Text: Richard Beale Davis, “Poe's Tales,” Chivers' Life of Poe, 1952, pp. 78-80

[page 78:]

Mr Poe wrote about seventy Tales — all of which appear to me to be the faithful records of some peculiar phase of [page 79:] his own being, or mental rapture, at the time of their composition — none possessing a more remarkable idiosncrasy [sic] than the two following, which I now republish in this work from the Broadway Journal, not only because they are the most wonderful specimens of psychological Literature in the whole wide world of inspiration; but because they are the most perfect revelations of what he considered the true nature of the Tale proper.

I refer to these more particularly here because they are not only the truest revelations of his peuliar [sic] mode of thinking at the time — being two of the earliest of his prose compositions — but because the first is a most beautiful unique as well as graphically true — although highly idealized — record of his early love for his wife — Miss Mary Clemm.

The first entitled ELEONORA, possesses all the novel charms of a Poem proper, — if, indeed, it may not be considered a Prose-Poem of the highest order — equal not only in originality of conception, but in artistical execution, to the very best of Ossian's Poems, — the obsolescent style of the Epos giving it that Oriental tenderness of flow truly pathetic in its nature. It is not only a most remarkable Prophesy fulfilled, as it were, almost in the very utterance — virtually, if not absolutely fulfilled afterward, — but a Classic of the highest order — the Gothic thought being wrought out into the most enchanting beauty by an Art equal to that which characterized the best Poems of the Periclian Age of Grecian Glory. This is what constitutes its Classicism — although, as in all lofty productions — the creations of a true inspiration — the Art is the offspring rather than the mother, of fortuitousness. Not so with all Poe's productions — particularly his Poems — wherein we [page 80:] can recognize how far he subordinated intuition to pure Art. Then, with what graphic beauty he reveals to us his real-ideal Bower of Bliss — the Paradise of his first love — the flower-gemmed Valley of divinest enchantment, — where he spent, with the Morning Star of his Soul, making it an Eden, the Halycon Days of his youth — surpassing even the most renowned of the Fairy Tales.

This Tale — (showing that it was not only an early pro-duction — revealing some of the freshest as well as loftiest emotions of his soul — but one very dear to his heart — ) contains the rudiments of many of his after-thoughts.

The second Tale, entitled SHADOW — A PARABLE — is the development of another very similar phase of his mental conception — the only difference between the two consisting in the nature of the Theme — both being, in truth, the revelation of his own lofty Ideals of Beauty — a Beauty, indeed, enveloped in darkness — a darkness that unfolds to us, as it were, the very loveliness that it, at first blush, appears to hide — bursting upon us, not in a flood of glory — as a less skill-ful Artist would have made it — but in fitful and enchanting glimpses, like the revelation of a Divine Light from Heaven.

In this consisted the wonderful, if not supernatural, Art of Poe. He never would overwhelm us with any of his beautiful, as well as enchanting, creations; but so veiled them in the divine garments of his own transcendent genius, that their loveliness steals upon us with an exilerating [sic] freshness, like the odorous advent of some cloudless May Morning. This constituted his originality as a Tale writer — this being more perceptible in his Tales than in his Poems.

But as it was not my intention, in the Beginning of this Introduction, to write an Analysis of his manifold Tales, I will now give the ones referred to above, precisely as they were written by his own hand.(163)

[[Footnotes]]

[The following footnotes appear at the bottom of page 78:]

162 This returns to HEH HM 2530 and begins at the top of a long sheet in a hand like that in which most of the other material of this group of MSS. is written.

[The following footnote appears at the bottom of page 81:]

163 This is followed by two leaves and a piece from the Broadway Journal. The “piece” begins “Eleanora,” and it continues on the full sheet (2 cols. one side and one on other). “Shadow” appears on a half-sheet of the Broadway Journal (p. 341-2), both sides. The two larger sheets are numbered in pencil, 21 and 22 (presumably 31 and 32). There is one little slip with a horned face on it numbered 31-32, following these sheets. The stories appeared in the issues of the Broadway Journal No. 21 (May 24, 1845) and No. 22 (May 31, 1845), pp. 341-2 respectively.