Creative Analysis of Silence by Edgar Allen Poe

Silence by Edgar Allen Poe

There are some qualities- some incorporate things,

That have a double life, which thus is made

A type of that twin entity which springs

From matter and light, evinced in solid and shade.

There is a two-fold Silence- sea and shore-

Body and soul. One dwells in lonely places,

Newly with grass o'ergrown; some solemn graces,

Some human memories and tearful lore,

Render him terrorless: his name's "No More."

He is the corporate Silence: dread him not!

No power hath he of evil in himself;

But should some urgent fate (untimely lot!)

Bring thee to meet his shadow (nameless elf,

That haunteth the lone regions where hath trod

No foot of man,) commend thyself to God!

In this poem, Edgar Allan Poe talks about how life is made of small things that once joined complete the jigsaw of life. He also speaks of the duality like “matter and solid” and “light and shade” that exists in almost every phase of life.  In the same context he introduces the two faces of silence ie “body and soul” and “sea and shore”. Poe’s constant reference to the mirror image of “two fold” through extreme symbolism points towards the theme of life and death. He refers to the silence that death brings into one’s life as well as the silence that dawns upon a person’s life soon after his beloved is lost.

Since Poe had written this poem not too late after his wife’s death, it will be easy to assume that he was referring to her tragedy. The tone of this poem is not too melancholic but it touches the lines of despair and solitude towards its climax. Poe brings out the right amount of emotion that draws on the borders of logic and love which in itself are the two faces of a human mind.  The pain of his wife’s separation is reflected in his statement “Some human memories and tearful lore.” In this poem, Poe talks about to types of “silence” which are the silence in a person’s daily life and the other kind being the solitude that engulfs a person after his loved one is lost forever. He refers to death as the “corporate silence” and proposes he is not scared of his death. This can be seen in his statement "He is the corporate silence, dread him not.”

As opposed to Poe’s description of death being a force not be dreaded, Poe brings out the other shade of silence which is worth fearing. He illustrates this with lines "nameless elf, that haunteth the lone regions where hath trod no foot of man".  Poe signifies the other silence to be the one that man experiences in the physical world after the death of a beloved has occurred. This silence brings along the pain of isolation and solemnity.  Poe tries to explain to his readers that Death is the ultimate silence. He attempts to bring out the relationship between the real and the transcendental world by exemplifying Silence which represents the duality of both worlds in one entity.  In the last lines, he depicts the ability of mind to either be good or evil and thus frees himself from these intricacies by commending “thyself to God!"

A Life of Two by Utsav Bhat

We live not one but a life of two;

In every walk, in every way.

We live a life of dreams at night

And live another in the light of day.

There is a rise to every fall;

And to every autumn there is a May.

For every good there is a bad;

And for every soul , a soul mate.

A tear for a smile but no smile for a face

That has lost its bit of other half.

Like a shadow that was lost in light. 

Like a reflection that was ripped apart.

And then begins a tedious tale

That lives in one almost always.

One day, one month, one year has passed;

And no one its own as far as far away.

It feels like I am in a flashback

Of memories that fail to fade.

Some memories of those silent talks,

That you and me, my beloved, we shared.

That silence I can overcome.

But this new quiet pierces my ears.

The silence of this solitude

Reminds me how you have gone to never return.

It hurts me now but it does not scare.

It can’t destroy; just wage a war.

For the power of all worlds is also rested,

In not only the supreme but also his dark messengers.

Today when I stand alone without my shadow,

I surrender myself to the dark messengers.

One step closer to my lost another;

Hand in hand with the dark harbingers.

This poem is written on the basis of my understanding of Edgar Allen Poe’s poem "Silence". The poem revolves around the same emotions and theme as that of Poe’s poem. The tone of the poem is set keeping in mind the same as that of Poe’s.

The first stanza talks about how everyone lives their life in two halves. The objective of this is to bring out the duality that Poe brought out in his work. The duality in every individual’s life is brought out by the examples of “day and night”, “rise and fall”, “good and evil” and “autumn and spring”. It further goes on to explain how even a human soul is incomplete till it finds its other half ie its soul mate. Here, the duality of brought about by two people living one life as one entity. This is introduced to set the mood of the poem according to the events that were playing in the life of Poe at the time at which he wrote the poem.

The next few lines explain the separation of the soul mates when death overtakes one and leaves the other half behind to suffer. The lines “Like a shadow that was lost in light.  Like a reflection that was ripped apart” depict the emotions of the other half who is left alone and cannot turn a blind eye to the absence of his lover. His life becomes a routine filled with monotony and even after passage of a considerable amount of time, the individual finds himself in a place where there is nobody around him whom he loves or cares for.

In such times of aloneness he finds himself swinging between the memories of his past and forlorn present. While some memories are greatly cherished, he also remembers times when the comfort he felt around his loved one, even while they were at nothing special, was unmatched. He then compares the peace that that silence brought with the pregnant silence that has become a part of his life. This kind of silence brings pain to him as opposed the other which brought about a feeling of peace and comfort. This silence reminds him how his loved one will never return and the feeling of solitude is excruciating and unbearable to him. This is clearly signified in the line “But this new quiet pierces my ears. The silence of this solitude Reminds me how you have gone to never return.”

As opposed to the feelings of pain brought about by this silence in the previous paragraph, the next paragraph refers to this silence as something hurtful but not fear- causing. Even though, this side of silence has the power to hurt him, the protagonist is convinced that it cannot destroy him. He believes in the power of God, the supreme and states that the only one who can destroy his being i.e. bring about death is the angel of death whom he regards as the messenger of the supreme power. The protagonist surrenders himself to the dark messengers because he believes they will take him away from this Earth and closer to his shadow- his love. This represents his fear of death because he believes that the silence caused by his death will bring an end to the persisting pain that he has been suffering from after his other half left him. And thus, he agreeable goes along with the angels of death so that he can meet his other half.

Both the poems are written in the same tone which is neither to melancholic nor too emotionally distant. Also both the poems draw upon the borders of the pain and solitude brought about and experienced by an individual when a loved one is lost. Both the poems bring out the duality that exists in life by exemplifying various elements of nature and life. It cannot be neglected that message that Death is the ultimate silence, is depicted in both the poems. Also, both the poems attempt to bring out the relationship between the real and the transcendental world by exemplifying silence which represents the duality of both worlds in one entity.