He encountered many problems, including drugs, alcohol, depression, and literary rivals. These issues may be one of the main reasons why Poe's works are very dark and depressing. One of his rivals was Henry Longfellow. He was often targeted by Poe, but he was defended by his colleagues. This rivalry came to be known as "Longfellow's War". Not only championed by his friends, Longfellow's work also supported his position. However, Poe predicted the downfall of Longfellow's career, as it later came true (Stern, 7). In addition to these rivalry issues, Poe also experienced issues with depression. Poe's depression could have been caused by the mixture of all his literary rivalries, his drug and alcohol abuse, and much more. In many of his poems and stories, the reader can easily identify a dark tone almost every time. For example, in his poem The Raven, the word “Never again” is repeated excessively and is very symbolic because it gives off such a perfect effect on the reader that Poe was trying to achieve, a mystical yet dark tone. "'Prophet!' said I, 'evil thing!'—prophet again, whether he be bird or devil!' » This is another repeated line that gives off a dark tone that is very appealing for the effect it is trying to produce and creates a burden on the reader (The Raven, 1). This dark and depressing tone is apparent. in his plays, probably due to his own depression "after Virginia's death from tuberculosis.