Essential Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe (Barnes & Noble Classics Series) Read Online Free PDF Page A

been subject to nonrational forces that typically hold sway on Midsummer Eve, to which the June time frame may point), just so the lines about the lady’s lying near an open window incorporate folklore fears about the night air’s bad effects upon sleepers. Kept even more distanced, as if when it is faced directly it conveys starkness and bleakness that are too appalling, is the tomb itself, introduced appropriately in the final stanza as if to signify that it is the ultimate resting place for the “sleeper.” Although some are revolted by the line “Soft may the worms about her creep!” we should keep in mind that, consistent with the mourner’s previous ideas, once he contemplates the future, he adjures the worms to move about outside, not into, the lady’s body, so her rest will remain undisturbed. The exclamation punctuation in this line attests that although the bereaved lover may have strong feelings, the worms themselves should remain quiet, thereby imputing to “soft” its sound, not its tactile context.
    Given that “The Sleeper” mirrors the shorter life expectancies of nearly two centuries ago, the poem not surprisingly won early acclaim, not for any melodramatic or novel substance but for poetic form and tone that may be likened to a dignified eulogy delivered at a funeral or even published in a newspaper account of visitation and funeral practices. Poe achieved far sturdier realism in this poem than has generally been admitted, and contrary to what some readers infer, he did not plan to cause revulsion in his public. “The Sleeper” may anticipate the aura of mourning in later poems like “The Raven” and “Ulalume,” or in the fiction we find in “Shadow—A Parable.” Many readers only reluctantly accept that Poe may not have imagined these pieces as cheap thrills and lurid horrifics.
    In light of his aesthetic writings on poetry, it is reasonable that Poe should write some poems that in part address poetics, as he does in “Sonnet—To Science,” Israfel,” and ”To Helen” (1831). Many anthologists view ”Sonnet—To Science” as if it were Poe’s personal outcry against scientific rationalism. More likely is that Poe felt that a firmly realistic foundation is essential in genuine poetry. To bolster this premise, Poe depicts a speaker, a mere poetaster, who marshals as his inspirations tropes that were hackneyed well before Poe’s time, and that patently add decided irony to the speaker’s presumable inveigh ing against triteness. Poe’s ”poet” not only uses clichés but confines them within a sonnet. Though the sonnet has occasioned interesting. modifications in structure and allows for liberties in content, it may also rank among the more restrictive forms in English verse. In form and theme, therefore, Poe’s would-be-poet argues a sad case. More to the point is Poe’s emphasis on a realistic, plausible foundation for poetry, one that counters the speaker’s frail defense of outmoded substance.
    The poem “Israfel” also argues for a poetry grounded in realism. The speaker-singer indicates that whereas the angel-poet Israfel’s dwelling in heavenly realms may help produce idealism in lyrical form, the earthly poet, living in the real world as he does, must cope with less pleasant realities. “Israfel” is, however, inescapably a “singing” poem and thus melds the beautiful with the useful, implicitly hinting at the magic or “enchantment” that often eludes earthbound poets. Like Tennyson, Poe produced poems that were artistic but that did not ignore the utilitarian.
    “To Helen” (1831) likewise focuses on an ideal inspiration (her beauty is more ideal than physical in context; Helen of Troy was reputedly the most beautiful woman in the world) that calms a speaker shaken by war and sea travel. The name “Helen” derives from Greek roots meaning lightning, and the very invoking of her name dazzles the speaker with radiant beauty, so that Helen’s actual