Edgar Allan Poe: 2012

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Dream Within a Dream

Take this kiss upon the brow!
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow-
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.

I stand amid the roar
Of a surf-tormented shore,
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sand-
How few! yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep- while I weep!
O God! can I not grasp
Them with a tighter clasp?
O God! can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?

This poem is a lot less structured in plot than all of the other poems I chose - it is more theoretical than anything. I like it because it's a rhetorical, speculative side of Poe. So many of his poems are dark and definite, whereas this one is almost like peering into his mind, and the inner conflict within him.

Iambic Trimeter - As mentioned earlier, iambic is placing a stressed syllable after every unstressed syllable, ie a horse galloping. Trimeter implies that there are three iambic segments in each line of the poem.

Personification - "hope has flown away" (6). This personification gives hope the animate verb of flying, thus giving the sense that hope is retreating from the narrator. Flying is seen not only as poetic, but grandiose, implying that hope is willingly going far, far away. For example, "hope walked away" would not have the same dramatic effect.

Rhyme - The rhyme scheme is as follows: AAABBCCDDBB EEFFGGGHHIIJJBB the structure clearly ends with two couplets at the end of each stanza with a similar rhyme scheme. The other rhymes are in succession of each other and range from 1-2 lines. This adds a lot of style and flow to the poem.

Annabel Lee

It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of Annabel Lee;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.

I was a child and she was a child,
In this kingdom by the sea;
But we loved with a love that was more than love-
I and my Annabel Lee;
With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven
Coveted her and me.

And this was the reason that, long ago,
In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling
My beautiful Annabel Lee;
So that her highborn kinsman came
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulchre
In this kingdom by the sea.

The angels, not half so happy in heaven,
Went envying her and me-
Yes!- that was the reason (as all men know,
In this kingdom by the sea)
That the wind came out of the cloud by night,
Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love it was stronger by far than the love
Of those who were older than we-
Of many far wiser than we-
And neither the angels in heaven above,
Nor the demons down under the sea,
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee.

For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling- my darling- my life and my bride,
In the sepulchre there by the sea,
In her tomb by the sounding sea.

To be honest I chose this poem because I looked up Edgar Allan Poe poems and it came up... BUT I ended up really liking it for a number of reasons. I feel like the narrator's love is really palpable. The story is very well told by Poe. I felt like this was one of his poem that was really plot heavy, in that it wasn't as descriptive and dark through imagery as his other poems; rather the irony and plot itself evoked a lot of emotion of out me.

Foreshadowing:
The first two stanzas talk about the couples love. The tense is important in this case. Note how in the lines "And this maiden she lived with no other thought/Than to love and be loved by me" (5-6), it is in the past tense. This means that either they have either separated or the woman has died. This foreshadows the eventual demise of the speaker's love.

Rhyme:
Poe uses rhyme throughout the entirety of a poem. Poe is known for using rhyme in nearly all of his poems. It helps create a flow to the poem that is crucial to the feeling of the piece. In my opinion, it helps its eeriness because it is so grotesque in its topic and yet reads as if it were a nursery rhyme.

Metaphor:
"So that her highborn kinsman came
And bore her away from me"

The highborn kinsman is a metaphor for the wind that took Annabel from the window. It romanticizes her death - something Poe was known for. He is cited as saying that the death of a beautiful woman is one of the most beautiful things in the world. By saying the wind was a "highborn kinsman", he makes it sound much more poetic than "the wind flung her out the window".

Eldorado

Gaily bedight,
A gallant knight,
In sunshine and in shadow,
Had journeyed long,
Singing a song,
In search of Eldorado.

But he grew old--
This knight so bold--
And o'er his heart a shadow
Fell as he found
No spot of ground
That looked like Eldorado.

And, as his strength
Failed him at length,
He met a pilgrim shadow-
"Shadow," said he,
"Where can it be--
This land of Eldorado?"

"Over the Mountains
Of the Moon,
Down the Valley of the Shadow,
Ride, boldly ride,"
The shade replied--
"If you seek for Eldorado!"

I chose this poem because it's one of Poe's only shorter poems and I was intrigued as to how his style would be affected with the limit in length. Surprisingly - no emotion was lost. The poem is dark, as all of Poe's pieces are, and it is complex even in its short length. The poem is about an adventurer's search for Eldorado, or eternal wealth. It is really a symbol of mankind's search for eternal happiness through materialistic value, and how that search is futile. I think what Poe is getting at is there is nothing on this earth that can give us that happiness; only God in our death can grant us that.

Anthropomorphism-

""Over the Mountains
Of the Moon,
Down the Valley of the Shadow,
Ride, boldly ride,"
The shade replied--" (19-23).

Anthropomorphism is similar to a personification in that it gives inanimate or inhuman objects human characteristics. However, in my studies I have found that anthropomorphism is more of an extended personification in that the object almost fully embodies a human. Think of bugs bunny - if bugs bunny were to only talk like a human that'd be a personification. But, he walks, talks, acts, and feels like a human - thus making him an anthropomorphism. Similarly, the shadow in this poem embodies a human. (I'm aware that this shadow is a ghost - a pilgrim's shadow - but nonetheless, a ghost is essentially a shadow that is representing a human entity)

Iambic duometer -

Iambic duometer is similar to iambic pentameter in that they're both iambic (go figure!) but duometer means that the poem is written in segments of two iambic feet (da-DUM-da-DUM instead of da-DUM-da-DUMda-DUM-da-DUM-da-DUM). What this does is give the poem a feeling of galloping on a horse, which reinforces the search for eldorado that the poem is about.

Epiphany-

The epiphany is used implicitly within this poem. The search for eldorado is an adventurer's quest for eternal riches and wealth. The poem is about this knight's journey and his failure to find eldorado for the duration of his life. As his life comes to an end, he realizes that there is no eldorado, or eternal wealth, on this world and he must die and find God to find his eternal "wealth". The epiphany is that realization at the end of the poem:

""Over the Mountains
Of the Moon,
Down the Valley of the Shadow,
Ride, boldly ride,"
The shade replied--
"If you seek for Eldorado!""

The Bells

I

Hear the sledges with the bells-
Silver bells!
What a world of merriment their melody foretells!
How they tinkle, tinkle, tinkle,
In the icy air of night!
While the stars that oversprinkle
All the heavens, seem to twinkle
With a crystalline delight;
Keeping time, time, time,
In a sort of Runic rhyme,
To the tintinnabulation that so musically wells
From the bells, bells, bells, bells,
Bells, bells, bells-
From the jingling and the tinkling of the bells.

II

Hear the mellow wedding bells,
Golden bells!
What a world of happiness their harmony foretells!
Through the balmy air of night
How they ring out their delight!
From the molten-golden notes,
And an in tune,
What a liquid ditty floats
To the turtle-dove that listens, while she gloats
On the moon!
Oh, from out the sounding cells,
What a gush of euphony voluminously wells!
How it swells!
How it dwells
On the Future! how it tells
Of the rapture that impels
To the swinging and the ringing
Of the bells, bells, bells,
Of the bells, bells, bells,bells,
Bells, bells, bells-
To the rhyming and the chiming of the bells!

III

Hear the loud alarum bells-
Brazen bells!
What a tale of terror, now, their turbulency tells!
In the startled ear of night
How they scream out their affright!
Too much horrified to speak,
They can only shriek, shriek,
Out of tune,
In a clamorous appealing to the mercy of the fire,
In a mad expostulation with the deaf and frantic fire,
Leaping higher, higher, higher,
With a desperate desire,
And a resolute endeavor,
Now- now to sit or never,
By the side of the pale-faced moon.
Oh, the bells, bells, bells!
What a tale their terror tells
Of Despair!
How they clang, and clash, and roar!
What a horror they outpour
On the bosom of the palpitating air!
Yet the ear it fully knows,
By the twanging,
And the clanging,
How the danger ebbs and flows:
Yet the ear distinctly tells,
In the jangling,
And the wrangling,
How the danger sinks and swells,
By the sinking or the swelling in the anger of the bells-
Of the bells-
Of the bells, bells, bells,bells,
Bells, bells, bells-
In the clamor and the clangor of the bells!

IV

Hear the tolling of the bells-
Iron Bells!
What a world of solemn thought their monody compels!
In the silence of the night,
How we shiver with affright
At the melancholy menace of their tone!
For every sound that floats
From the rust within their throats
Is a groan.
And the people- ah, the people-
They that dwell up in the steeple,
All Alone
And who, tolling, tolling, tolling,
In that muffled monotone,
Feel a glory in so rolling
On the human heart a stone-
They are neither man nor woman-
They are neither brute nor human-
They are Ghouls:
And their king it is who tolls;
And he rolls, rolls, rolls,
Rolls
A paean from the bells!
And his merry bosom swells
With the paean of the bells!
And he dances, and he yells;
Keeping time, time, time,
In a sort of Runic rhyme,
To the paean of the bells-
Of the bells:
Keeping time, time, time,
In a sort of Runic rhyme,
To the throbbing of the bells-
Of the bells, bells, bells-
To the sobbing of the bells;
Keeping time, time, time,
As he knells, knells, knells,
In a happy Runic rhyme,
To the rolling of the bells-
Of the bells, bells, bells:
To the tolling of the bells,
Of the bells, bells, bells, bells-
Bells, bells, bells-
To the moaning and the groaning of the bells.

I found this poem interesting for a number of reasons. First, its structure is a bit unorthodox - especially for Poe. It is divided into four sections, which not only makes for an easier read, but also held a meaning that I wanted to decipher. Secondly, the repetition throughout the poem is easy to catch the eye - especially toward the end. As I read more into the poem, I became more and more interested by it. It's first two stanza's are very unlike Poe. They're quite up tempo, happy, and hopeful- not exactly the adjectives one would typically use to describe a piece of Poe's. However, the tone shifts into the third stanza, where Poe's typical dark tone is brought out in full force. Progressively, the poem becomes more dark and repetitive. I believe the poem is a symbol for the progression of one's life or happiness. As a child, we are hopeful and naïve, unaware of the hardships in the world. We live our lives happily and simply. We become older and settle down and find someone that can make us happy. This is no longer momentary simple happiness, but a deep happiness that one could live an eternity with. However, the third stanza, I believe, represents a moment in one's life when all of that changes. The most clear example is the loss of a loved one. The bells are described with short adjectives (clanging, startling, etc) that make the event seem unexpected. The fourth stanza describes how one copes with that loss, and the eventual degression into meaningless and sorrow, using longer adjectives (muffled, groan, moan, melancholy, etc). In short, this poem seems to be about the progression of one's happiness throughout life. Some others believe it may have to do with the seasons, which coincidentally parallels the same progression of happiness as one has in their life (spring = the beginning of life, full of hope. summer = long days, content. fall = the death of life around you, the sudden change to cold weather. winter = sorrowful, long, cold.)

LITERARY TERMS:

Repetition:

The word "bells" is repeated more and more as the poem goes along further, almost to the point that it is nonsensical. This might be emphasizing the eventual loss of control in one's life as they lose the things around them. It also creates a feeling of anxiety. The first two sections, the word bells was almost soothing, whereas toward the latter end of the poem it became darker and more chanting.

Personification:

"From the rust within their throats" (IV- 8)
This creates an incredibly uncomfortable feeling. Since he uses the human characteristic of having a throat, the reader actually imagines rust within their throat. This emphasizes the disparity of the narrator and makes the poem even that much more scary.

Onomatopoeia:

"tinkle, tinkle, tinkle" (4)
"jingling and the tinkling" (14)
"To the swinging and the ringing" (31)
"shriek, shriek" (42)
"By the twanging / and the clanging" (58-59)
"In the jangling / and the wrangling" (62-63)
"the clamor and the clangor" (69)

I listed most of the onomatopoeias chronologically so you can really grasp the shift of tone in this poem. It begins with positive, upbeat words: tinkle, jingle, swinging. However, as the poem takes on a more grotesque, horror-filled tone, the words quickly change to "shrieking" and "wrangling".

The Raven

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary,

Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,

While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,

As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.

"'Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door --

Only this, and nothing more."

Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December,

And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.

Eagerly I wished the morrow; -- vainly I had sought to borrow

From my books surcease of sorrow -- sorrow for the lost Lenore --

For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels named Lenore --

Nameless here for evermore.

And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain

Thrilled me -- filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;

So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating

"'Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door --

Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door; --

This it is, and nothing more,"

Presently my heart grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,

"Sir," said I, "or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;

But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping,

And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door,

That I scarce was sure I heard you" -- here I opened wide the door; --

Darkness there, and nothing more.

Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,

Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream to dream before;

But the silence was unbroken, and the darkness gave no token,

And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, "Lenore!"

This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word "Lenore!"

Merely this and nothing more.

Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning,

Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before.

"Surely," said I, "surely that is something at my window lattice;

Let me see then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore --

Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore; --

'Tis the wind and nothing more!"

Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter,

In there stepped a stately raven of the saintly days of yore.

Not the least obeisance made he; not an instant stopped or stayed he;

But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door --

Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door --

Perched, and sat, and nothing more.

Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,

By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore,

"Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou," I said, "art sure no craven.

Ghastly grim and ancient raven wandering from the Nightly shore --

Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!"

Quoth the raven, "Nevermore."

Much I marvelled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly,

Though its answer little meaning -- little relevancy bore;

For we cannot help agreeing that no living human being

Ever yet was blessed with seeing bird above his chamber door --

Bird or beast above the sculptured bust above his chamber door,

With such name as "Nevermore."

But the raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only

That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.

Nothing further then he uttered -- not a feather then he fluttered --

Till I scarcely more than muttered "Other friends have flown before --

On the morrow will he leave me, as my hopes have flown before."

Then the bird said, "Nevermore."

Startled at the stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken,

"Doubtless," said I, "what it utters is its only stock and store,

Caught from some unhappy master whom unmerciful Disaster

Followed fast and followed faster till his songs one burden bore --

Till the dirges of his Hope that melancholy burden bore

Of 'Never-nevermore.'"

But the Raven still beguiling all my sad soul into smiling,

Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird and bust and door;

Then, upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking

Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore --

What this grim, ungainly, gaunt, and ominous bird of yore

Meant in croaking "Nevermore."

This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing

To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosom's core;

This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining

On the cushion's velvet violet lining that the lamp-light gloated o'er,

But whose velvet violet lining with the lamp-light gloating o'er,

She shall press, ah, nevermore!

Then, methought the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer

Swung by angels whose faint foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor.

"Wretch," I cried, "thy God hath lent thee - by these angels he has sent thee

Respite - respite and nepenthe from the memories of Lenore!

Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe, and forget this lost Lenore!"

Quoth the raven, "Nevermore."

"Prophet!" said I, "thing of evil! -- prophet still, if bird or devil! --

Whether Tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,

Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted --

On this home by Horror haunted -- tell me truly, I implore --

Is there -- is there balm in Gilead? -- tell me -- tell me, I implore!"

Quoth the raven, "Nevermore."

"Prophet!' said I, "thing of evil! -- prophet still, if bird or devil!

By that Heaven that bends above us -- by that God we both adore --

Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn,

It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels named Lenore --

Clasp a rare and radiant maiden, whom the angels named Lenore?"

Quoth the raven, "Nevermore."

"Be that word our sign of parting, bird or fiend!" I shrieked upstarting --

"Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore!

Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!

Leave my loneliness unbroken! -- quit the bust above my door!

Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!"

Quoth the raven, "Nevermore."

And the raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting

On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;

And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming,

And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;

And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor

Shall be lifted -- nevermore.

I was originally assigned to read this poem in 6th grade and it was the first Poe poem I had ever read. At that age, I had no idea what this piece was about. Yet, the poem had such an ominous tone that I was frightened by it. It was one of the first poems I had been truly affected by (perhaps because all I had read up to that point was Shel Silverstein). I chose this poem because I wanted to learn more about it. Turns out, there's a lot more to it than just a scary story. Poe wrote this during the time that his wife was dying of Tuberculosis, and it reflects his struggle with her imminent death. He uses a number of literary devices in the piece to convey his message:

Alliteration:

“silken sad uncertain rustling” (13)

“So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating” (15)

- Poe uses a lot of sharp or hissing consonants in the poem. (i.e. no d’s or b’s or f’s or the like) to make the poem dark, eerie, and ominous. He emphasizes these consonants through alliterations that really convey the dark tone of the piece.

Assonance:

“It shall clasp a sainted maiden” (94)

"prophet!" said I, "thing of evil! -- prophet still, if bird or devil!" (85)

The second example clearly shows Poe's use of assonance to create a particular mood. By using a short "i" sound (prophET, evIL, prophET, stILL, IF, BIRD, deVIL), he creates a discontinuous, almost broken sentence that creates an uncomfortable, depressive mood.

Allegory:

“Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door” (41)

- Pallas Athena, the Goddess of wisdom, is used here to illustrate the author’s belief that the raven was speaking from knowledge and not repetition. Thus leading him to anguish, and eventually self realization, that his Lenore is gone forever.

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Edgar Allan Poe Biography

Edgar Poe was born in Boston on January 19th, 1809 with Father David and Mother Elizabeth. Shortly after his birth, his mother and father separated, leaving him with Elizabeth and her 2 other children. Then, when Poe was only 2 years old, his mother died from tuberculosis. He was taken in by his grandparents, but not much later he was adopted by Mr. and Mrs. John Allan. Now living in America, he attended UVA at the age of 17. He had to drop out within a year since his father wasn't supportive. He'd join the military and be relatively successful before becoming a writer. He would marry his cousin Virginia Clemm when he was 27; she was 13. While Poe did gain a certain level of notoriety in his time, he never had much financial success. One of his most famous poems was "The Raven" a poem that reflected his struggles with accepting his wife's death. She died from tuberculosis, the same disease that killed his mother and other family members. Poe would eventually slip back into alcoholism. His death, Sunday, October 7, 1849, is largely a mystery. He was slipping in and out of consciousness for days before dying in the hospital. No one knows what really happened in his final days.

http://www.poestories.com/biography.php

http://www.biography.com/people/edgar-allan-poe-9443160