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Text: Edgar Allan Poe, "Eldorado" (B), The Works of the Late Edgar Allan Poe, 1850, 2:45




[page 45:]
ELDORADO.
 
~~~~~~~~~~

        GAILY bedight,
        A gallant knight,
In sunshine and in shadow,
        Had journeyed long,
        Singing a song,
In search of Eldorado.

        But he grew old —
        This knight so bold —
And o'er his heart a shadow
        Fell as he found
        No spot of ground
That looked like Eldorado.

        And, as his strength
        Failed him at length,
He met a pilgrim shadow —
        "Shadow," said he,
        "Where can it be —
This land of Eldorado?"

        "Over the Mountains
        Of the Moon,
Down the Valley of the Shadow,
        Ride, boldly ride,"
        The shade replied, —
"If you seek for Eldorado!"








Notes:

Poe also mentions Eldorado in "Introduction [Romance]" and "Dream-Land." In rhyming "Eldorado" and "shadow," one must remember that Poe likely had a slight Southern drawl, even after years of living in more Northern climes.





 
[S:1 - Works, 1850] - Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore - Works - Poems - Eldorado (B)