# To Marie Louise explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Edgar Allan Poe.

## What happens

The narrator reflects on his former pride in the power of words, only to find himself struck silent and powerless by the mere utterance of a beloved name. He stands entranced on the threshold of dreams, unable to write, speak, or feel, gazing at a vision where only the beloved appears.

## Themes in this chapter

### Ambition and Pride

The narrator recalls his 'mad pride of intellectuality' in claiming the power of words, now humbled.

### Dreams vs. Reality

The narrator stands on the 'golden threshold of the wide-open gate of dreams,' entranced by a vision of the beloved.

## Character check-ins

### Narrator

The speaker who confesses his broken pride and inability to express his emotions.

### Israfel

Mentioned as the seraph harper with the sweetest voice, whose power of utterance surpasses the narrator's.

## Key lines

> Not long ago, the writer of these lines, In the mad pride of intellectuality, Maintained “the power of words”⁠—denied that ever A thought arose within the human brain Beyond the utterance of the human tongue

The author once arrogantly believed that all thoughts could be expressed in words.

_The narrator confesses his former intellectual pride._

> Two words⁠—two foreign soft dissyllables⁠— Italian tones, made only to be murmured By angels dreaming in the moonlit “dew That hangs like chains of pearl on Hermon hill,”⁠— Have stirred from out the abysses of his heart, Unthought-like thoughts that are the souls of thought

A beloved name, soft and foreign, has awakened deep, inexpressible thoughts from the depths of his heart.

_The power of the beloved's name overwhelms the narrator._

> The pen falls powerless from my shivering hand. With thy dear name as text, though bidden by thee, I can not write⁠—I can not speak or think⁠— Alas, I can not feel; for ’tis not feeling, This standing motionless upon the golden Threshold of the wide-open gate of dreams

I am so overcome that I cannot write, speak, think, or even feel; I am frozen at the entrance to a dreamlike vision.

_The narrator is paralyzed by the intensity of his emotion._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_4_se/chapters/to-marie-louise
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_4_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_4_se/chapters