# II explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Edgar Allan Poe.

## What happens

The narrator reflects on the moonbeam's influence, suggesting it may be a sovereign force beyond ancient lore or merely an unembodied essence that passes over like dew.

## Themes in this chapter

### Madness and Terror

The narrator's mind is described as 'wrought to a fever,' suggesting a state of heightened, possibly maddened perception.

### Dreams vs. Reality

The narrator wavers between believing the moonbeam's light is a sovereign reality or merely an unembodied essence, blurring the line between dream and truth.

## Character check-ins

### Narrator

The speaker whose mind is wrought to a fever by the moonbeam.

## Key lines

> Perhaps it may be that my mind is wrought To a fever by the moonbeam that hangs o’er

Maybe my mind is feverishly affected by the moonbeam above.

_The narrator suggests a possible mental disturbance caused by the moonlight._

> But I will half believe that wild light fraught With more of sovereignty than ancient lore Hath ever told

Yet I am inclined to think that this wild light carries a power greater than any ancient story has described.

_The narrator entertains the idea that the moonlight holds a sovereign, almost divine authority._

> or is it of a thought The unembodied essence, and no more That with a quickening spell doth o’er us pass As dew of the night-time, o’er the summer grass?

Or is it merely the disembodied essence of a thought that passes over us like nighttime dew on summer grass?

_The narrator questions whether the moonbeam's effect is just an intangible thought, fleeting and natural._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_4_se/chapters/ii
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_4_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_4_se/chapters