∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Stanza: I.
Line-01-001 In the greenest of our valleys,
Line-01-002 [[indent]] By good angels tenanted,
Line-01-003 Once a fair and stately palace —
Line-01-004 [[indent]] Snow-white palace — reared its head.
Line-01-005 In the monarch Thought's dominion —
Line-01-006 [[indent]] It stood there!
Line-01-007 Never seraph spread a pinion
Line-01-008 [[indent]] Over fabric half so fair.
Stanza: II.
Line-01-009 Banners yellow, glorious, golden,
Line-01-010 [[indent]] On its roof did float and flow;
Line-01-011 (This — all this — was in the olden
Line-01-012 [[indent]] Time long ago)
Line-01-013 And every gentle air that dallied,
Line-01-014 [[indent]] In that sweet day,
Line-01-015 Along the ramparts plumed and pallid,
Line-01-016 [[indent]] A {{1840-01: winged //1842-02: wingéd }} odor went away. [page 89:]
Stanza: III.
Line-01-017 Wanderers in that happy valley
Line-01-018 [[indent]] Through two luminous windows saw
Line-01-019 Spirits moving musically
Line-01-020 [[indent]] To a lute's well-tunéd law,
Line-01-021 Round about a throne, where {{1842-02: , }} sitting
Line-01-022 [[indent]] (Porphyrogene!)
Line-01-023 In state his glory well befitting,
Line-01-024 [[indent]] The {{1840-01: sovereign //1842-02: ruler }} of the realm was seen.
Stanza: VI.
Line-01-025 And all with pearl and ruby glowing
Line-01-026 [[indent]] Was the fair palace door,
Line-01-027 Through which came flowing, flowing, flowing,
Line-01-028 [[indent]] And sparkling evermore,
Line-01-029 A troop of Echoes whose sweet duty
Line-01-030 [[indent]] Was but to sing,
Line-01-031 In voices of surpassing beauty,
Line-01-032 [[indent]] The wit and wisdom of their king.
Stanza: V.
Line-01-033 But evil things, in robes of sorrow,
Line-01-034 [[indent]] Assailed the monarch's high estate;
Line-01-035 (Ah, let us mourn, for never morrow
Line-01-036 [[indent]] Shall dawn upon him, desolate!)
Line-01-037 And, round about his home, the glory
Line-01-038 [[indent]] That blushed and bloomed
Line-01-039 Is but a dim-remembered story
Line-01-040 [[indent]] Of the old time entombed.
Stanza: VI.
Line-01-041 And travellers now within that valley,
Line-01-042 [[indent]] Through the red-litten windows, see
Line-01-043 Vast forms that move fantastically
Line-01-044 [[indent]] To a discordant melody; [page 90:]
Line-01-045 While, like a rapid ghastly river,
Line-01-046 [[indent]] Through the pale door,
Line-01-047 A hideous throng rush out forever,
Line-01-048 [[indent]] And laugh — but smile no more.
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Notes:
For an explanation of the formatting used in this Study Text, see editorial policies and methods. This format is very much an experiment, particularly for poetry.
Because Poe's changes here are made in his own copy of Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque, the pagination of that edition has been retained in the present text. Because the poem appears in the middle of the tale “The Fall of the House of Usher,” it bears no title. Because that tale is part of a collection of Poe's stories, there is no separate byline.
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
[S:0 - comparative] - Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore - Works - Poems - The Haunted Palace (Study Text - TGAPP)