Page:Southern Life in Southern Literature.djvu/516

498 affair to speedy termination), that she was the Lenore of "The Raven." Raven: frequently in literature a bird of ill ome,n. Pallas: Min erva, goddess of wisdom. Plutonian: characteristic of Pluto, god of the underworld, where utter darkness reigned.

"Wretch": the lover addresses himself. nepenthe: a drink thought by the ancients to banish sorrow; later it came to mean any thing that quieted physical or mental anguish, as, for instance, opium. balm in Gilead: a Biblical phrase signifying remedy or consolation for sorrow. Aidenn: a form for Eden coined by Poe for the rime. the lamplight o er him streaming: in answer to criticism of this line Poe explained, "My conception was that of the bracket candelabrum affixed against the wall, high up above the door and bust."

QUESTIONS. I. Reconstruct the dramatic situation. 2. According to

Poe the interpretation of the poem was to be found by taking the fact that the Raven stood for " Mournful and Never-ending remembrance " in connection with lines 101, 107, and 108. With this clue explain the significance of the poem.

ULALUME (PAGE 233)

This poem was published in December, 1847. As Poe s wife had died under distressing circumstances in the preceding January, the poem evidently is an expression of the poet s mood under his bereavement. Auber: coined by Poe. Weir: coined by Poe for the sake of rime. Psyche: the Greek word for soul. scoriae rivers: rivers of lava. Yaanek: another of Poe s specially coined words. boreal pole: probably the Antarctic regions. senescent: growing old. Astarte: the moon goddess of the Phoenicians. crescent: suggestive of hope. Dian: the moon goddess of the Romans, who was chaste and cold to the advances of lovers. where the worm never dies: an expression from the Bible implying the gnawing of the unending grief. stars of the Lion: the constellation Leo. Lethean: with the power of the river Lethe in Hades, which, according to classical mythology, induced forgetfulness. sibyllic: mysterious. The Sibyls in classical mythol ogy were priestesses of Apollo who were inspired to utter mysterious prophecies. legended: with an inscription.

QUESTION. This poem has been commonly regarded as a mere ex

periment in verbal melody with very little meaning. Bearing in mind what was said above as to the circumstances of the composition of the poem, endeavor to interpret the poem as an expression of the poet s feeling at that time.