Spirits Of The Dead By Edgar Allan Poe

Death in Life
“The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins?” Edgar Allan Poe once questioned. His curiosity of death morphed into the famous dark nature of his work. Spirits of the Dead (Share) was initially published with the title Visits of the Dead in his first poetry collection in 1827 (Bardhan). This poem conveys the message that the natural and uncontrollable force of death torments both the living and the dead. Every component was thoughtfully placed by Poe to convey this idea. His life experiences translate into the voice behind the poem providing a deeper understanding and appreciation for the literature. From a Jungian Literary critical perspective
He enforces the idea that nature controls many unexplained thoughts and emotions using personification. In the second stanza, “The night, tho’ clear, shall frown- / And the stars shall look not down” is elaborated to explain that the light of stars can supply hope to mortals at the same time as taunting spirits (11-12). Giving nature human qualities applies a controlling presence which foreshadows the ending in which death is portrayed as a very natural occurrence. Nature symbolizes power and throughout the poem more symbolism is used with seemingly unrelated topics to create a deeper understanding. “The breeze-the breath of God-is still- / And the mist upon the hill” symbolizes life and the uncertain line between life and death (23-24). Poe is implying that God breathes life into us and when He ceases to do so, death occurs. Mist obstructs sight but not to the extent that one cannot see, with this in mind readers can understand that the mist is a biological separation between life and death but the translucency is the emotional similarity. The capability to see something through the mist but not a clear vision is tormenting to the spirits missing life and the mortals seeking a comprehension of death. Symbolism helps readers understand the message being conveyed. In this poem, the message shifts with a
Every piece of literature has a voice and every author has life experiences that shape that voice. Today Poe is famous for his short stories and poetry but at the beginning of his career he financially supported himself with editorial work (Dodson). The intense critical perspective he had on literature aided him in producing shocking work of his own. The poem concludes by saying that the mist “Is a symbol and a token-” which are often interchangeable words but because of his close attention to detail they have a very different meaning in this case (26). The symbol is the mist itself and the token is the feeling that it produces. He did not intend for the words to be treated as synonyms but rather tell a story of their own. Poe had a very in depth understanding of how words and phrases would be interpreted by others “whereas earlier critics predominantly concerned themselves with moral or ideological generalities, Poe focused his criticism on the specifics of style and construction” making his writing so effective (Dodson). His fixation on knowing all about death before it happens to him originates in the intense analytic mindset that ultimately haunted him. Being in an occupation of judgement caused heightened self-judgement and in his era there was a strong focus on oneself. Imagination and self-expression were celebrated