up from the still waters that brim level with ruined temples and open graves. At last comes a slight stir in the air, a movement in the wave, and the city sinks down "amid no earthly moans." Loneliness and desolation, watched over by Death - this perhaps indicates the thought that lies behind the poem. But no paraphrase can express the extraordinary beauty and suggestiveness of the lines. The poem is regarded by many as the highest example of the poet's art. The City of Dreadful Night, by Francis Thompson, has something of the same indescribable mystery and appeal.

Explain how the impression of gloom and horror is produced through suggestive language.

127. Annabel Lee. This is one of its author's last poems and is said to refer to the death of his wife. The depth of passion and grief, and the sincerity of lyric utterance, are altogether typical.

Is this poem more appealing as an expression of love, or of grief?

129. Ulalume. It has been said that Ulalume seems like an improvisation played by a violinist upon his instrument after the death of a loved companion had left him alone with his own soul. Poe's wife was not long dead, and he imagines himself walking by night with Psyche his soul. It is autumn, the skies are gray, the leaves withered. Strange portents warn him of impending sorrow, though he tries to overcome the gloom of his soul. But at last they are stopped "by the door of a tomb," and he remembers what for a moment he had forgotten, that this "night of all nights of the year" is the anniversary of his wife's death. The poem closes with a cry of deep personal anguish.

You will see that the whole movement is planned to lead to the grim climax of the tomb; it suggests grief, it is pervaded by the supernatural. The poem appeals to the emotions, rather than the intellect and even if the symbolism is obscure every reader must feel the music of the verse.

7. Auber. All the place-names are imaginary; chosen to add musical suggestiveness to the theme.

13. Psyche. In Greek mythology a beautiful maiden who married Cupid, the god of love. The Greek word psyche signifies the soul. The poet here uses it in that sense. 130, 3. senescent. Growing old, passing away.

10. Astarte's bediamonded crescent. Astarte was the moon goddess of the ancient Phoenicians.

12. Dian. Shortened form of Diana, the Roman goddess of the moon.

17. the Lion. The constellation Leo, one of the twelve Signs of the Zodiac.

19. Lethean. Causing forgetfulness. Lethe, in Greek mythology, was a river of the lower world whose waters brought forgetfulness to all who drank.

Throughout, Poe uses the device of echo," or repetition. To what extent does this enhance the musical quality?

132. The Haunted Palace. This poem is an allegory of a mind that is ruined by madness. It will be found in The Fall of the House of Usher, probably the greatest of Poe's short stories. 133, 6. Porphyrogene. A word of Greek origin, meaning, literally, "born to the purple " - hence, well fitted to rule. The term here may be interpreted as every inch a king."

134, 4. What is the significance of this line?

Point out, and comment upon, the words that are used here for their beauty or for their suggestiveness. How is the movement of the metre made to help in the expression of the thought? 134. Dream-Land. The vague phantasy of the poem is singularly appropriate. It suggests the dim dreaming life that lies behind the veil of sleep and is touched by the characteristic melancholy of the poet.

8. Eidolon.

Spectre.

11. Thule. The name given by a Greek navigator two thousand years ago to the islands lying north of Scotland, afterwards in Roman times called "Ultima Thule." The term has come to mean some unknown, far-distant region. See note on 68.

What is the "ultimate dim Thule"? Who is the "traveller "? What impression do you have of the meaning of the poem?

136. The Raven. One of the most widely known of all Poe's works. It has a dramatic setting and a striking climax, while the theme, however we may interpret its meaning, is one which stirs the imagination. The construction is extremely careful throughout. The poet is poring over his books, one dreary December night, while the firelight casts strange shadows on the floor and the curtains sway in the night-wind. Suddenly there comes a rap on the door. He opens it, his heart filled with memories of the "lost Lenore," and peers out to find only darkness. The tapping comes again now at the window. He flings wide the shutter and a stately raven steps into the room. Owing to the skill of its construction and the weird charm of its thought, the poem won an immediate popularity which it has maintained ever since. Poe says that he planned it as an engineer plans his bridge — arranging for the length, the general thought, and using the refrain " Nevermore as a sort of foundation. It is probable that the work was much more spontaneous than this; but there is evidence of carefully organized method. The raven, according to Poe, is "emblematical of Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance."

9. a midnight dreary. The key-note is suggested by the words in the first line: midnight, dreary, weak, weary. See also bleak December and the ghost of the dying embers.

25. surcease of sorrow. Complete forgetfulness.

138, 25. bust of Pallas. the author points out that the word bust suggests a contrast between the pale marble and the black plumage of the raven. Pallas was the Greek goddess of wisdom.

In his careful analysis of the poem

139, 10. Plutonian. An epithet suggesting "outer darkness." Pluto, in mythology, ruled over the kingdom of the dead.

11. Nevermore. Poe says that he selected this word after the most thorough search, as best expressing the central idea of the poem.

140, 10-16. unmerciful Disaster, etc. One catches here an echo from the poet's personal experience.

141, 10. Seraphim. Angels.

16. nepenthe. A drug used in old times to relieve pain.

27. balm in Gilead. Originally a gum which possessed healing properties see Jeremiah, VII, 22. Here, a metaphor

signifying cure for sorrow.

142, 6. Aidenn. Eden, paradise.

143, 1. lamp-light o'er him streaming, etc. Poe tells us his conception was of the bracket candelabrum fixed high on the wall above the bust, as often seen in castles abroad. Note that the Raven here becomes an undying influence on the man's life. Select the words and phrases by which are expressed the concrete pictures of the room and the mysterious visitant, and those also which convey the abstract ideas of gloom and loneliness.

143. The Bells. Like The Raven, this poem has been popular from the first. It was twice revised and enlarged before taking its present form. As it now stands, it is one of the most remarkable examples in English literature of "onomatopeia - that figure of speech in which words are chosen to interpret by their sound the thought of the poem. The effect can be fully understood only by reading this poem aloud, when the astonishing skill of the author will clearly manifest itself. The Falls of Lodore, by Robert Southey, employs the same device, though with less elaborate effect.

Make a study of Poe's use of vowel and consonant combinations in bringing out the tone of the different Bells. Compare the four stanzas with regard to their onomatopoetic quality. Note, for example, such lines as: "Hear the mellow wedding bells "; "From the molten-golden notes "; "How they clang and clash and roar "; "muffled monotone," etc.

147. Eldorado. See note to 121, 19. These lines were published anonymously after Poe's death. The form and the thought confirm his authorship.

Can you see how the poem suggests his own experience of life? 148. To Helen. This exquisite little lyric has a grace and delicacy which cannot be analyzed in words, but must be felt. The thought and imagery are highly suggestive; the poet, worn by his long wandering over the desperate seas ❞ of life, is soothed and healed by a vision of ideal beauty. In the closing lines the vision is spiritualized as the personification of a soul.

9. Nicean barks. Magic ships of the ancient world. Nicea was a sea-port in Asia Minor.

fashion.

14. hyacinth hair. Luxuriant, arranged in the Greek

15. Naiad. In Greek mythology, a water-nymph.

20. agate lamp. A Greek lamp, made of some translucent material.

Comment upon the implication of the words "glory" and grandeur." Why is the classic element introduced? Tennyson wrote the following comment in 1885: In my opinion your Bryant, Whittier, etc., are pygmies compared with Poe. He is the literary glory of America." Discuss this opinion. Select a typical poem by Poe and Longfellow, respectively, and write two or three paragraphs contrasting subject-matter and style.

From what sources does Poe draw his allusions?

WALT WHITMAN

West Hills, L. I., 1819 — 1892, Camden, N. J.

Walt Whitman possessed both originality and power, but he was so eccentric in his views and their expression that it is difficult to offer judgment on his work. Most of his poetry was written in a deliberately rugged and formless manner, behind which one feels not infrequently both imaginative strength and the sense of beauty.

Of that poetry two divergent opinions are held. The first asserts that it is chaotic in thought and crude in expression; that it is not properly poetry at all, but prose set off here and there by the introduction of a capital letter. It says, further, that the ideas are narrow and egotistical. The other opinion holds that Whitman ranks as a true poet because of a broadminded optimism in his way of looking at things and because he writes of the commonplaces of real life in the speech of real people. Accordingly, there is something noble in his disregard of the conventions and his rugged simplicity. Modern critics, for the most part, incline to the latter opinion.

They would seem to