The QTR Index: Part 1, The Bronze Class

One of the ambitious aims of this blog is to classify the 70 known poems of Edgar Allan Poe: first into three rough “classes”—call them bronze, silver and gold—to distinguish minor poems, above-average poems, and world-class poems; second, to rank every single poem in order, from least to best—though this poem-by-poem ranking is more subjective. [SILVER] [GOLD]

We begin today with the “Class III” poems, the bottom 25, which constitute lesser known, lesser developed—and, in some case, fragmentary or incomplete—offerings. The links to the text are here thanks to the Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore, who has put these all online.

70. “Poetry”

It seems very fitting to begin with the earliest known poetic offering by Poe, written when he was just fifteen years old, it is just a couplet: “Last night, with many cares & toils oppress’d/Weary, I laid me on a couch to rest,” wrote the young Poe. Sit back and settle in for the ride!

69. “Spiritual Song”

This completely fragmentary piece (barely three lines) that bid us to listen to an unspecified sound we are assured is “the sound/Of archangels, in happiness wrapt,” is notable only for its attempt to draw us in for something that is never developed or explained. Call it a most competent tease, from 1836.

68. The “Queen of May Ode”

This is a fragmentary verse passed down by someone who claimed she heard it from Poe and partly memorized it, but we do not have any written text. It begins “Fairies guard the Queen of May/Let her reign in Peace and Honor.” It would appear to be part of what I call Poe’s “fairyland poems.”

67. “Evangeline”/”Model Verses”

From Poe’s annotations for his essay on writing poetry, “Evangeline” appears to be an exercise of versification in hexameters, bearing the same name as a famous poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow from the previous year (1847; Poe’s notes date from 1848).

66. “The Divine Right of Kings”

Despite its title, this is a romantic tribute by Poe, the title is a play on words involving the last name of Poe’s particular muse. The double entendres are pretty obvious and, though they are competently executed, the gruel may be a little thin for any demanding poetry connoisseurs.

65. “Lines on Joe Locke”

The only tidbit from Poe’s failed West Point run in 1829 are the remnants of this send-up Poe wrote of a West Point snitch who made it his business to report the pranks of the other cadets, perhaps including Poe, earning the unfortunate stickler the poet’s mockery and derision.

64. “Campaign Song”

Another fragmentary poem handed down by oral tradition, this one was composed by Poe for the presidential campaign of 1844, and includes the lines “Here’s the White Eagle, full daring is he/As he sails on his pinions o’er valley and sea.”

63. “To——”

The first of the “To” poems we encounter in this countdown dates from 1829 and also constitutes the first of the “dream” poems we will see. Other recurring motifs, including comparing his muse’s eyes to stars (think of “Annabel Lee”) and references to birds (“The Raven”) are suggested here.

62. “To Margaret”

A short, non-rhyming poem from 1827, personally annotated by Poe to explain the literary references included in the piece. It is a bit of a navel-gazing exercise, a poem about writing, in which he laments being “banished from true wisdom to prefer/ … squalid wit to honourable rhyme.”

61. “Enigma”

This “quiz” poem attributed to Poe is more of a poetic gimmick (like “A Valentine”) than a meaningful poem that would interest anyone other than the most devoted followers of Poe or poetry. Like other similar offerings, it shows off Poe’s agility, intelligence and wit in being able to pull off such a piece.

60. “An Acrostic”

This is a cute attempt at an acrostic of the name Elizabeth; Poe spells his muse’s name by starting each line of the poem with each successive letter—one of various such pieces written by Poe. Like the others, this one was intended for the enjoyment of its subject and she probably got a kick out of it.

59. “Elizabeth”

This poem is a more successful attempt at an acrostic in which Poe spells his muse’s name by starting each line of the poem with each successive letter. Apart from the personalized enjoyment by Poe’s cousin, Elizabeth, the subject of the piece, it certainly highlight’s Poe’s agility as a verse-writer.

58. “To— "

Another of the “To” poems, this one from 1829, when Poe was 20 years old. Collecting the thoughts of one beholding a sleeper, it is an interesting counterpoint to the better known “Sleeper,” which Poe began two years later. The sleeper of this earlier poem, “Must wake to weep.”

57. “Serenade”

This late-discovered poem, dated to 1833, recalls the astronomical precision of “Israfel,” from a couple of years earlier, though it does not attain the lofty heights of the better-known offering. Still, it is consistent with Poe’s well-rehearsed skill and voice by the time and deserves to be better known.

56. “Impromptu. To Kate Carol”

A quick quatrain that Poe penned in 1845, this fragmentary poem appears to be part of a flirtatious give-and-take with another poet, Frances S. Osgood. Despite the pun in the last line, and some light imagery in the earlier lines, the verse is too brief and disembodied to be compelling.

55. “To M. L. S——”

The nice thing about knowing Poe is that he occasionally wrote personal notes in poetic form.  This is an example of such a communication from 1847, the year Virginia died and a time when Poe was reaching out to anyone around. Therefore, it bears some interest for those interested in Poe’s life.

54. “Fanny”

Poe was 24 when he wrote this rumination on the swan’s song, which might be in some respects considered a companion piece for “The Lake,” written half a decade earlier. Even though it does not approach “The Lake,” it is a complete and well-developed poem and postdates the better known piece.

53. “To Marie Louise”

An interesting instance of Poe commingling intellectuality with romance, as he was wont to do with his poet and society lady interests.  Here, Poe probes the power of language, in particular when words, which fail to encompass advanced thoughts, serve so well to convey fondness and love.

52. “Beloved Physician”

Despite an alluring title and intriguing premise (heartbreak and its cure—from the year that Poe’s wife died), only fragments of this poem remain. The pieces there show maturity and skill, but it is frustratingly apparent that the missing fragments held crucial portions of the complete idea.

51. “To F——s S. O——d”

This piece of advice to young lovers by the young Mr. Poe (26 at the time he wrote it) belongs next to another short piece, the one that begins, “I heed not that my earthly lot hath little of earth in it.” This poem has the same feel, though it is not as good as the better-known piece.

50. “O, Tempora! O, Mores!”

This is the first complete of Poe’s “Juvenile Verses,” written when he was just seventeen (and you know what I mean). In it, he criticized the manners of the men of his time. “The reign of manners,” young Poe lamented, “hath long ceased,/ For men have none at all, or bad at least.”

49. “An Enigma”

This “riddle” poem attributed to Poe, this one reveals the name of Sarah Anna Lewis. The name is revealed taking the first letter of the first line, the second letter of the second line, third of the third, and so on, just like “A Valentine.” Poe seems to have enjoyed this particular form.

48. “To My Mother”

While elegant, this sonnet, one of a few by Poe, is actually just a glorified thank you note/greeting card to Poe’s mother in law. Even though it is poetically thin, it is rich in sentiment and shows that Poe, whose own mother and adoptive mother died in his youth, was hungry for maternal love.

47. “A Valentine”

The name of Frances Sargent Osgood to whom this poem is dedicated is deciphered using the same technique as “An Enigma” (no. 49, above). Poe himself called this piece (in its body) a “riddle” and a “rhyme,” perhaps subtly acknowledging it is not a true “poem.”

46. “To F——”

This poem bears some similarity to ##51 and 28 in this list, in that it represents modestly structured but elegant verse. Thematically, its imagery recalls “To One In Paradise,” in its use of an island metaphor to symbolize a love that offers a haven and an escapist retreat. (See also #41.)

Next, we will look at selections ##26-45, for the “Class II” poems, which I suspect will include at least one or two that may be in that poetry anthology on your bookshelf!