Edgar Allan Poe. {Bloom's Critiques-pages 7-10} .
When Edgar was five, he began his formal education in a "dame school- run by Clotilda and Elizabeth Fisher. The next year, he moved on to the school of Mr. William Ewgin. In 1815, John Allan's business took him to England; and his wife and Edgar went along. {Encyclopedia Americana-page 274} In London, Edgar attended a boarding school. Among the subjects he studied were geography, spelling, and the Church of England Catechism. In 1818, he attended the Manor House School at Stoke Newington, also in London. Among the subjects offered was dancing, along with the usual Latin and Greek. {Bloom's Critiques-pages 7-10} Poe became an accomplished athlete.
John Allan suffered some financial reverses, the family returned to America in July of 1820. Edgar returned to school in Richmond. {www.allpoe.com/bio} Many of his classmates looked down on him because his birth parents were lowly actors, but Edgar's athletic ability brought him some local acclaim. He was able to broad jump more than 21 feet on a dead level run of 20 yards. In 1824, he swam seven miles up the James River, against a heavy tide. His schoolmates followed him in a boat in case he needed help, but he completed the swim on his own. {Bloom's BioCritiques-pages 7-10} .
Edgar continued to be an excellent student during his teen years. His best subjects were literature, and the English poets Lord Byron and John Keats were his favorite writers. {Bloom's BioCritiques-pages 7-10} .
Poe began at this time writing his first poems. One of his headmasters .
said of Edgar: "His imaginative powers seemed to take precedence over all .
other faculties, he gave proof of this in his juvenile compositions; addressed .
to his young lady friends. {Bloom's BioCritiques-pages 7-10} In 1825, .
however, John Allan inherited a large sum of money, and this abrupt .
reversal of fortune enabled him to enroll Edgar at the University of Virginia.
