Selections from Poe

18. Phantom: happiness, or perhaps any object of human desire or ambition.

DREAM-LAND (Page 22)

Published in 1844 and 1845. The poem paints another of Poe's extraordinary landscapes.

3. Eidolon: phantom, specter, shade.

6. ultimate dim Thule. "Thule" was used by the ancients to indicate extreme northern regions; the Romans used the phrase "Ultima Thule" to denote the most remote, unknown land. What does the allusion signify here?

THE RAVEN (Page 24)

Published in 1845 in various magazines, first in the New York Evening Mirror of January 29. This is the most famous if not the best of Poe's poems. There is a clear thread of narrative and greater dramatic interest than in any other of the author's poems. If possible, read "The Philosophy of Composition," in which Poe gives a remarkable account of the composition of this poem, an account which is to be accepted, however, as explaining only the mechanical side of the work. This essay is included in Cody's "Best Poems and Essays" (see Bibliography, page xxxi). Read the comment in the Introduction, page xxiv. Note the numerous alliterations.

34. thereat is. Was the idea phrased this way for any other purpose than to make a rhyme? Is it artistic?

38. Raven. Read an account of the bird in a natural history or an encyclopedia; it is frequently mentioned in English literature as a bird of ill omen.

41. Pallas: Minerva, goddess of wisdom. Consult Gayley's "Classic Myths." Is a bust of Pallas appropriate for a library?

47. Plutonian: from Pluto, god of the underworld.

64, 65. burden: thought or theme.

76-77. gloated … gloating. It is impossible to say just what is suggested. It is characteristically vague. Find other examples in this poem.

80. tinkled on the tufted floor. Not very easy to imagine. In "Ligeia," Poe speaks of "carpets of tufted gold," apparently meaning fabrics of very thick and rich material. Perhaps we may think of the tinkling as proceeding from tiny bells.

81. "Wretch," etc. The lover addresses himself.

82. nepenthe: a name given in Homer's "Odyssey" to a drug offered to Helen in Egypt, the effect of which was to banish all grief and pain. Later the term was sometimes used for opium.

89. balm in Gilead. Gilead is a district on the banks of the Jordan and the "balm" an herb of reputed medicinal value. The allusion here is to Jeremiah viii.22: "Is there no balm in Gilead? is there no physician there?" The lover means to ask if there is any remedy for his sorrow, any consolation. Perhaps he means, "Is there any solace after death?" or "Is there any solace either in this world or the next?"

93. Aidenn: Eden, Paradise, from the Arabic form Adn; coined by Poe for the rhyme.

101. This line, Poe said in "The Philosophy of Composition," first betrays clearly the allegorical nature of the poem.

106. the lamp-light o'er him streaming. In answer to criticism on this line, Poe explained, "My conception was that of the bracket candelabrum affixed against the wall, high up above the door and bust, as is often seen in the English palaces, and even in some of the better houses of New York."

107, 108. In these last lines the allegory is fully revealed.

EULALIE (Page 29)

Published in 1845 with the subtitle, "A Song."

19. Astarte. See note on line 37 of "Ulalume," page 189.

TO M.L. S – (Page 30)

Published March 13, 1847, and addressed to Mrs. Marie Louise Shew, who had been a veritable angel of mercy in the Poe home. She relieved the poverty and helped to care for Virginia (who died January 29), and afterward nursed Poe himself during his severe illness. Mrs. Shew had had some medical training and probably saved Poe's life. This brief poem is instinct with a gratitude and reverence easy to understand, and is, for Poe, unusually spontaneous.

ULALUME (Page 30)

Published in December, 1847, and in January, 1848. The earlier form contained an additional stanza, afterward wisely omitted. Read the comment on the poem in the Introduction, pages xxiv-xxv.

5. Immemorial: properly means extending indefinitely into the past. Poe may mean that the year has seemed endless to him, but apparently he uses the word in the sense of memorable.

6, 7. Auber rhymes with October, Weir with year; the names were coined by Poe for rhyme and tone color. Note the resemblance of "Weir" to "weird."

8. tarn: a small mountain lake. It is used provincially in England to mean a boggy or marshy tract. Poe used the word to signify a dark, stagnant pool. Cf. "The Fall of the House of Usher," page 49.

11. cypress. What is its significance?

12. Psyche: soul. Cf. note on line 14 of "To Helen," page 183.

14. scoriac: a very rare word, from scoria (lava).

16. Yaanek: another specially coined word.

35. crescent: suggesting hope.

37, 39. Astarte: a Phoenician goddess, as the deity of love corresponding to Venus (Aphrodite), and as moon goddess to Dian, or Diana (Artemis). But Diana was chaste and cold to the advances of lovers, which explains "she (Astarte) is warmer than Dian."

43. where the worm never dies: implies the gnawing of unending grief. Cf. Isaiah lxvi. 24, and Mark ix. 44, 46, 48.

44. The Lion: the constellation Leo.

64. sibyllic: usually "sibylline," prophetic; from "sibyl." Consult Gayley's "Classic Myths."

179. legended tomb: having on it an inscription.

TO – (Page 33)

Published in March, 1848, and is another tribute to Mrs. Shew. See note on "To M.L. S – ," page 188.

9-10. The quotation is from George Peele's "David and Bethsabe," an English drama published in 1599:

Or let the dew be sweeter far than that

That hangs, like chains of pearl, on Hermon hill.

14-15. Cf. the poem "Israfel," and the notes on it.

AN ENIGMA (Page 34)

Published in March, 1848. To find the name, read the first letter of the first line, the second letter of the second line, and so on. In form this is a sonnet irregular in rhyme scheme.

1. Solomon Don Dunce: a fanciful name for a stupid person.