Poem Analysis 3

Brian Huynh                                                                                                                                                              10/12/09

Year 11

                                                                           3^rd Poem Analysis

EL DORADO EDGAR ALLAN POE

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!”

In this poem, Poe talks about a man who has been seeking a purpose throughout his life until he became old. And at such an age, he still hasn’t found his purpose so he asks ‘the shadow’ where is his happiness and passion. The shadow is his subconscious mind that replied, “Over the Mountains of the Moon, down the Valley of the Shadow, ride, boldly ride.”
By saying that in a way, the shadow is trying to spread a message saying that you must go through a long set of obstacles before you can find your purpose. More specifically, the shadow is saying no matter where you go and how far you’ve come, there really isn’t a way to find your purpose and happiness because you must find it yourself. Don’t ask for more than you can get, sometimes it is just better to be happy with what you have and take it for granted.
There is no certain direction to follow your desires and unfortunately there is no magic key to happiness, some people pass on before they find what they want. Thus, seeking El Dorado is your contentment. El Dorado is heaven. It is a hidden paradise of which no man has ever found. People look for this place, but seem to take the wrong turn and pass it unknowingly.

Poem Analysis 2

Alone (Edgar Allan Poe)

From childhood’s hour I have not been
As others were; I have not seen
As others saw; I could not bring
My passions from a common spring.
From the same source I have not taken
My sorrow; I could not awaken
My heart to joy at the same tone;
And all I loved, I loved alone.
Then – in my childhood, in the dawn
Of a most stormy life – was drawn

From every depth of good and ill
The mystery which binds me still:
From the torrent, or the fountain,
From the red cliff of the mountain,
From the sun that round me rolled
In its autumn tint of gold,
From the lightning in the sky
As it passed me flying by,
From the thunder and the storm,
And the cloud that took the form
When the rest of Heaven was blue
Of a demon in my view.

In the poem “Alone”, Edgar Allan Poe talks about all the things he had to experience during his childhood. Since most of his poems relate to morbid themes, this poem talks about something that he believes in, the summary of his journey in life and all the love that loses in him. He shows that he was not like other child but he was alone. This essay will deconstruct the poem through its content, theme, form, mood, context and style.

When Poe says “ Then – in my childhood, in the dawn /Of a most stormy life – was drawn” he uses a metaphor to describe his emotions. In the poem Poe describes a cloud that takes the form of a demon. He uses a metonymy to establish his point of view. It’s just him wishing he was normal. He refers to the sky as heaven which means that he sees the lives of other people as heaven.
Poe felt that he was a demon. He felt that no heavenly influence or benevolent forces could rescue his soul. Whether be believed in anything but himself, no one will know. This poem shows he knew his existence on earth. Not that he understood, but that he knew. He thought of himself as his own private demon.

In finality, Poe was truly revealing his emotion and himself in this poem. It shows us is his true soul. He was a sad and isolated man that always felt he was different from others, so different that it kept him from acknowledging simple things as they were. His imagination is dark and twisted compared to those around him(In the poem, the children). This fact caused him to dislike his imagination which is apparent in this poem. I really enjoyed this poem because it had me thinking, who hasn’t felt like an outcast at some point in their life?

Poem Analysis 1

A Dream

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?

In the poem “Dream”, Poe distinguished two kinds of dream: day-dream and night-dream. They are both accompanied by unique descriptions; day-dream with light, life, holiness, happiness and guidance. As he says on the first verse “But a waking dream of life and light/Hath left me broken-hearted”.The poem has been written in a narrative structure, this poem discusses about the difference between a dream and a reality

This poem is organized in a quatrain structure, which composes of four stanzas with four lines in each stanza. Edgar uses a rhyme scheme: abab; cdcd; efef; agag, it can be seen through his use of perfect rhymes. Tone, stylistic devices and rhyme(In visions of the dark night/ But a waking dream of life and light) are present in Poe’s poem, resulting the establishment of the theme of reality versus dream.

The author’s use of emotion plays with the reader’s imagination, and sets a suitable mood for the theme. He speaks about sorrow as though it is something that should be escaped from. It is a common theme throughout the poem.  Poe uses, “A lonely spirit guiding” to show optimism through sadness, which corresponds with the theme “finding an escape when sadness is present”. Furthermore, a prominent recurring theme is the way in which the author illustrates his disappointment in waking up, expressing the contrast between reality and dreams, and his comprehension of the two separate worlds.

Hello world!

Welcome to WordPress.com. This is your first post. Edit or delete it and start blogging!