Men have called me mad; but the question is not yet settled, whether madness is or is not the loftiest intelligence– whether much that is glorious– whether all that is profound– does not spring from disease of thought– from moods of mind exalted at the expense of the general intellect.

Jefferson had enacted a system of student self-government allowing students to choose their own studies make their own arrangements for boarding and report all wrongdoing to the faculty. Though it made Poe a household name almost instantly he was paid only $9 for its publication. Legacy


Literary influence
During his lifetime Poe was mostly recognized as a literary critic.

He began planning to produce his own journal The Penn (later renamed The Stylus) though he died before it could be produced. Poe was taken in by John and Frances Allan of Richmond Virginia but they never formally adopted him. In January 1845 Poe publiEdgar Allan Poed his poem "The Raven" to instant success.