An excerpt from a recent paper, "Edgar Allan Poe: A Psychological Profile":
An examination of the letters Poe wrote to family reveals that he was a dramatic
individual. He often used excessive, theatrical language, poignantly captured in his statement, "I do believe God gave me a spark of genius, but He quenched it in misery" When describing Poe in terms of the Five-Factor Model of personality we can conclude that he would be high on Neuroticism – evident by the constant nervous anxiety he was said to have, as well as his melancholy and irritability.
It's easy to see why:
Poe lost his mother to tuberculosis at the age of 2; he was then adopted, but his foster mother died young as well. He enrolled at the University of Virginia but became involved in gambling and had to ask his foster father for money; they argued and at the age of 20, Poe was cut off from his family. He married, but his wife suffered frequent illnesses, and died at the age of 25 in 1847; by this time Poe was drinking heavily and he died after collapsing 'drunk and delirious' in 1849.
Update from a reader:
Poe's mother didn't just die. He was trapped with her dead body for two days before anyone showed up to notice her death. This is cited in Lenore Terr's seminal work on childhood trauma "Too Scared to Cry" (in which she also assesses the source of Stephen King's talent for horror back to childhood trauma.)
The Dish 