Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven And The Tell-Tale Heart
Edgar Allan Poe is a writer known for pioneering a myriad of literary themes: darkness, death, horror, murder, insanity, revenge, and torture, to name a few. Poe’s stories “The Raven” and “The Tell-Tale Heart” are chilling tales that represent the best of the best in the world of horror. However, beneath this man’s shell of hair-raising poetry and homicide-themed short stories, there lies a glimmer of light.“To Helen”(poetryoutloud.org) is a love poem created in honor of a childhood friend’s mother, written by Poe at the tender age of 22. It attracted me due to the poem’s significant deviation from Edgar Allen Poe’s traditional macabre tales and the allusions to classical Greek mythology.”To Helen” is an abrupt shift from Poe’s gothic style,
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and represents the loving, light-hearted side of the horror poet we all know and love while also displaying some of Poe’s most impressive poetic abilities
The basis of any great piece of literature are great words, and “To Helen” is not lacking in the word department. Right off the bat, Poe unleashes a test of my vocabulary knowledge with the phrase “Nicean barks of yore.” The meaning of “Nicean” is disputed, but most people believe it’s a reference to Nicaea, which, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, was an ancient city in modern day Turkey. In this case, “barks” does not reference the outer shell of a tree, but is used an ancient term meaning “ship” or “boat.” In the second stanza, Poe makes a reference to the “Naiad airs.” In classical Greek mythology, the Naiads were divine water nymphs which brought life to the lakes and rivers of Greece. The word “airs” most likely means the appearance of something, as in “an air of luxury.” In the last stanza, the author makes a reference to “Psyche.” Psyche is a greek goddess most who is most well known from the story Cupid and Psyche, where Psyche embarks on a quest to reunite with her lost love. Ancient Greece has historically been known for its culture and beauty, so Poe’s liberal use of Greek vocabulary is fitting for a love poem.
After learning about the vocabulary and the endless references to Greece and beauty found in the poem, I was left with a question; Who is Helen?
Who is this mythical woman which Edgar Allen Poe is head over heels for? According to the Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore, “To Helen” was not written to “Helen”, but in honor of Jane Stanard. Stanard was the mother of Poe’s friend and classmate, Robert Stanard, and her beauty and charm caused Poe to fall in love. This struck me as a surprising turn of events, considering most teenage boys don’t become enamored with their friend’s mom. In fact, when I presented a multiple-choice question to my advisory class asking who the poem was meant for, only 20% of the students assumed it was written for his childhood friend’s mother. Although Poe’s taste in women might be abnormal, he was absolutely infatuated with Stanard. Sadly, a recurring theme in Poe’s poetry and his life as well is death, and this story is not an exception. Jane fell ill and died on April 28th, 1824. Her passing left a mark on Edgar’s conscious which eventually took form as the love poem “To Helen.” The vivid depictions of Helen’s beauty and the allusions to ancient Greece serve as a testament to the feeling our writer felt for
Stanard.
An integral part of “To Helen” are the various allusions spread throughout the poem, with references to Homer’s The Odyssey as well as other tales from Greek and Roman mythology. The subject of the poem is obviously a reference to Helen of Troy, a woman who was famed throughout the land for her beauty. The ancient Greek references continue into the first stanza, with the “weary way-worn wanderer” alluding to Odysseus from Homer’s famous poems. There are also references to the Naiads, Psyche and Cupid, as well as ancient Rome. These allusions portray Helen as not just a beautiful woman, but practically divine in nature. After researching “To Helen” and the history surrounding it, I wanted to learn what my peers thought about this poem. I surveyed my advisory class of twelve people with a basic, two multiple-choice question sheet. The first question was what emotion they most closely identified with after reading the poem, and the second was who they might assume the poem was written for. I was most surprised by the answers to the first question. Although the majority of the class chose either love or joy as their emotion, 25% of the class felt sad after reading the poem. This is understandable because the speaker is basically telling Helen about how difficult his life was before he met her. Although the poem is characterized by love, there are certainly sad undertones as well. I also interviewed my mother for her opinions on “To Helen.” She immediately noticed the allusions to Helen of Troy and other examples of Greek Mythology. She particularly enjoyed the classical references in the poem. “To Helen” is a poem which shows off a side of Edgar Allan Poe which we rarely get to see. Jane Stanard, the mother of one of Poe’s childhood friends, is the inspiration for the poem. The poem uses vocabulary from ancient Greece to great effect, inspiring images of culture and beauty. Allusions to Homer’s The Odyssey and other Greek myths are also used to further cement the image of Helen’s divine beauty. Although the poem is a story of love, their are sad undertones in the poem as well. “To Helen” tells the story of a woman whose beauty is unmatchable, the story of a teenager in love with his friend’s mom, and most of all, the story of a horror writer’s darkest secret: a soft spot for love.
and represents the loving, light-hearted side of the horror poet we all know and love while also displaying some of Poe’s most impressive poetic abilities
The basis of any great piece of literature are great words, and “To Helen” is not lacking in the word department. Right off the bat, Poe unleashes a test of my vocabulary knowledge with the phrase “Nicean barks of yore.” The meaning of “Nicean” is disputed, but most people believe it’s a reference to Nicaea, which, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, was an ancient city in modern day Turkey. In this case, “barks” does not reference the outer shell of a tree, but is used an ancient term meaning “ship” or “boat.” In the second stanza, Poe makes a reference to the “Naiad airs.” In classical Greek mythology, the Naiads were divine water nymphs which brought life to the lakes and rivers of Greece. The word “airs” most likely means the appearance of something, as in “an air of luxury.” In the last stanza, the author makes a reference to “Psyche.” Psyche is a greek goddess most who is most well known from the story Cupid and Psyche, where Psyche embarks on a quest to reunite with her lost love. Ancient Greece has historically been known for its culture and beauty, so Poe’s liberal use of Greek vocabulary is fitting for a love poem.
After learning about the vocabulary and the endless references to Greece and beauty found in the poem, I was left with a question; Who is Helen?
Who is this mythical woman which Edgar Allen Poe is head over heels for? According to the Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore, “To Helen” was not written to “Helen”, but in honor of Jane Stanard. Stanard was the mother of Poe’s friend and classmate, Robert Stanard, and her beauty and charm caused Poe to fall in love. This struck me as a surprising turn of events, considering most teenage boys don’t become enamored with their friend’s mom. In fact, when I presented a multiple-choice question to my advisory class asking who the poem was meant for, only 20% of the students assumed it was written for his childhood friend’s mother. Although Poe’s taste in women might be abnormal, he was absolutely infatuated with Stanard. Sadly, a recurring theme in Poe’s poetry and his life as well is death, and this story is not an exception. Jane fell ill and died on April 28th, 1824. Her passing left a mark on Edgar’s conscious which eventually took form as the love poem “To Helen.” The vivid depictions of Helen’s beauty and the allusions to ancient Greece serve as a testament to the feeling our writer felt for
Stanard.
An integral part of “To Helen” are the various allusions spread throughout the poem, with references to Homer’s The Odyssey as well as other tales from Greek and Roman mythology. The subject of the poem is obviously a reference to Helen of Troy, a woman who was famed throughout the land for her beauty. The ancient Greek references continue into the first stanza, with the “weary way-worn wanderer” alluding to Odysseus from Homer’s famous poems. There are also references to the Naiads, Psyche and Cupid, as well as ancient Rome. These allusions portray Helen as not just a beautiful woman, but practically divine in nature. After researching “To Helen” and the history surrounding it, I wanted to learn what my peers thought about this poem. I surveyed my advisory class of twelve people with a basic, two multiple-choice question sheet. The first question was what emotion they most closely identified with after reading the poem, and the second was who they might assume the poem was written for. I was most surprised by the answers to the first question. Although the majority of the class chose either love or joy as their emotion, 25% of the class felt sad after reading the poem. This is understandable because the speaker is basically telling Helen about how difficult his life was before he met her. Although the poem is characterized by love, there are certainly sad undertones as well. I also interviewed my mother for her opinions on “To Helen.” She immediately noticed the allusions to Helen of Troy and other examples of Greek Mythology. She particularly enjoyed the classical references in the poem. “To Helen” is a poem which shows off a side of Edgar Allan Poe which we rarely get to see. Jane Stanard, the mother of one of Poe’s childhood friends, is the inspiration for the poem. The poem uses vocabulary from ancient Greece to great effect, inspiring images of culture and beauty. Allusions to Homer’s The Odyssey and other Greek myths are also used to further cement the image of Helen’s divine beauty. Although the poem is a story of love, their are sad undertones in the poem as well. “To Helen” tells the story of a woman whose beauty is unmatchable, the story of a teenager in love with his friend’s mom, and most of all, the story of a horror writer’s darkest secret: a soft spot for love.