The QTR Index: Part 2, The Silver Class

We continue our classification of all of Edgar Allan Poe’s poems with the “Class II” poems, the middle 20, which constitute above average-near great poems.  The goal, as explained in the prior post, 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. [BRONZE] [GOLD]

45. Tie: “Latin Hymn” and “Hymn to Aristogeiton and Harmodius”

These pieces represents a retro Graeco-Roman tribute. Poe seems to have admired the ancient classical civilizations, writing “To Helen,” “The Coliseum,” “Scenes from ‘Politian’,” and other classically-infused works.

44. The “Deep in Earth” Couplet

The most poignant and powerful fragmentary poem, I posit that Poe began to write this but simply could not bear to continue, as it may have been his first attempt to write about the death of Virginia, perhaps shortly after her funeral. I can hardly ever read it without feeling profoundly his loss.

43. “Eulalie”

“I dwelt alone/In a world of moan,/And my soul was a stagnant tide,” Poe declares as he opens this poem, aptly summing up one of his recurring themes—past fixation. This poem is unusual, however, in that it reverses the usual order, where the past is happy and the future gloomy.

42. “Song”

Poe fancies himself Dustin Hoffman in “The Graduate” (1964) in this poem which supposes that the narrator shows up at his ex’s wedding and makes her blush by catching her eye as she contracts matrimony to another. It avoids the usual Poe themes.

41. “Sonnet — To Zante”

One of Poe’s few sonnets, this one carries the same island theme as #46 above, as well as “To One In Paradise.” The last line, in Italian, also appears Poe’s “Al Aaraaf” from eight years earlier (1829). The lines “no more, no more, no more” from “Paradise” (1833) recur in this poem (1837).

40. “Bridal Ballad”

In this twist on the similar motif of “Song” (#42 above), the ex’s new husband died in battle. The poem is somewhat infamous for Poe’s strained effort in using the name “D'Elormie” to find a rhyme for “bore me” and “before me.” In my alternate reading, it is the bride who has died—but I admit it’s a stretch.

39. “To The River——”

The first four lines of the second stanza are so tight, they resemble Shakespearean composition. This poem also reflects Poe’s Romanticist influence; the Romantics were always writing about nature, personalizing brooks and clouds. Poe showed in interest, as here, “The Lake,” and other works.

38. “Fairy-Land”

In several of his poems, Poe describes magical netherworlds, sometimes inhabited by fairies, but more often than not representing dim, dreamlike places. This one, from 1829, seems like a rehearsal for “Dream-Land” (1844), which synthesizes a similar composition as this poem in its second stanza.

37. “Romance”

Anyone lured by this poem’s title to expect some kind of love story would be sorely disappointed; as Poe means “Romance” in terms of the Romantic Movement, its interest in nature and so forth. Poe paints himself as “nature boy,” raised in outside human civilization, in tune with the universe.

36. “Hymn”

Poe’s “Catholic” hymn is a nice write-up about the Angelus, prayed three times a day by the Jesuits near Poe’s cottage in the Bronx; the same group inspired “The Bells,” though it is much less explicitly religious. Poe may have been exposed to Marian spirituality in the childhood years spent in England.

35. “The Happiest Day”

Poe takes up one of his principal themes in this poem: he declares that his happiness is in the past, and that his present is fixated upon analyzing how happiness was lost. As in “Tamerlane,” Poe blames his “pride” for having interfered in his ability to be emotionally healthy.

34. “Irene”

This is the first version of what would later become “The Sleeper.” This version was composed in 1831; the final version came ten years later. Still, the earlier form contains much of the imagery and language of the poem, plus other parts later excised, like Poe’s only ever use of the word “vampire.”

33. “Imitation”

A fascinating poem wherein Poe takes up his past-fixation/happiness-lost themes, along with some intriguing suggestions, including the idea that he had visions “Of beings that have been,” setting up the eerie mood of “The Haunted Palace” and similar works.

32. “To Helen”

One of two poems by the same name, this one dates from 1848; the earlier one, from 1831, is actually better but they both say the same thing. This one much lengthier, but the same idea holds sway: a muse recalled in a stylized and idealized memory, presented in a highly poetical construct.

31. “Stanzas”

Poe presents his youth in the classical Romantic construct: he is a child of nature, “Whose fervid, flickering torch of life was lit/From the sun and stars.” He weaves the same motif through other poems, including “Romance” (#37 above), “The Lake,” and others.

30. “Spirits of the Dead”

Stanzas I, II and V are very solid and they consistently carry the same message. Stanza II in particular is so spiritual that it has a Zen-like quality about it. Stanzas III and IV appear to be an interlude, and disrupt the reverential focus that the other stanzas have on the subject, but it is overall an interesting piece.

29. “Evening Star”

This charming poem by Poe compares the stars to the moon and concludes that the stars, in particular, Venus, the Evening Star is more noble than “the brighter, cold moon.” I have posited that beyond underdog charm, the stars represent “distant fire,” i.e., out-of-reach passions, versus rational pursuits.

28. “The Coliseum”

Poe gives life to the expression “if these walls could talk” in this rare, non-rhyming ode to the famous Roman ruin. In perhaps the most controversial line, Poe is dismissive of Jesus, remarking that the ruin’s stones bear “spells more sure than e’er Judaean king/Taught in the gardens of Gethsemane!”

27. “A Dream”

One of the most underrated poems by Poe, this 1827 piece belongs to the “dream” series of Poe’s poems, and establishes the theme of those poems: Poe considers his waking life a bad dream, but he carries a memory which is a good dream, more real than the “waking dream of life and light.”

26. “A Pæan”

This 1831 stab at what would later become “Lenore” (1843) is strong enough that I have seen it presented in poetry books as a stand-alone poem in addition to “Lenore.” Structured more simply and presenting different language at places, it makes the same points almost as effectively.

Next, we will look at selections ##1-25, for the “Class I” poems, which will doubtlessly include one or more of your favorite verses of Edgar Allan Poe.