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!""