Poetry · Chapter
Endnotes explained
The endnotes provide editorial commentary on the publication history, variant drafts, and biographical context of Edgar Allan Poe's poems, including 'Tamerlane,' 'Al Aaraaf,' 'The Raven,' 'Ulalume,' 'The Bells,' 'Eldorado,' 'Annabel Lee,' a
What happens
The endnotes provide editorial commentary on the publication history, variant drafts, and biographical context of Edgar Allan Poe's poems, including 'Tamerlane,' 'Al Aaraaf,' 'The Raven,' 'Ulalume,' 'The Bells,' 'Eldorado,' 'Annabel Lee,' and others. They detail first appearances, revisions, and personal connections, such as Poe's love for his deceased bride and his relationships with literary figures.
Themes in this chapter
Love and Beauty
Central to poems like 'Annabel Lee' and 'To Helen,' where love is intertwined with beauty and loss, as seen in the endnotes' biographical context.
Death and Mortality
Prominent in the opening lines ('I could not love except where Death / Was mingling his with Beauty’s breath') and in the posthumous publication of 'Annabel Lee.'
Time and Memory
Reflected in the poet's reflection on youth and the fading of passion ('Gone are the glory and the gloom— / The black hath mellow’d into gray').
Dreams vs. Reality
Evident in the longing to 'dream my very life away' and the tension between aspiration and damnation in the opening poem.
Characters to notice
- Edgar Allan Poe
Central figure; the endnotes discuss his poems, their publication history, and his personal life, including his love for his deceased bride and his editorial work.
- Annabel Lee
Referenced as the subject of Poe's poem 'Annabel Lee,' which expresses his undying love for his deceased bride.
- Helen
Mentioned in connection with the poem 'To Helen' (Mrs. S. Helen Whitman), published in 1848, and as a recipient of Poe's poetic addresses.
- Israfel
Referenced in a footnote as the angel from the Koran whose heartstrings are a lute, associated with Poe's poem 'Israfel.'
- The Raven
Discussed in the context of the poem's first publication in 1845, with notes on its versification and alliteration.
- Lenore
Implied through references to 'The Raven' and Poe's elegiac themes, though not explicitly named in the excerpts.
- Narrator
The poetic voice in the opening lines of the endnotes, reflecting on youth, melancholy, and the passage of time.
- Death
Personified in the opening poem as mingling with Beauty's breath, a recurring motif in Poe's work.
Key passages
“being an idle boy lang syne, Who read Anacreon and drank wine, I early found Anacreon rhymes Were almost passionate sometimes— And by strange alchemy of brain His pleasures always turned to pain— His naïveté to wild desire— His wit to love—his wine to fire— And so, being young and dipt in folly, I fell in love with melancholy”
As a carefree youth who read Anacreon and drank wine, I discovered that his verses were often passionate, and through a strange mental transformation, his joys became sorrow, his simplicity turned to intense longing, his cleverness to love, and his wine to passion. Thus, being young and foolish, I grew to love sadness.
The narrator reflects on his youthful infatuation with melancholy, a theme that recurs in Poe's poetry.
“But now my soul hath too much room— Gone are the glory and the gloom— The black hath mellow’d into gray, And all the fires are fading away. My draught of passion hath been deep— I revell’d, and I now would sleep— And after drunkenness of soul Succeeds the glories of the bowl— An idle longing night and day To dream my very life away.”
Now my soul feels empty; the intense highs and lows have faded, and the darkness has softened into gray, with all passion dying out. I have drunk deeply of emotion and reveled in it, but now I wish only to sleep, and after this spiritual intoxication, I am left with a desire to dream away my life.
The narrator describes a shift from passionate youth to a weary desire for rest and dreaming, reflecting on the passage of time.
“The Raven was first published on the 29th January, 1845, in the New York Evening Mirror —a paper its author was then assistant editor of. It was prefaced by the following words, understood to have been written by N. P. Willis: 'We are permitted to copy (in advance of publication) from the second number of the American Review, the following remarkable poem by Edgar Poe. In our opinion, it is the most effective single example of “fugitive poetry” ever published in this country, and unsurpassed in English poetry for subtle conception, masterly ingenuity of versification, and consistent sustaining of imaginative lift and “pokerishness.”'”
The Raven was first published on January 29, 1845, in the New York Evening Mirror, where Poe was an assistant editor. It was introduced by a note likely written by N. P. Willis, praising it as an outstanding example of fugitive poetry, unmatched in English for its subtlety, versification, and sustained imaginative power.
This note provides historical context for the publication and reception of Poe's most famous poem.
“Annabel Lee was written early in 1849, and is evidently an expression of the poet’s undying love for his deceased bride, although at least one of his lady admirers deemed it a response to her admiration.”
Annabel Lee was composed in early 1849 and clearly conveys Poe's eternal love for his late wife, though one of his female admirers thought it was written for her.
The endnote clarifies the biographical inspiration behind the poem, linking it to Poe's personal grief.
