Poems by Edgar Allan Poe

An unpublished 9-line poem written circa 1829 for Poe's cousin Elizabeth Rebecca Herring (the acrostic is her first name, spelled out by the first letter of each line). It was never published in Poe's lifetime. James H. Whitty discovered the poem and included it in his 1911 anthology of Poe's works under the title "From an Album". It was also published in Thomas Ollive Mabbott's definitive Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe in 1969 as "An Acrostic". The poem mentions "Endymion", possibly referring to an 1818 poem by John Keats with that name. The "L. E. L." in the third line may be Letitia Elizabeth Landon, an English artist known for signing her work with those initials. "Zantippe" in line four is actually Xanthippe, wife of Socrates. The spelling of the name was changed to fit the acrostic. ==Al Aaraaf (1829)==

This poem is based on stories from the Quran, and tells of the afterlife in the place called Al Aaraaf. Poe included it as the major poem in his 1829 collection Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane, and Minor Poems. ==Alone (1829)==

"Alone" is a 22-line poem originally written in 1829, and left untitled and unpublished during Poe's lifetime. The original manuscript was signed "E. A. Poe" and dated March 17, 1829. In February of that year, Poe's foster mother Frances Allan had died. In September 1875, the poem, which had been in the possession of a family in Baltimore, was published with its title in ''Scribner's Monthly''. The editor, E. L. Didier, also reproduced a facsimile of the manuscript, though he admitted he added the date himself. The poem is now often included in anthologies. "Alone" is often interpreted as autobiographical, expressing the author's feelings of isolation and inner torment. Poet Daniel Hoffman believed "Alone" was evidence that "Poe really was a haunted man". The poem, however, is an introspective about Poe's youth, written when he was only 20 years old. ==Annabel Lee (1849)==

The last complete poem written by Poe, it was published shortly after his death in 1849. The speaker of the poem talks about a lost love, Annabel Lee, and may have been based on Poe's own relationship with his wife Virginia, though that is disputed. ==The Bells (1848)==

First published after Poe's death, "The Bells" is a heavily onomatopoeic poem known for its repetition. ==Beloved Physician (1847)==

"The Beloved Physician" was written around April 1847 for Mary-Louise Shew, a nurse who also inspired Poe's more famous poem, "The Bells". The poem was originally ten stanzas long, although a version with nine stanzas was supposedly prepared by Poe for publication . It was never printed during his lifetime, and it now appears to be lost. Shew was able to recall about a tenth of a poem in a letter to editor John W. Ingham in 1875; these fragments were published in 1909, and appear to be all that remains of the piece. ==Bridal Ballad (1837)==

First published simply as "Ballad" in the January 1837 edition of the Southern Literary Messenger, it was later retitled as "Bridal Ballad" when it was printed in the July 31, 1841 edition of the Saturday Evening Post. The poem is unusual for Poe because it is written in the voice of a woman, specifically a recently married bride. Despite her reassurances that she is "happy," the poem has a somber tone as it recounts a previous love who has died. In marrying, she has broken her vow to this previous lover to love him eternally. Poe biographer Daniel Hoffman says that "Bridal Ballad" is guilty of "one of the most unfortunate rhymes in American poetry this side of Thomas Holley Chivers". He is referring to the name of the bride's dead lover, "D'Elormie", which he calls "patently a forced rhyme" for "o'er me" and "before me" in the previous lines. Aldous Huxley made the same observation, calling the rhyme "ludicrous" and "horribly vulgar". The poem is one of the few works by Poe to be written in the voice of a woman. See also the humorous tale "A Predicament". ==The City in the Sea (1831)==

In its first publication in 1831, "The City in the Sea" was published as "The Doomed City" before being renamed in 1845. It presents a personified Death sitting on the throne of a "strange city." ==The Coliseum (1833)==

"The Coliseum" explores Rome as a past glory that still exists in imagination. Poe submitted the poem to a contest sponsored by the Baltimore Saturday Visiter, which offered a prize of $25 to the winner. The judges chose a poem submitted by editor John Hill Hewitt under the pseudonym "Henry Wilton". Poe was outraged by what he considered nepotism; Hewitt later claimed that the two had a fistfight in the streets of Baltimore, though no evidence proves the event. Despite the controversy, "The Coliseum" was published by the Visiter in its October 26, 1833, issue. It was later incorporated into Poe's unfinished drama Politian. In a July 1844 letter to fellow author James Russell Lowell, Poe put "The Coliseum" as one of his six best poems. ==The Conqueror Worm (1843)==

First published as a separate poem in 1843, "The Conqueror Worm" was later incorporated into the text of Poe's short story "Ligeia". The poem seems to imply that all life is a worthless drama that inevitably leads to death. ==Deep in Earth (1847)==

"Deep in Earth" is a couplet, presumably part of an unfinished poem Poe was writing in 1847. In January of that year, Poe's wife Virginia had died in New York of tuberculosis. It is assumed that the poem was inspired by her death. It is difficult to discern, however, if Poe had intended the completed poem to be published or if it was personal. Poe scribbled the couplet onto a manuscript copy of his poem "Eulalie". That poem seems autobiographical, referring to his joy upon marriage. The significance of the couplet implies that he has gone back into a state of loneliness similar to before his marriage. It has been found that the second line of Poe's couplet was adapted from "Zarifa", a poem by Frances Osgood. ==The Divine Right of Kings (1845)==

"The Divine Right of Kings" is attributed to Edgar Allan Poe, though his authorship is not proven. It appeared in ''Graham's Magazine'' in October 1845. The "King" of the title is Ellen King, possibly representing Frances Sargent Osgood, to whom the writer pledges his devotion. It was first identified as Poe's in an article on November 21, 1915, using the poem's signature of "P." as evidence. ==A Dream (1827)==

"A Dream" is a lyric poem that first appeared without a title in Tamerlane and Other Poems in 1827. The narrator's "dream of joy departed" causes him to compare and contrast dream and "broken-hearted" reality. Its title was attached when it was published in Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane, and Minor Poems in 1829. ==A Dream Within a Dream (1849)==

"A Dream Within a Dream" was first published in 1849, the year of Poe's death, and asks if all life is really a dream. ==Dream-Land (1844)==

First published in the June 1844 issue of ''Graham's Magazine, "Dream-Land" (also called "Dreamland") was the only poem Poe published that year. It was quickly republished in a June 1845 edition of the Broadway Journal''. This lyric poem consists of five stanzas, with the first and last being nearly identical. The dream-voyager arrives in a place beyond time and space and decides to stay there. This place is odd yet majestic, with "mountains toppling evermore into seas without a shore". Even so, it is a "peaceful, soothing region" and is a hidden treasure like El Dorado. Poe biographer Arthur Hobson Quinn called it "one of [Poe's] finest creations", with each phrase contributing to one effect: a human traveler wandering between life and death. The eighth line of the poem is typically pushed slightly to the left of the other lines' indentation. ==Eldorado (1848)==

A short poem referencing the mythical El Dorado. A traveler asks a "shade" where to find the legendary city of gold and is told to "ride, boldly ride." ==Elizabeth (1829)==

Believed to have been written in 1829, "Elizabeth" was never published in Poe's lifetime. It was written for his Baltimore cousin, Elizabeth Rebecca Herring. Poe also wrote "An Acrostic" to her as well as the poem that would become "To F——s S. O——d." ==Enigma (1833)==

First printed in the February 2, 1833, issue of the Baltimore Saturday Visiter, "Enigma" is a riddle that hints at 11 authors. Line two, for example, references Homer and the ninth refers to Alexander Pope. It was signed only with "P.", though Thomas Ollive Mabbott attributed the poem to Poe – and solved the riddles. See the page on eapoe.org for more. ==An Enigma (1848)==

A riddle poem in a modified sonnet form, "An Enigma" was published in March 1848 in the Union Magazine of Literature and Art under its original simple title "Sonnet." Its new title was attached by Rufus Wilmot Griswold. Its lines conceal an anagram with the name Sarah Anna Lewis (also known as "Stella"). Lewis was an amateur poet who met Poe shortly after the death of his wife Virginia while he lived in Fordham, New York. Lewis's husband paid Poe $100 to write a review of Sarah's work. That review appeared in the September 1848 issue of the Southern Literary Messenger. Marie Louise Shew (Virginia's one-time volunteer nurse, of sorts) later said that Poe called Lewis a "fat, gaudily-dressed woman." Poe's biographer, Arthur Hobson Quinn, called "An Enigma" "one of Poe's feeblest poems". ==Epigram for Wall Street (1845)==

Printed in the New York Evening Mirror on January 23, 1845, the poem is generally accepted as being written by Poe, though it was published anonymously. The title neglected to capitalize "street." The humorous poem of four rhyming couplets tells savvy people interested in gaining wealth to avoid investments and banks. Instead, it suggests, fold your money in half, thereby doubling it. ==Eulalie (1843)==