, and delirium tremens—influenced the creation of his tormented characters and narratives, embodying the darkest extremes of the human condition.
Development. Clinical evidence and contemporary theories suggest that Poe experienced epilepsy, distorting his perception and enabling explorations of surreal and phantasmagorical boundaries in his work. Psychiatric illnesses, such as depression and possibly bipolar disorder, echo through his melancholic and emotionally charged poems like The raven and Annabel Lee. Alcohol dragged him into delirium, transforming his reality into a confused chaos and leaving its mark in his final years. Due to possible poisoning or infection of the nervous system, Poe’s mind collapsed to the rhythm of his body, which led him to explore, through his work, the borders between lucidity and madness.
Conclusions. Edgar Allan Poe’s legacy transcends his literary creation and interacts with science and the human soul. His genius, forged in agony, illuminated the fragility and depth of the human heart. His poetry and stories resonate with the broken but intensely lucid dictation of a spirit linking creativity and psychological agony. His face remains a reminder that art, in its purest form, often emerges from the collision of light and darkness.
KEYWORDS
Edgar Allan Poe, Neurological diseases, Psychiatric disorders, Epilepsy, Depression, Gothic literature.
Neurosciences and History 2025;13(2): 130-139