Creative Analysis of Edgar Allan Poe's Poem - To One Departed

Seraph! thy memory is to me
Like some enchanted far-off isle
In some tumultuous sea--
Some ocean vexed as it may be
With storms; but where, meanwhile,
Serenest skies continually
Just o'er that one bright island smile.

 

For 'mid the earnest cares and woes
That crowd around my earthly path,
(Sad path, alas, where grows
Not even one lonely rose!)
My soul at least a solace hath
In dreams of thee; and therein knows
An Eden of bland repose.

In this poem, Poe tries to bring out his feelings of lonliness and being not able to move on by creating an imagery of an island in between a turbulent sea; fighting the storms. In my opinion, he uses metaphors like "seraph" to signify the memory of his beloved that is taking his life away from him even while is breathing and yet "alive". Also metaphors like "enchanted isle" could signify his state of mind of being lonely while "tumultuous sea" signifies the memories of his loved one waging a battle on him which he is fighting within himself. The juxtaposed imagery of the "serenest skies" and "one bright island smile" show that amidst his grief and loneliness he also reminisces about the happier memories, which are keeping him alive.

Poe then goes on to wish that he was not trapped on earth with all his sorrows and woes. He seems to have lost the will to live as loneliness and problems seem to suffocate him, crowding around his life. He describes his life or his "Earthly path" as a sad, lonely pathway with no happiness and no love, which is evident by the line "not even a lonely rose". This may mean that the poet has lost a loved one and that is whose memories he refers to. He wishes for his soul to be at peace, to feel calmness engulf him for a change, and for his soul to be loast in the soothing dreams of his beloved. The last line says "An Eden of bland repose". Since Eden is a place of pleasure or solitude and repose means calmness, he wishes to pass away and unite with his loved one in a calm and happy place and to be free from all ties and connections of the earth.

A Lonely Star by Utsav Bhat

Like a lonely star in sky,

On which you had once set your eye.

You gazed at me and made a wish,

And that’s when I turned to debris.

I tumbled like a shooting star

They said it was beautiful but it felt not so.

The skies were withered and clawed my skin

But I reminisced how long it had been.

Oh! It’s been long and a vexing brawl;

Fighting enemies you cannot see.

The shadows of loneliness like coyotes,

Gnawing at not flesh, but my feeble soul.

I thank those eyes that wished upon me.

I lived my life till the memories

Failed me and then I lost the smile.

How tranquil would our reunion be.  

This poem is written keeping in mind the emotions reflected in “To One Departed” that Poe was undergoing at the time he wrote the poem. In this Poem, the lonely star personifies Poe who had been living alone after his beloved wife’s death. He had no family left to call his own since his parents had also expired when he was only three years of age. The words “lonely star” represents Poe as he has represented himself in his poem – “island”.

In the first stanza, Poe i.e. the star is lonely and alone in the vastness of the sky not because there aren’t many stars around he but because there are none he can call his own. Once, while he is living his life of solitude he notices a pair of eyes gazing at him from the earth and very unlikely, wishing on him. The thought running through the star's mind here is “Why is she wishing on me when I am still alive?” And co- incidentally when the eyes wish upon him, he turns into a shooting star and is falling from the face of the sky, about to turn into debris.

The second stanza describes what the star is feeling physically while falling. I have referred to the star as tumbling because his fall was less of fate and more of an accident. When the star is still falling through the vast sky, appearing as a shooting star to many, he hears and sees a million eyes wishing upon him and calling the view “beautiful”. The star here begs to differ since he describes the sky to be withered and his fall to be a rough one. This is signified in the line “The skies were withered and clawed my skin”. The star here feels physical pain after a long time and compares this pain to the pain he had been undergoing due to his loneliness while he was still alive and a part of the sky. He finds very little difference in the two and reminisces how long it had been since he has been living that pain.

The third stanza highlights not the physical but the intangible aspects of his pain while he was still alive. The star reminisces how long he had been lonely and how his journey was not only filled with the agony of solitude but also how it was a confusing struggle every day. He refers to solitude as his enemy and tells us how difficult it was for him to fight an enemy he could not even see. And before he knew it, the vices of solitude started feeding on his soul which had grown weak from fighting the endless battles. Here the word “coyotes” is used as a metaphor signifying the gruesome enemy – solitude, that even though did not cause him physical pain but immense emotional and spiritual agony.

In the last stanza, the star realizes that he had “died” a long time back when he had forgotten to smile after the memories of his beloved had failed him. He thus, thanks those eyes that wished upon him and caused the accident since now he is free from the “worldly pleasures” or “the earthly path” and is at peace because he is one step closer to being reunited to his past and memories i.e. his love.

Both the poems depict Poe’s struggle with his loneliness. Also, both the poems bring out his emotions and true feelings by using the help of metaphors. In both the poems, Poe finds himself difficult to let go of the past and also put forward his thoughts as to how the only thing that brought joy into his life were the memories of his beloved.  It is important to note that at the climax of both the poems, Poe expresses his wish to do away with the “earthly path” and reunite with his beloved forever.

Creative Analysis of Edgar Allan Poe's Poem - Alone

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.

Analysis of the Poem

Poe’s poem “Alone” is the real reflection of how his life had been. The poem is about how Poe led a life much different from those of the same age around him; and how he could never fit in. It is a clear depiction of his feelings of sorrow that he went through due to being the “odd one out” or a “misfit”. The first few lines of the poem emphasise on how he missed out on his childhood since he never really got a chance to live a normal life. He observed how kids around him lived a normal life and compared his life to theirs and realized that he could never match it. This can be highly attributed to the loss of Poe’s parents at his early life and his childhood which was majorly spent in foster homes. Poe expresses his wish to lead the same life as others and be happy but he is unable to do so because of his circumstances that drew him even further away from people. This can be understood by the line “My passion from a common spring; from the same source I have not taken;” where the common spring symbolizes the spring of happiness of which everyone has drank the water but not him.

In the lines “My sorrow I could not awaken, my heart to joy at the same tone; and all I loved, I loved alone.” Poe expresses his lamentation of being unable to let go of the grief and rekindle the spark of happiness and joy. He is so bogged down by the events in his life that he feels that he is destined for such a doomed life where he’ll never manage to fit in. He wants to love and be loved but he feels incapable of doing so since everyone he ever loved was taken away from him. First his parents, when he was a young lad of three, and then his wife, Victoria, who died at an early age. His relationship with his step father is also said to be a strained one. Thus, Poe feels abandoned and yearns for getting the love he is willing to share.

Poe seeks  a reason of his existence and refers to it as a “mystery”. He continuously tries to figure out why he was born, a question that many do not even think of. This is reflected in the lines “ Then in my childhood, in the dawn; of a most stormy life was draw; from every depth of good and ill; the mystery that binds me still.” He also tries to investigate the mystery of his reason for existing to great depths, which he believes, nobody has gone to. The next few lines describe how he went till great heights; climbed every mountain and dug deep into the ground; to solve his mystery of existence and why was he born the way he was.  “From the sun that round me rolled; In its autumn tint of gold; From the lighting in the sky; As it passed me flying by; From the thunder and the storm;” These lines symbolize the quick passage of time while he was interrogating his surroundings but the mystery failed him and the answers are yet to be discovered. In the last three lines, Poe discovers that there is a force preventing him to lead a normal life like others and be happy. He believes this force to be in the form of a cloud that is standing in the way of him and happiness and is playing the role of a “demon” while blocking his view of the sunlight which is happiness.

Pictorial Analysis of the Poem

The painting depicts two scenarios. The top-left being the brighter one with the sunlight being bestowed upon the rest of the normal people. The sunlight here symbolizes happiness. This brighter half depicts the other normal people leading a life; from having a happy childhood with a supportive family to having great childhood buddies and growing up with them; from falling in love with the love of their life to having a blessed marriage and family with them. The chimney at the top of the house depicts a secure life and the smoke coming out of the chimney depicts that the family has ample food to survive on. The next phase shows the green normal kid, growing up with his buddies and his journey from a see-saw to owning a car. The next two phases are the green normal boys step towards finding his love and settling happily with her. The use of bright colours is deliberate to signify a happy and joyful scenario. Even the dividing line is red towards the happier side. This can also be depicted by the smile on every one’s face.

As opposed to the brighter side, the lower- right symbolizes Poe and the shadows of his troubled past which is unable to let go of. The use of shadows is deliberate even though the moon is crescent and is not casting much light. The shadows signify his parents who left him when he was three years old and Victoria, his wife whose shadow is slightly away from that of Poe’s because of their recent separation.  The use of dark blue as the background is deliberate as even Poe refers to the heavens to be blue and signifies it to be a colour representing grief. Poe’s highlighted in blue depicting the elements of his aura to be sadness and sorrow and is coloured in shades of black since he exists as a nobody in the world. The shadows are also drawn as a reference for Poe to solve his mystery i.e. why has he come into this world and what is his purpose in life. Also, his shadow is coloured dark black because of the negativity, which is also referred to as the demon in the poem.

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.  

A Dream Within A Dream by Edgar Allan Poe

Take this kiss upon the brow!

And, in parting from you now,

Thus much let me avow-

You are not wrong, who deem

That my days have been a dream;

Yet if hope has flown away

In a night, or in a day,

In a vision, or in none,

Is it therefore the less gone?

All that we see or seem

Is but a dream within a dream.

I stand amid the roar

Of a surf-tormented shore,

And I hold within my hand

Grains of the golden sand-

How few! yet how they creep

Through my fingers to the deep,

While I weep- while I weep!

O God! can I not grasp

Them with a tighter clasp?

O God! can I not save

One from the pitiless wave?

Is all that we see or seem

But a dream within a dream?

The poem “A Dream Within A Dream” by Edgar Allan talks about how the poet feels that his life has been as unreal as a dream. It reflects his despair at watching the important moments and events of life slip through his fingers like “golden sand” and yet he is not being able to stop them as they fall into the waves of time and go into the past. Throughout the poem the mood is that of despair and the tone is melancholic. The poet extensively uses visual imagery and onomatopoeia which greatly helps us to view the poem alongside in our minds eye. Apart from this, repetition, exclamation and symbolism to lay emphasis on his despair at watching everything precious to him pass him by. The main themes of the poem are loss, despair and frustration. These feelings are expressed in both stanzas of the poem equally.

The poet, at the beginning of the poem, bids farewell to a loved one for the last time before she passed away as is shown by the “kiss upon the brow”. In my opinion, Poe was referring to his wife, who was suffering from tuberculosis when this poem was written. He started to regard his life as a dream, an illusion of his mind as by each moment that passed him by, life seemed more unreal to him. He wanted to wake up to oblivion, the real world, the final end of everyone and everything. He explored the possibility that there could be no hope left to bring back his beloved and this realization dawned upon him by surprise as he did not realize when all hope was lost (“In a night or in a day; In a vision or in none.”). It was then that he understood that life has no definition and is only a mere reflection of how each individual perceives it. He thus regarded his own life an illusion resulting from his minds perception and the moments that he had lived and loved were nothing more than a mirage that existed as a part of the delusion he termed as life.

In the second stanza, it is clear that his wife has passed away, and that he his lamenting his loss. His life seems as if it is a “surf tormented shore” which shows that his life is chaotic and harsh without his beloved. The moments he spent with her, the moments he cherished, are fleeting and seem to be slipping out of his hands like grains of sand. He refers to them as few, as the two of them weren’t together for as long as he would have liked and that she was leaving him too early. He tries to hold on to them but they continue to fall. This causes him immense pain and he weeps. The line “While I weep” is repeated twice to express his lamentation and feeling of loss and sorrow. The grains of sand fall into the waves of time and take his wife with it in the form of death, which is a natural attribute of time. The grains slipping from his fingers also symbolize an hourglass which is clocking the time and has taken his wife with it while the poet could not stop the time from passing by. The repetition of “Oh God!” shows his desperation for saving his wife as he begs god so spare his wife’s life, “to save one from the pitiless wave”.  The final lines of the poem, “all that we see or seem” seems to question everything that is real and if the possibility of saving his wife is so unreachable and unrealistic that it is considered a dream.

Throughout the poem we see varied use of poetic devices. The poet uses visual imagery to a great extent. This along with onomatopoeia helps to paint a mind painting of the scene of the poem. Imagery is found in the lines “surf tormented shore” and “grains of golden sand…they creep” while onomatopoeia is found in the line “I stand amid the roar”.  Repetition and exclamation provide emphasis on his sorrow and grief in the lines, “While I weep” which is repeated and “Oh God! Can I not grasp”, which shows exclamation and is repeated. Symbolism is a striking feature in the poem. The “kiss upon the brow” symbolizes parting forever, the “grains of golden sand” symbolize the wonderful moments spent by the poet and his wife and the “pitiless waves” are time and death. Another striking feature of the poem is its couplets and triplets which display a rhyme scheme and give the poem a rhythmic touch.

In conclusion, I would like to say that throughout the poem, Poe deals with the fact that when life becomes unrealistic, man begins to question his existence as a whole. He displays grief and loss to a very high level. This piece of writing was written in the final year of his life and also leads towards the fact that he himself was about to wake up from his dream and leave his dream of a life behind to embrace the reality of oblivion.

Poems on Loneliness and Despair by Edgar Allan Poe

All four poems that have been analyzed have been written by the American poet Edgar Allan Poe and have a general theme of loneliness and despair. All four poems of Poe revolve around a common theme of melancholy. I have analyzed the poem “A Dream Within a Dream” by writing a commentary on the same, the poem “Alone”by an art piece and a short explanation connecting it to the poem and “Silence” and “To One Departed” by writing a poem similar to it and explaining how they are connected and briefly describing it.