Nikolai+Ferguson-Edgar+Allen+Poe

The Lake  (1827)   by Edgar Allan Poe   (1809-1849)   In spring of youth it was my lot   To haunt of the wide world a spot   The which I could not love the less-   So lovely was the loneliness   Of a wild lake, with black rock bound,   And the tall pines that towered around. But when the Night had thrown her pall  Upon that spot, as upon all,   And the mystic wind went by   Murmuring in melody-   Then-ah then I would awake To the terror of the lone lake. Yet that terror was not fright,  But a tremulous delight-   A feeling not the jewelled mine   Could teach or bribe me to define-   Nor Love-although the Love were thine. Death was in that poisonous wave,  And in its gulf a fitting grave   For him who thence could solace bring   To his lone imagining-   Whose solitary soul could make   An Eden of that dim lake. Related Links: [] The photograph above displays a lake during the night. I chose it because of the erie aura possessed by the picture as well as the way the image is strangely slanted. Commentary: One of Poe’s most iconic works, “The Lake” possesses the dark themes and language characteristic of Poe’s poetry. Possibly autobiographical, the poem opens with Poe describing a lake in daylight. While the location clearly holds a positive position in the speaker’s memory, Poe grants the lake a certain, eerie aura by using words such as “haunt” and “loneliness.” The speaker seems to be an isolated figure who exists in the periphery of society. The poem takes a turn in the second stanza when the speaker describes night fall at the Lake. The body of water takes on a wholly new persona, one of darkness and terror. Interestingly, Poe uses the words “loneliness” and “lone” in the first two stanzas despite the obvious differences in tone. Another shift occurs in the third stanza as the speaker describes how the aforementioned “terror of the lone lake” is in fact strangely enjoyable. The speaker explains the impossibility of describing this “tremulous delight” but concludes that the experience is genuinely his own. A final, truly dark turn is made in the fourth stanza. It seems to revolve around the notion of suicide. The isolated speaker is said to be able to find solace in “that poisonous wave” and “fitting grave.” Whether or not the speaker actually kills him/herself is unclear, but it is evident that the lake’s negative or dangerous aspects double as positive ones for the speaker.

Israfel  (1831)   by Edgar Allen Poe   (1809-1849)   In Heaven a spirit doth dwell"Whose heart-strings are a lute"; None sing so wildly wellAs the angel Israfel,And the giddy stars (so legends tell),Ceasing their hymns, attend the spellOf his voice, all mute. Tottering aboveIn her highest noon, The enamored moon Blushes with love,While, to listen, the red levin (With the rapid Pleiads, even,Which were seven,) Pauses in Heaven. And they say (the starry choirAnd the other listening things)That Israfeli's fireIs owing to that lyreBy which he sits and sings-The trembling living wire Of those unusual strings. But the skies that angel trod,Where deep thoughts are a duty-Where Love's a grown-up God-Where the Houri glances areImbued with all the beautyWhich we worship in a star. Therefore thou art not wrong,Israfeli, who despisestAn unimpassioned song;To thee the laurels belong,Best bard, because the wisest!Merrily live, and long! The ecstasies aboveWith thy burning measures suit-Thy grief, thy joy, thy hate, thy love,With the fervor of thy lute-Well may the stars be mute! Yes, Heaven is thine; but thisIs a world of sweets and sours;Our flowers are merely–flowers,And the shadow of thy perfect blissIs the sunshine of ours. If I could dwellWhere IsrafelHath dwelt, and he where I,He might not sing so wildly wellA mortal melody,While a bolder note than this might swellFrom my lyre within the sky. Related Link: [] The above link displays an artist's rendition of the angel, Israfel. Commentary: I chose this poem because of it's strange topic and confusing content. In the beginning, the speaker introduces the angel, Israfel, allegedly known for his impressive singing capabilities. Supposedly, other voices would stand still while Israfel performed with his legendary lute. From what I gathered, it seems Poe is comparing the angel’s will to sing with those of human beings. According to Poe, mortal beings possess far more concerns and tribulations than the angels, and if humans were granted reprieve from the struggles of earthly existence, we too would sing a bold song. I think this poem strikes an interesting point regarding humans and our condition. Poe’s poem gives us a sort of reality check, explaining that the beauty and happiness characteristically associated with Heaven cannot be expected on Earth. Life is not perfect. We cannot expect beauty nor can we expect joy due to the problems that come with life. This is not to say that the two aforementioned abstract entities will prove absent in our lives. However, we cannot feel entitled to beauty nor happiness, and we cannot envy those in Heaven. It’s apples to oranges.

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.

Explication: Edgar Allan Poe’s poem, “Annabel Lee”, is perhaps one of his most popular, and it possesses many of the themes often prevalent in his work. As with other works, such as “The Raven”, the poem exhibits Gothic undertones as well as themes of love and death. I’ll start with the first stanza. Here, the speaker’s love interest, Annabel Lee, is introduced as the “maiden” by the sea. This word choice conveys innocence and purity, and the idea of simplicity is introduced when the speaker explains Annabel’s only purpose is “to love and be loved by me.” Portions of the stanza lead me to believe that this poem is not meant to be interpreted literally. First, Poe sets the poem “many and many a year ago,” adding a detached sense to the story. Yet, the speaker states that “you may know” Annabel Lee, which seems to contradict the work’s setting in the distant past. I believe Annabel Lee may be a sort of metaphor. Her aforementioned simplicity and innocence support this idea. The second stanza remains equally idealistic and romantic, as the speaker describes the envy possessed by the “winged seraphs of heaven.” The youth portrayed in this stanza’s first line continues the idea of innocence presented in the previous stanza. A turning point in the poem occurs in the third stanza. The ideas of death, loss, and hopelessness often seen in Poe’s work begin to emerge at this point. The speaker explains how the seraphs in heaven sent down a “wind…out of a cloud” which chilled Annabel Lee, citing the seraph’s envy as their motive. She is then taken by a “highborn kinsman” and sent to dwell in a “sepulcher…in this kingdom by the sea.” Poe’s word choice in this stanza stands in stark contrast to the optimism present in the previous two stanzas. “Chilling” and “sepulcher” both suggest death, alienation, and imprisonment. Whether Annabel Lee dies in this stanza or the next remains unclear to me. The fourth stanza revisits the seraphs once again, explaining how the speaker and Annabel Lee’s love incited the angels to send a “wind” to chill and kill Annabel Lee. This seems redundant, as it restates what the previous stanza said. I think this emphasizes the victimization the speaker feels. At this point, Annabel Lee is certainly dead. Another shift occurs in the fifth stanza, one back towards the optimism of the poem’s beginning. The speaker declares the eternal nature of their love, impervious to both “the angels in heaven above” and “the demons down under.” The conclusion sounds like much of Poe’s other work, especially “The Raven”, as the speaker describes how his and Annabel Lee’s love transcends death in the “sepulcher there by the sea.” Dark language, characteristic of Poe, abounds in this stanza as well.

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A DREAM by Edgar Allan Poe In visions of the dark night I have dreamed of joy departed; But a waking dream of life and light Hath left me broken-hearted. Ah! what is not a dream by day To him whose eyes are cast On things around him, with a ray Turned back upon the past?

That holy dream, that holy dream, While all the world were chiding, Hath cheered me as a lovely beam, A lonely spirit guiding. What though that light, thro' storm and night, So trembled from afar-- What could there be more purely bright In Truth's day-star?

Explication: A more obscure poem of Edgar Allan Poe, “A Dream”, contains the characteristically dark language of Poe while focusing on the traditional themes of love and loss as well. However, the poem deals specifically with a dream, rather than a woman, separating it from much of Poe’s other work, such as “Annabel Lee” and “The Raven”. In this poem, it is important to note that “dream” is used like a sort of goal or ideal rather than an actual, nocturnal experience. The first stanza opens with a description of the difference between night and day. The same comparison is central in Poe’s poem, “The Lake”. As with many of Poe’s other work, the idea of “joy departed” is described. It seems that the speaker enjoys the “dark night” more than day, as he is able to escape the reality of this lost joy during the night, only to be confronted with reality during the day. The second stanza is somewhat confusing. It seems as if the speaker is searching for sympathy or trying to explain the universality of his predicament. He seems to say that no one can possess a “dream by day” without looking longingly, at least partially, to the past. This dream doesn’t seem to hold a wholly negative connotation though. In the third stanza, the speaker explains how this “holy dream” guides him through his life, a “lovely beam” that helps him through his days. This idea transcends the years, as I can understand how an idea or a goal can often motivate one to complete arduous tasks or even just get through a certain day. The final stanza takes a slightly sobering turn, as the speaker rhetorically questions what else as positive as these dreams could exist during the day. He also hints at the inability of achieving these dreams as they “trembled from afar.” This poem is dark and longing, as much of Poe’s work is.

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