Selections from Poe Part 20

Published first in 1829, afterwards in several magazines and in the edition of 1845.

TO SCIENCE (Page 6)

Published first in 1829, this poem appeared in editions of 1831 and 1845, and in magazines. It is a sonnet, differing from the Shakespearean form only in the repet.i.tion of the rhyme with "eyes."

9, 10, 12. In cla.s.sical mythology, Diana is the moon G.o.ddess, Hamadryad, a wood nymph, Naiad, a water nymph. Consult Gayley's "Cla.s.sic Myths." Explain the figures of speech.

13. Elfin: elf, a fairy, from the Anglo-Saxon, refers especially to tiny sprites, fond of mischief and tricks. But there were various kinds of elves, according to the Norse mythology. Consult Gayley's "Cla.s.sic Myths." Explain the figure.

14. tamarind-tree: a beautiful, spreading, Oriental tree, with pinnate leaves and showy racemes of yellow flowers variegated with red. What does the line mean?

TO HELEN (Page 7)

Published in 1831, 1836, 1841, 1843, and 1845. Read comment in the Introduction, pages xii and xxiii.

2. Nicaean barks. It is impossible to say exactly what this allusion means. Professor W.P. Trent aptly suggests that if "wanderer" in line 4 refers to Ulysses, as seems likely, "Phaeacian" would have been the right word, since the Phaeacians did convey Ulysses to Ithaca. Poe may have had that idea in mind and used the wrong word, or this may simply be a characteristically vague suggestion of antiquity. Point out similar examples of indefinite suggestion in this poem.

7. hyacinth hair: a favorite term with Poe. In "The a.s.signation" he says of the Marchesa Aphrodite, "Her hair ... cl.u.s.tered round and round her cla.s.sical head, in curls like those of the young hyacinth."

The hair of Ligeia, in the story of that t.i.tle, he calls "the raven-black, the glossy, the luxuriant and naturally-curling tresses, setting forth the full force of the Homeric epithet, 'hyacinthine.'"

8. Naiad airs: suggestive of exquisite grace. The Naiads, in cla.s.sical mythology, are water nymphs,--lovely maidens presiding over brooks and fountains.

9, 10. Two of Poe's best and most frequently quoted lines. Explain the fitness of the epithets. Originally the lines read:

To the beauty of fair Greece And the grandeur of old Rome.

Is the change an improvement? Explain.

14. Psyche: the Greek word for "soul," and also the name of a beautiful maiden whom Cupid himself loved and wedded. Read the story in Gayley's "Cla.s.sic Myths."

ISRAFEL (Page 7)

Published in editions of 1831 and 1845, and several times in magazines. See comment in the Introduction, page xxiii. Poe derived the quotation through Moore's "Lalla Rookh," altered it slightly, and interpolated the clause, "whose heart-strings are a lute"; it is from Sale's "Preliminary Discourse" to the Koran.

12. levin, or leven: an archaic word for "lightning."

13. Pleiads, or Pleiades: a group of stars in the constellation Taurus; only six stars of the group are readily visible, but legend tells of a seventh, lost. Read the account of the ancient myth in Gayley's "Cla.s.sic Myths."

23. skies: the object of "trod."

26. Houri: derived from an Arabian word meaning "to have brilliant black eyes." It is the name in Mohammedan tradition for beautiful nymphs of Paradise, who are to be companions of the pious.

THE CITY IN THE SEA (Page 9)

Published in 1831 as "The Doomed City," in 1836 as "The City of Sin,"

and several times in 1845 under the above t.i.tle.

Point out examples of alliteration.

18. Babylon-like walls. The walls of the ancient city of Babylon, on the Euphrates, were famous for ma.s.siveness and extent.

THE SLEEPER (Page 11)

Published as "Irene" in 1831 and 1836, and as "The Sleeper" in 1843 and 1845. The theme is Poe's favorite, the death of a beautiful young woman, and the poem is remarkable, even among Poe's, for its melody.

LENORE (Page 13)

Published as "A Paean" in 1831 and 1836, and as "Lenore" in 1843 and 1845. It was much altered in its numerous revisions.

1. broken is the golden bowl. See Ecclesiastes xii. 6.

2. Stygian river. The Styx was a river of Hades, across which the souls of the dead had to be ferried.

3. Guy De Vere: the mourning lover. It is he who speaks in the second and fourth stanzas.

13. Peccavimus: literally, "we have sinned." This stanza is the reply of the false friends.

THE VALLEY OF UNREST (Page 14)

Published in 1831 as "The Valley Nis," with an obscure allusion to a "Syriac Tale":

Something about Satan's dart-- Something about angel wings-- Much about a broken heart-- All about unhappy things: But "the Valley Nis" at best Means "the Valley of Unrest."

Later it was published in magazines and in the 1845 edition, revised and improved, and transformed into a simple landscape picture,--one of the strange, weird, unearthly landscapes so characteristic of Poe.

THE COLISEUM (Page 15)

This poem was submitted in the prize contest in Baltimore in 1833, and would have been successful but for the fact that the author's story, "The Ma.n.u.script Found in a Bottle," had taken the first prize in its cla.s.s. It was republished several times, but not much altered. The usual spelling is "Colosseum." It is very unlikely that Poe ever saw the Colosseum, though it is barely possible his foster parents may have taken him to Rome during the English residence (see Introduction, page xii).

13-14. Apparently a reference to Jesus, but characteristically vague.

15-16. The ancient Chaldeans were famous students of the heavens and practiced fortune telling by the stars; during the Middle Ages astrologers were commonly called "Chaldeans."

17. hero fell. Explain the allusion. Read an account of the Colosseum in a history or reference book.

18. mimic eagle: the eagle on the Roman standard.

20. gilded hair: adorned with golden ornaments.

26-29. arcades, plinths, shafts, entablatures, frieze, cornices. Consult the dictionary and explain these architectural terms.