Lenore
Ah broken is the golden bowl! the spirit flown forever!
Let the bell toll!–a saintly soul floats on the Stygian river;
And, Guy De Vere, hast thou no tear?–weep now or never more!
See! on yon drear and rigid bier low lies thy love, Lenore!
Come! let the burial rite be read–the funeral song be sung!–
An anthem for the queenliest dead that ever died so young–
A dirge for her the doubly dead in that she died so young.“Wretches! ye loved her for her wealth and hated her for her pride,
“And when she fell in feeble health, ye blessed her–that she died!
“How shall the ritual, then, be read?–the requiem how be sung
“By you–by yours, the evil eye,–by yours, the slanderous tongue
“That did to death the innocent that died, and died so young?”Peccavimus; but rave not thus! and let a Sabbath song
Go up to God so solemnly the dead may feel so wrong!
The sweet Lenore hath “gone before,” with Hope, that flew beside
Leaving thee wild for the dear child that should have been thy bride–
For her, the fair and debonair, that now so lowly lies,
The life upon her yellow hair but not within her eyes–
The life still there, upon her hair–the death upon her eyes.“Avaunt! to-night my heart is light. No dirge will I upraise,
“But waft the angel on her flight with a Pæan of old days!
“Let no bell toll!–lest her sweet soul, amid its hallowed mirth,
“Should catch the note, as it doth float up from the damnéd Earth.
“To friends above, from fiends below, the indignant ghost is riven–
“From Hell unto a high estate far up within the Heaven–
“From grief and groan, to a golden throne, beside the King of Heaven.”
Summary of Lenore
- Popularity of “Lenore”: First published under the title of “A Paean,” this beautiful poem by Edgar Allen Poe, an American writer of horror poems and stories, underwent several revisions. From its first publication in his collection in 1831 to the last publication in 1843 in The Pioneer magazine and then again in 1845 in the Broadway Journal, this poem changed its entire shape from 11 quatrains to just four stanzas. The popularity of the poem lies in the consolation of the husband, who wants to mourn his beloved with positivity.
- “Lenore” As a Representative of Decorum of Mourning: Edgar Allan Poe presents a speaker who breaks the news of the flying of the soul of a young lady who has “died so young” that her mourning is almost an obligation for her finance, Guy De Vere, a Grecian young man. That is why the speaker urges Guy De Vere to weep at her death or never weep, saying that he should comfort her to shoulder her “bier”, pay funeral rites, and sing the dirge in her praise after her death. However, he asks the other mourners that they should not mourn due to their mistreatment toward her during her youthful period, for they used to shower love on her due to her wealth and hate her for her pride over her beauty.
They should, the speaker advises, not pay her final respects on account of their slanderous roles. That is why she has left this world though she would have been the bride of Guy. The speaker paints the picture of her lying in her grave as if she is looking alive and yet dead. The husband speaks the last stanza saying that he would not sing a dirge for her as he thinks that the angel accompanies her with a Paean and that she has left his damned earth for good to Heaven. - Major Themes in “Lenore”: Positivity over death, mourning, and the decorum of mourning are major themes of this poem “Lenore.” Although the poet has presented a Grecian speaker along with the Grecian couple, the main point lies in the consoling role of the speaker who asks Guy De Verve, the fiancé of the young lady, that he should come forward to sing a dirge in her praise after her death but consoles him that it is not the time that he should read a ritual of the funeral. Rather, he should be satisfied that she has breathed her last so young. Therefore, there must be a decorum to be followed for such a great lady. Then he insults the other mourners for their slanderous roles in her death as they have rather hated her instead of praising and loving her when she was alive. That is why Guy De Verve expresses his positivity in the last stanza, saying that it is better that she has left this damned and dirty world to the King of Heaven to enjoy God’s blessings.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in Lenore
Edgar Allan Poe uses literary devices to his own advantage. Some of the major literary devices he used in this poem show his objective as below.
- Anaphora: It is a device in which a word or phrase occurs successively in the beginning of two or more verses, such as “The life” in the fourth stanza and “From” in the last two lines of the last stanza.
- Alliteration: This literary device shows the use of initial consonant sounds in successive words, such as this poem shows the use of /f/ sound in “flown forever” or /s/ in “saintly soul” or /l/ in “low lies” or /d/ in “doubly dead.”
- Allusion: It is a device in which references from literature, social life or history are referred to emphasize the main point. The poet used historical, mythical as well as religious allusions such as the Stygian River, Guy De Verve, Sabbath, and Heaven.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /e/ in “See! on yon drear and rigid bier low lies thy love, Lenore” and the sound of /a/ and /o/ in “An anthem for the queenliest dead that ever died so young.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /r/ and /s / in “Come! let the burial rite be read–the funeral song be sung” and the sound of /h/ and /r/ in “Wretches! ye loved her for her wealth and hated her for her pride.”
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. Edgar Allan Poe used imagery in this poem, such as “Wretches! ye loved her for her wealth and hated her for her pride”, “How shall the ritual, then, be read?–the requiem how be sung” and “Go up to God so solemnly the dead may feel so wrong.”
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between objects that are different in nature. The poet used the metaphor of the bird for the hope and soul for the dead lady.
- Rhetorical Question: It is a rhetorical device in which a question is posed not to get a response but to emphasize a point. The poet used rhetorical questions such as;
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And, Guy De Vere, hast thou no tear?
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“How shall the ritual, then, be read?
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“That did to death the innocent that died, and died so young?”
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- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. The poem shows symbols, such as a spirit, the Stygian river, the dead, wealth, pride, and paean, to show the death of somebody and the rites of mourning.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in Lenore
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is an analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Diction: It means the type of language. The poem shows good use of formal, poetic, and theological diction.
- End Rhyme: It means to use verses having matching end words. Edgar Allan Poe shows the use of end rhyme, such as forever/river, more/Lenore, sung/young, and pride/died.
- Rhyme Scheme: The poem follows different rhyme schemes in different stanzas, such as the first showings the use of AABBCCC while the second shows the AABBB rhyme scheme.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are four stanzas, with each comprising a different number of verses.
- Tone: It means the voice of the text. The poem shows a tragic and mournful tone in the first three stanzas but consoling and optimistic in the last one.
Quotes to be Used
The following lines are useful to quote when consoling somebody about the death of a dear one.
“Should catch the note, as it doth float up from the damnéd Earth.
“To friends above, from fiends below, the indignant ghost is riven—
“From Hell unto a high estate far up within the Heaven—
“From grief and groan, to a golden throne, beside the King of Heaven.”