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".