Poe as a Poet
It must be remembered that prose had never been Poe’s first or deepest
love. That place in his heart would always be reserved for poetry. His
first three books were collections of his own poems: Tamerlane and
Other Poems (1827), Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane and Minor Poems
(1829) and Poems (1831). None of these managed to achieve the
sort of attention, popular or critical, he had hoped would be his.
Clearly, to continue a career as a writer meant that Poe would need to
find another creative outlet. His brother, William Henry Leonard Poe,
had found some minor success in publishing a few stories in the
Baltimore North American. Beginning some time in 1831, Edgar
tried his hand at writing fiction, and found that he had an unusual
talent for it. Although one could hardly say that his tale writing
provided a decent income, he did make more money from his stories than
his poems. Even when writing prose, Poe managed to incorporate poetry.
In some cases, he used a full poem in the middle of a tale, in other
cases, he took the principles of poetry and applied them to his prose
style.
Poe’s early poetry is understandably imitative. He found inspiration in
the works of such famous poets as Shakespeare, Milton, Alexander Pope,
Thomas Moore, and especially Byron — and such relatively obscure ones
as Edward Coote Pinkney. (There appear to be minor influences from
Shelley, Coleridge, Keats and even Robert Burns. Poe also read the
works of Vergil, Horace and Dante, probably mostly in translations.) By
1829, he had begun to find his own voice, claiming, for example, that
he had “long given up Byron as a model” (Poe to John Allan, May 29,
1829).
Generally the most critically recognized poem from Poe’s first
collection is “The Lake” (1827), but it is not widely known by the
public. Oddly, the most popular of Poe’s early poems is one which was
not intended for publication. It was written about 1829 in the album of
a young female acquaintance. In manuscript, Poe gave the poem the
simple designation of “Original,” but it is now universally known as
“Alone,” beginning with lines which enshrine a personal sense of
isolation, “From childhood’s hour I have not been . . .” It was first
printed in 1876 in a slightly altered facsimile in Scribner’s
Magazine. After a certain amount of discussion about its
authenticity, “Alone” has long been accepted — and is perhaps one of
Poe’s most revealing poems.
Poe’s two attempts at “big” poems, namely “Tamerlane” (1827) and “Al
Aaraaf” (1829), failed to please contemporary or modern critics,
although both offer much of interest. In “Al Aaraff,” for example, Poe
makes his initial statement that the purpose of poetry is the pursuit
of beauty, an ideal he would hold until his death. While the
collections of 1827 and 1829 may not be especially memorable, this is
not the case for the Poems of 1831. This slender volume
contains at least three gems. “To Helen” (1831), beginning “Helen, thy
beauty is to me . . .” and including two of Poe’s finest lines: “To the
glory that was Greece, And the grandeur that was Rome.” “Israfel” and
“The City in the Sea” (as “The Doomed City”) also made their first
appearances in the 1831 collection.
From his middle period, there are “The Haunted Palace” (1839), “The
Conqueror Worm” (1843) and “Lenore” (1843), all first published in
magazines. The first two of these were originally printed as separate
items, but quickly incorporated into tales; the last is a greatly
revised form of “A Paean” (1831). Another well-remembered poem from
this period, “Dream-land” (1844) includes Poe’s famous phrase “Out of
Space — out of Time.”
Poe’s own comments on his poetry may be instructive. “I have been so
negligent as not to preserve copies of any of my volumes of poems — nor
was either worthy preservation. The best passages were culled in
Hirst's article [From the Saturday Museum, February 25, 1843,
reprinted in the March 4, 1843 issue]. I think my best poems, ‘The
Sleeper’, ‘The Conqueror Worm’, ‘The Haunted Palace’, ‘Lenore’,
‘Dreamland’ & ‘The Coliseum’ -- but all have been hurried &
unconsidered” (Poe to James R. Lowell, July 2, 1844. In the draft of
this letter, Poe included “A Paean,” between “The Haunted Palace” and
“Lenore,” but crossed it out.) More than two years later, Poe repeated
his fondness for one of these poems. “Your appreciation of ‘The
Sleeper’ delights me. In the higher qualities of poetry, it is better
than ‘The Raven’ — but there is not one man in a million who could be
brought to agree with me in this opinion. The Raven, of course, is far
the better as a work of art — but in the true basis of all art The
Sleeper is the superior” (Poe to George W. Eveleth, December 15, 1846).
In 1845, Poe’s dearest dreams came true with the publication of “The
Raven” in the American Review for February 1845. (Technically,
the first publication is in the New York Evening Mirror for
January 29, 1845, but that argument is irrelevant for my purpose here.)
The response was almost instant recognition and acceptance. As a poet,
Poe had finally arrived. The publication of The Raven and Other
Poems later in 1845, and an English reprint in 1846, brought many
of his better poems before the eyes of the public, and literally
carried his name around the world. In the preface, Poe commented,
“Events not to be controlled have prevented me from making, at any
time, any serious effort in what, under happier circumstances, would
have been the field of my choice. With me poetry has been not a
purpose, but a passion; and the passions should be held in reverence;
they must not — they cannot at will be excited with an eye to the
paltry compensations, or the more paltry commendations, of mankind.”
Poe was now free to return to his first love, and return to it he did.
Beginning towards the end of 1847, he produced no fewer than seven of
his most important poems: “Ulalume” (late 1847), “To Helen” (“I saw
thee once . . .”) (1848), “The Bells” (1848/1849), “For Annie” (1849),
“A Dream Within a Dream” (1849, a substantial revision of “To — —” of
1829, beginning “Should my early life seem . . .” and “Imitation” of
1827), “Eldorado” (1849) and the perennial favorite “Annabel Lee”
(1849).
Who can say what Poe would yet have written if not for the intervening
hand of death.
~~~ End of Text ~~~