To -. Ulalume: A Ballad Analysis - Literary devices and Poetic devices

To — — –. Ulalume: A Ballad

The skies they were ashen and sober;
The leaves they were crispéd and sere—
The leaves they were withering and sere;
It was night in the lonesome October
Of my most immemorial year;
It was hard by the dim lake of Auber,
In the misty mid region of Weir—
It was down 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
As the scoriac rivers that roll—
As 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 they were palsied 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 Dian:
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 despite 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 sink her
Wings till they trailed in the dust—
In agony sobbed, letting sink her
Plumes till they trailed in the dust—
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 in Beauty to-night:—
See!—it flickers up the sky through the night!
Ah, we safely may trust to its gleaming,
And be sure it will lead us aright—
We safely may trust to a gleaming
That cannot but guide us aright,
Since it flickers up to Heaven through the night.”

Thus I pacified Psyche and kissed her,
And tempted her out of her gloom—
And conquered her scruples and gloom:
And we passed to the end of the vista,
But were stopped by the door of a tomb—
By the door of a legended tomb;
And I said—” What is written, sweet sister,
On the door of this legended tomb?”
She replied—”Ulalume—Ulalume—
‘Tis the vault of thy lost Ulalume!”

Then my heart it grew ashen and sober
As the leaves that were crispèd 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 mid region of Weir—
Well I know, now, this dank tarn of Auber—
In the ghoul-haunted woodland of Weir.”

Said we, then—the two, then—”Ah, can it
Have been that the woodlandish 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 lunary souls—
This sinfully scintillant planet
From the Hell of the planetary souls?”

Summary of To — — –. Ulalume: A Ballad

Popularity of “To — — –. Ulalume: A Ballad”: Edgar Alan Poe, a great American writer, and literary critic wrote ‘To — — –. Ulalume: A Ballad’. It is a narrative poem with details about sadness. It was first published in 1847. The poem speaks about the speaker’s mysterious journey with his soul, Psyche. It also illustrates how his love appears in the form of light and guides him in the midst of darkness. Its popularity, however, lies in that it deals with the phenomenon of love and its importance in one’s life.
“To — — –. Ulalume: A Ballad” As a Representative of Power: The poem accounts for the speaker’s disturbed state of mind. It begins when on a gloomy and dark October night, near Weir Forest and Auber Lake, the speaker wanders purposelessly with his soul, psyche. His heart feels like a volcanic, he talks seriously to his soul but he does not comprehend the location and the date, though both are important for him. Finally, the dawn approaches when light interrupts their journey. The speaker refers to it as Venus, the morning star.
Upon finding the light, the speaker and his soul get into a debate. His terrified soul warns him about the light but he decides to follow the beauty of light. Surprisingly, the light directs him to the grave of his deceased love, Ulalume. As soon as he sees her grave, he remembers that it is her death anniversary and last year, the same day, he came there to bury her. Thus the speaker expresses the infinite love that helps him in his difficult times.
Major Themes in “To — — –. Ulalume: A Ballad”: Wonder, love, and sadness are the major themes of this poem. Throughout the poem, the lonely speaker wanders through the place where he came exactly one year before to bury his beloved. Surprisingly, the same day his heart drags him to the same path in a melancholy autumn night. The poem presents the speaker’s divided self that needs an escape from a melancholic devotion. He explores a nightmare or a dreamlike state where he walks with his divide self to seek comfort. The doleful speaker seems lost in the darkness when his lost love appears in the form of light and redirects his journey.

Analysis of Literary Devices Used in “To — — –. Ulalume: A Ballad”

literary devices are tools used by writers to express their ideas, feelings, and emotions. It is through these devices the writers make their few words appealing to the readers. Edgar Allan Poe has also used some literary devices in this poem to make it appealing. The analysis of some of the literary devices used in this poem has been listed below.

Anaphora: It refers to the repetition of a word or expression in the first part of some verses. For example, “The leaves they” in the first stanza of the poem to emphasize the point,

“The leaves they were crispéd and sere—
The leaves they were withering and sere.”

Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line. For example, the sound of /a/ in “The skies they were ashen and sober;” and the sound of /i/ in “I replied—” This is nothing but dreaming.”
Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line in quick succession. For example, the sound of /m/ in “In the misty mid region of Weir” and the sound of /s/ in “Said—”Sadly this star I mistrust”.
Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example,

“It was night in the lonesome October
Of my most immemorial year;
It was hard by the dim lake of Auber.”

Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. For example, “From the thing that lies hidden in these wolds”, “From the Hell of the planetary souls” and “This sinfully scintillant planet.”
Rhetorical Question: Rhetorical question is a question that is not asked in order to receive an answer; it is just posed to make the point clear. The poet posed rhetorical questions at the end of the poem to put emphasize his point. For example, “From the Hell of the planetary souls?” and “Oh, what demon has tempted me here?”
Simile: It is a device used to compare something with something else. The speaker has used this device in the second stanza of the poem where it is stated as; “As the scoriac rivers that roll/As the lavas that restlessly roll.”
Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings different from literal meanings. “Psyche” symbolizes his disturbed state of mind.

Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in “To — — –. Ulalume: A Ballad”

Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is the analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.

Ballad: A ballad is a narrative poem that originally was set to music. “To — — –. Ulalume: A Ballad” is a famous ballad of 19^th
Iambic Tetrameter: It is a type of meter having four iambs per line. The poem follows iambic tetrameter such as; “The skies they were ashen and so”
Rhyme Scheme: The poem follows the ABAB rhyme scheme and this pattern continues until the end.
Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are ten stanzas in this poem with each comprises of a different number of verses.

Quotes to be Used

The lines stated below are useful to describe any personal experience of visiting a haunted place in the late hours of the night.

“The skies they were ashen and sober;
The leaves they were crispéd and sere—
The leaves they were withering and sere.”