Poe's paternal grandfather had been a wealthy man, but his father, David Poe, had left the family to become an actor, and Edgar was left with nothing. ... During the fall of 1823, when Edgar was fourteen years old, his classmate Robert Stanard introduced Poe to his mother, Jane Stanard, who was a beautiful and compassionate young woman. ... In the first of the poem's three stanzas, Poe compares Helen's beauty to the ships of Nicea, a city near the Sea of Marmara. ... In 1835 Poe married his cousin Virginia, only thirteen years old at the time, and then left her and her mother in...

• Word Count: 3026
• Approx Pages: 12
• Grade Level: High School