To Ulalume: A Ballad
The skies were ashen and sober;
The leaves were crisp and sere;
They were withering and sere;
It was night in the lonely October
Of my most immemorial year;
It was by the dim lake of Auber,
In the misty middle region of Weir,
It was by the dank tarn of Auber,
In the ghoul haunted woodland of Weir.Here once, through an alley Titanic,
Of cypress, I roamed with my soul,
Of cypress, with Psyche, my soul.
These were days when my heart was volcanic
Like the scoriac rivers that roll;
Like the lavas that restlessly roll
Their sulphurous currents down Yaanek
In the ultimate climes of the pole;
That groan as they roll down Mount Yaanek
In the realms of the boreal pole.Our talk had been serious and sober,
But our thoughts were pallid and sere;
Our memories were treacherous and sere;
For we knew not the month was October,
And we marked not the night of the year;
(Ah, night of all nights in the year!)
We noted not the dim lake of Auber,
(Though once we had journeyed down here)
We remembered not the dank tarn of Auber,
Nor the ghoul haunted woodland of Weir.And now, as the night was senescent
And star‑dials pointed to morn,
As the star‑dials hinted of morn,
At the end of our path a liquescent
And nebulous lustre was born,
Out of which a miraculous crescent
Arose with a duplicate horn,
Astarte’s bediamonded crescent
Distinct with its duplicate horn.And I said, “She is warmer than Diana,
She rolls through an ether of sighs,
She revels in a region of sighs:
She has seen that the tears are not dry on
These cheeks, where the worm never dies,
And has come past the stars of the Lion
To point us the path to the skies—
To the Lethean peace of the skies—
Come up, in spite of the Lion,
To shine on us with her bright eyes—
Come up through the lair of the Lion,
With love in her luminous eyes.”But Psyche, uplifting her finger,
Said, “Sadly this star I mistrust,
Her pallor I strangely mistrust:
Oh, hasten! oh, let us not linger!
Oh, fly! let us fly, for we must.”
In terror she spoke, letting wings sink her
Wings till they trailed in the dust,
In agony sobbed, letting plumes sink her
Till they sorrowfully trailed in the dust.I replied, “This is nothing but dreaming:
Let us on by this tremulous light!
Let us bathe in this crystalline light!
Its Sybilic splendor is beaming
With Hope and Beauty to‑night:
See, it flickers up the sky through the night!
Ah, we may safely trust to its gleaming,
And be sure it will lead us aright—
We may safely trust in a gleaming
That cannot but guide us aright,
Since it flickers up to Heaven through the night.”Thus I pacified Psyche and kissed her,
Tempted her out of her gloom,
Conquered her scruples and gloom;
We passed to the end of the vista,
But were stopped by the door of a tomb,
By the door of a legend tomb;
And I said, “What is written, sweet sister,
On the door of this legend tomb?”
She replied, “Ulalume, Ulalume—
’Tis the vault of thy lost Ulalume!”Then my heart grew ashen and sober
As the leaves that were crisp and sere;
As the leaves that were withering and sere;
And I cried, “It was surely October
On this very night of last year
That I journeyed, I journeyed down here,
That I brought a dread burden down here,
On this night of all nights in the year,
Oh, what demon has tempted me here?
Well I know, now, this dim lake of Auber,
This misty middle region of Weir,
Well I know, now, this dank tarn of Auber,
In the ghoul haunted woodland of Weir.”We said then, the two, “Ah, can it
Have been that the woodland ghouls,
The pitiful, the merciful ghouls,
To bar up our way and to ban it
From the secret that lies in these wolds,
From the thing that lies hidden in these wolds,
Had drawn up the spectre of a planet
From the limbo of lunar souls,
This sinfully scintillant planet
From the hell of planetary souls?”
Summary of To Ulalume: A Ballad
“To Ulalume: A Ballad” is a hauntingly beautiful piece that explores themes of loss, memory, and the enduring power of love. The poem recounts a speaker’s nocturnal journey with his soul, represented as “Psyche,” through a desolate landscape. The speaker and Psyche are guided by a mysterious luminous crescent, which they initially perceive as a beacon of hope. However, this light ultimately leads them to the tomb of Ulalume, the speaker’s lost love.
The central idea revolves around the inescapable grip of grief and the speaker’s inability to escape the memory of Ulalume. The poem is steeped in a melancholic atmosphere, emphasized by the desolate setting and the repetition of words associated with decay and darkness. The journey with Psyche symbolizes the speaker’s internal struggle with grief and his attempt to reconcile with the loss of his beloved.
Notably, the poem’s power lies not in a clear narrative but in its evocative imagery, musicality, and the haunting repetition of key phrases. The author masterfully utilizes these elements to create a dreamlike, almost hypnotic experience for the reader, drawing them into the speaker’s world of sorrow and remembrance.
In-Depth Analysis of Literary and Poetic Devices
Poe’s work is a masterclass in poetic technique. He employs a rich array of literary and poetic devices to construct the poem’s haunting atmosphere and emphasize its central themes. Let’s dissect some of the most prominent:
Anaphora
- Anaphora: The repetition of words or phrases at the beginning of successive clauses or sentences. The author frequently uses anaphora, particularly in the initial stanzas, to create a rhythmic incantatory effect. For example, the repeated “The leaves they were…” emphasizes the desolate, decaying setting.
Assonance
- Assonance: The repetition of vowel sounds within words. The author uses assonance to create a musical quality and enhance the poem’s mood. Notice the repeated /e/ sound in “the leaves they were crisp and sere,” which contributes to the poem’s melancholic tone.
Alliteration
- Alliteration: The repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words. For instance, “dim lake of Auber” adds to the musicality and emphasizes certain phrases.
Imagery
- Imagery: The author is renowned for evocative images. “The ghoul haunted woodland of Weir” immediately conjures a sense of dread and mystery. The imagery throughout the poem consistently evokes a sense of decay, darkness, and sorrow.
Symbolism
- Symbolism: Several elements in the poem function symbolically. Psyche, often associated with the soul, represents the speaker’s inner self, grappling with grief. Ulalume herself symbolizes lost love and the enduring pain of remembrance. The crescent moon can be seen as a symbol of hope and guidance, but also of the fleeting nature of time and the inevitability of loss.
Repetition
- Repetition: The author uses repetition, both of words and phrases, to emphasize key themes and create a hypnotic effect. The repeated name “Ulalume” throughout the final stanzas underscores the speaker’s obsession with his lost love.
Poetic Devices
- Ballad Form: “To Ulalume” is written in the form of a ballad, a narrative poem often set to music. While it is not a traditional ballad with a simple storyline, it shares the ballad’s emphasis on narrative and emotional intensity.
- Meter and Rhyme: The poem predominantly uses a trochaic octameter, a complex meter that contributes to its musicality. The rhyme scheme, typically ABAB, further enhances the poem’s rhythm and creates a sense of closure and finality.
- Enjambment: The author masterfully employs enjambment—continuation of a sentence or phrase from one line to the next—to create a flowing rhythm and maintain suspense.
Key Lines for Understanding the Poem’s Power
Certain lines in “To Ulalume” encapsulate the poem’s core themes and emotional intensity. Consider these examples:
“It was night in the lonely October / Of my most immemorial year” – This opening establishes the poem’s gloomy atmosphere and hints at a past shrouded in sorrow.
“She has seen that the tears are not dry on / These cheeks, where the worm never dies” – This poignant line conveys the enduring nature of grief and the speaker’s inability to escape his sorrow.
“’Tis the vault of thy lost Ulalume!” – This chilling revelation underscores the poem’s central theme of loss and the haunting power of memory.
These lines, along with the poem’s evocative imagery and masterful use of poetic devices, create a haunting and unforgettable exploration of love, loss, and the enduring power of the past.