UNIT 21 H.W. LONGFELLOW AND EDGAR ALLAN POE

Contents

2 1.0 Objectives 2 1.1 Introduction 21.2 Longfellow and Poe 2 1.3 21.3.1 Outline of the poem 2 1.3.2 Appreciation 21.3.3 Poetic Devices 2 1.4 The Raven 2 1.4.1 Outline of the poem 21.4.2 Appreciation 21.4.3 Poetic Devices 21.5 Summing Up 21.6 Answers to Self-check Exercises

21.0 OBJECTIVES

After reading this unit, you should be able to appreciate and analyse H.W. Longfellow's 'A Psalm of Life'and Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Raven'. Also, on the basis of the analysis done by us, you should be able to analyse the other poems which you come across in your day-to-day life.

21.1 INTRODUCTION

In Units 19 and 20, we have discussed the prescribed poems of Emerson and Whitman. In this Unit, we shall analyse the poems of two more American poets, namely. H.W. Longfellow and E.A. Poe. The biographical sketches of Longfellow and I Poe are given in the following section.

t 21.2 LONGFELLOW (1807-1882) AND POE (1809-1949) ------1- . -r- I 1 Henry Wards Worth Longfellow (1807-1882)was9' a master of words and3 acchts. Longfellow has been praised by the recent critics for his technique and decried for his didacticism. His art concealed largely, because of its simple naturalnyss. Unlike most poets, he managed to get both rhyme and rhyth'm without using many unusual words and, as a rule, without changing the normal oider of phrases and sentences. ~on~fellowcould; at times, make each word, each line do its job. The plots of his bes' narratives were developed by him in excellent order. His best lyrics-whatever might be said against their didacticism---at least have the unity which the development of a single thought or sentiment give them. Here we should not forget that Walt Whitmai complained of Longfellow's poetry being "reminiscent, polish'd, elegant, with the air of,first conventional library, picture-gallery or parlor, with ladies and gentlemen in them ..." Longfellow published Hyperion, a prose romance after the reigning German fashion and an echo of both his foreign travels and the pictures of legends that had fired his imagination. In the same year, he published his first volun~eof verse, Voices of the Night, containing 'Hymn to the Night' and 'A Psalm of Life'. In 1841, he published Ballads and Other Poems, containing 'The wreck of the Hesperus'. 'The Skeleton in Armor', 'The Village Blacksmith' and ''. On his seventy fourth birthday, he made the following entry in his journal : "I am surrounded by roses and lillies, Flowe'rs Every where, And that which should, accompany old age, As honor, love, obedience, troops of friends". He died in 1882.

I - - - . - - Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) was the saddest and the strongest figure in American literary history. He was born in Boston in 1809 to itinerant actors. His first volume of poetry entitled Tamerlane and other poems was published in ~ostoain1828 and second volume of poetry entitled Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane and Minor Poems in' 1830. His Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque was published in 1840 and 'The Raven' brought his fame in 1843. Critical opinion of Poe's writings tended bpward the extremes. W.B. Yeats judged Poe to bg'always and for all lands a great lyric poet' and many Frencb authors such as ~audassant,Baudelaire, and Valery have ebtolled him as an original artist of high distinction. Poe was hailed as the Father of $ymbolist Poetry in France. But in AmeMca, on the other hand, Poe was ignored by writers of the stature of Emerson. In the following sections, we shall discuss the prescribed poems of Longfellow and,Poe. I 21.3 'A PSALM OF LIFE'

What the Heart of the Young Man Said to the Psalmist

, Tell me not, in mournful numbers, "Life is but an empty dream!" For the soul is dead that slumbers, And things are not what they seem. Life is real! Life is earnest! And the grave is not its goal; "Dust thou art, to dust returnest," Was not spoken of the soul. Not enjoyment, and not sorrow, Is our destined end or way; But to act, that each to-morrow Finds us farther than to-day. Art is long, and Time is fleeting, I And our hearts, though stout and 'brave, I Still, like muffled drums, are beating Funeral marches to the grave. In the world's broad field of battle, In the bivouac of Life, Be not like dumb, driven cattle! Be a hero in the strife! Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant! Let the dead Past bury its dead! Act,-act in the living present! Heart within, and God o'erhead!

Lives of great men all remind us I We can make our lives sublime, And, departing, leave behind us Footprints on the sands of time; Footprints, that perhaps another, Sailing o'er life's solemn main, A forlorn and shipwrecked brother, Seeing, shall take heart again. Let us, then, be up and doing, With a heart for any fate;

Still achieving, still pursuing, I ., Learn to labor and to wait.

21.3.1 Outline of the Poem The poem contains the response of a youngman to a Psalmist. (Psalmist is a writer of sacied hymns or songs.) In the first stanza, the youqgman asks the Psalmist not to tell him that life is an empty dream or life is unreal. In the following stanza, the youngman emphatically states that life is real and that the grave is not its goal. He further says that the body comes from and returns to dust, but not the soul. In Stanza 3, he states that ne~therenjoyment nor sorrow is the goal of life. Action is - the maip aim of life. In Stanza 4, he feels sorry that we waste our time in thinking about graves and funerals withofit bothering about the greatness of art. Continuing in ' the same vein, the youngman says (in the fifth stanza) one should not be like the dumb cattle driven by others; but one should be like a hero in the struggle and strife of life. Ag2in, in the sixth stanza, the emphasis is on action in the present, without caring for the past or the future. Further, he suggests that God's grace will be . bestowed on men of action. In the seventh and eighth stanzas, the youngman says that I the lives of great men inspire us to become great and leave our footprints on the sands of time and those footprints will be followed by the less fortunate brothers. In the . concluding stanza, the emphasis is again on action and the capacity to wait. 21.3.2 Appreciation

'A Psalm of Life' is a simple, lucid, and meaningful poem. It is a satire on the writers of holy hymns and religious preachers whose sermons are suffused with pessimism, fatalism and defeatism. The speaker, in the present poem, is a youngman. Being young, his emphasis is on optimism and action. He is frank and forthright in making categorical statements. He says : "Life is real! Life is earnest! 8 .. And the grave is not its goal; 'Dust thou art, to dust returnest' Was not spoken of the soul." He exhorts people to be heroes in the struggle of life and to become great by emulating greatmen. Finally, he implores people to 'learn to labor and to wait'. In the present poem, the emphasis is on action, but not on the fruits of action. Doesn't this attitude remind you of the philosophy of The Bhagavad Gita? The Gita says : "Act regardless of the fruits of your actions". Longfellow also talks about 'God O'erhead' andpsks people to learn to labor and to wait.

Further, Longfellow did affirm in 'A Psalm of Life', the masculine creed of action, without bothering about 'enjoyment' or 'sorrow', as a means of creating values. This affirmation is a manifestation of the philosophy of pragmatism. Though the message conveyed by the poem is meaningful and ,useful, do you not think that it is didactic? 21.3.3 Poetic Devices

I) The poem contains seven stanzas. Each stanza follows the rhyme scheme ab, ab. To all the stanzas are rhythmic. 2) 'Alliteration is used in a number of places'.

Example : soul ' - slumbers grave - goal . spoken - soul durn - driven 3) The words have been chosen well. The choice of words contributes to the simplicity and lucidity of the poem. Do you find any other poetic devices used in the poem?

Self-check Exercise 1 Answer the following. 1) .Write a critical appreciation of 'A Psalm of Life'. (150 words)

2) Write a brief note on the poetic devices used in the poem. (75 words)

I 21.4 THE RAVEN

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondere(, weak and weary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,- - -- While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, EW. md - WAlmPOe As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door. "Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door : Only this and nothing more." Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December, And each separqte dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor. Eagerly I wished the morrow;-vainly I had sought to borrow From my books surcease of sorrow-sorrow for the lost Lenore, For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore : Nameless here for evermore.

And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain Thrilled me-filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before; So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating "Tis somevisitor entreating entrance at my chamber door, Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door : This it is and nothing more."

Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer, "Sir," said I, "or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore; But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping, And so fa$tly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door, That I scarce was sure I heard you9'-here I opened wide the door :- Darkness there and nothing more.

Deep into that darkness peering, long I siood there wondering, fearing, Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortals ever dared to dream before; But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token, And the only word there spoken was the whispered word "Lenore". This I whisp~red,and an echo murmured back the word, "Lenore". Merely this and nothing more.

Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning, Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before. "Surely," said I, "surely that is something at my window lattice; Let me see, then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore;"

Open here I flung tbe shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter, In there stepped a stately Raven of the saintly days of yore. Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he; But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door, Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door : Perched, and sat, and nothing more.

Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore,-- "Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou," I said, "art sure no craven, Ghastly grim and ancient Raven wandering from the Nightly shore : Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!" Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore." Much I marveled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly, Though it answers little meaning-little relevancy bore; For we cannot help agreeing that no living human being Ever yet was blessed with seeing bird above his chamber door, Bird or beast upon the sculptured bust above his chamber door, _ With such name as "Nevermore." But the Raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only That one,word, cts if his soul in that one word he did outpour. Nathihg further then he uttered, not a feather then he fluttered, Till I scarcely more than muttered,-"Other friends have flown before; On the morrow he will leave me, as my Hopes have flown before." Thea the bid said, "Nevermore." ------Startled at the stillness broken by reply so aptly sppken, "Doubth," said I, "what it utters is its only stock and store, caught from some unhappy master whom unmerciful Disaster Followed fast and followed faster, till his songs one burden bore : Till the dirges of his Hope that melancholy burden bore Of 'Never-nevermore." But the Raven still beguiling all my fancy into smiling, Straight I'wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird and bust and door; Then, upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore, What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt, and ominous bird of yore Meant in croaking "Nevermore." This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosom's core; This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining On the cushion's velvet lining that the lamplight gloated o'er, But whose velvet violet lining with the lamplight gloating o'er She shall press, ah, nevermore! Then, methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer Swung by seraphim whose foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor. "'Wretch," I cried, "thy god hath lent thee-by these angels he hath sent thee Respite-respite and nepenthe from thy memories of Lenore! Quafcoh quaff this kind nepenthe, and'forget this lost Lenore!" Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore." "Prophet!" said I, "thing of evil! prophet still, if bird or devil! Whether Tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore, Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted- On tqs home by Horror haunted-tell me truly, I implore : Is there-is there balm in ~ilead?-tell me-tell me, I implore!" Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore." "Prophet!" said I, "thing of evil-prophet still, if bird or devil! By that Heaven that bends above ds, by that God we both adore Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn, It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore : Clasp a rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore!" Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore." "Be that word our sign of parting, bird or fiend!" I shrieked, upstarting: "Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore! Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soy1 hath spoken! a Leave my loneliness unbroken! Quit the bust above my door! Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!" Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore." And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door; And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming, And the lamplight o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor: And my soul from out that shadow*that lies floating on the floor Shall be lifted-nevermore! 21.4.1 Outline of the Poem A raven, having crammed the word 'Nevermore' and having escaped from the custody of its owner, is driven at midnight in December through the violence of a storm and seeks admission into a room through a window. The window is that of the chamber of a scholar, occupied half in poring over a volume and half in dreaming of his beloved who is qo more. The window being thrown open at the tapping of the bird's wings, tht bird itself sits on the most convenient seat. The scholar, who is amused by the incident and the oddity of the visitor's behaviour, demands of'it, in jest and without looking for a reply, its name. The raven answers with its customary word 'Nevermore*. , - The word 'Nevermore' finds an immediate echo in the melancholy heart of the aw. d scholar, who, giving utterance aloud to certain thoughts suggested by the occasion, is *-Po@ again started by the bird's repetition of 'Nevermore'. The scholar now guesses the state of the case, but is impelled by the human thirst for self-torture, and in part by superstition, to propound such queries to the bird as will bring him, the lover, the most of the luxury of sorrow, through the anticipated answer 'Nevermore'. From that moment the lover (in the scholar) no longer sees even the fantastic in the bird's behaviour, but speaks of him as a 'grim, ungainly, ghostly, gaunt, and ominous bird of yore'. 21.4.2 Appreciation.

You must know, as a student, how poets and other creative writers arrive at a theme or a plot, and the background behind their choice of characters, titles, and situations. Aren't you curious to know the background to the writing of 'The Raven'. If you are curious (we feel, you must be curious), read the following paragraph carefully: - There is a pet raven named grip in Dicken's Butnaby Rudge, while reviewing the novel, Poe felt that Dickens might have made more of the bird : "Its croakings night have been prophetically heard in the course of the drama. Its character might have performed, in regard to that of the idiot, much the same part as, in music, the accompaniment in respect to the air." Here was the germ of the poem. Poe may have been influenced by the verse of Thomas Holley Chivers, and was almost certainly indebted to "Lady Geraldine's Courtship" by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, to whom he dedicated The Raven and Other Poems. For example, Poe's line 13 is close to Mrs. Browning's : "With a murmurous stir uncertain, in the air the purple curtain ..." Discussing 'The Raven' in 'The philosophy of Composition', Ppe wrote : "It is my design to render it manifest that no one point in its composition is referable either to accident or intuition- that the work proceeded, step by step, to its completioil with the precision and rigid consequences of a mathematical problem." Moreover, according to Poe, if a literary work is too long to be read atlone sitting, the immensely important effect derivable from unity of impression must be dispensed with. For the above reason, Poe thought the proper length for his poem should be one hundred lines. It is, in fact, a hundred and eight lines. Further, beauty is the sole legitimate'province of the poem. According to Poe, the ' pleasure which is at once the most iutense, the most elevating, and the most pure is found in the contemplation'of the beautiful. As melancholy is the most legitimate of ill the poetical tones, Poe has chosen it as the tone for the poem.

1 The refrain (which means the word or words or even lines of a song or poem which are repeated at the end of each stanza) in the present poem 'Nevermore' is chosen to suit the tone of the poem i.e. melancholy. And the topic of the poem is the death of a beautiful woman, namely, Lenore,'who was the beloved of the scholar. Finally, the locale for the poem is the scholar's chamber-a chamber rendered sacred to him by memories of his beloved who had frequented it. The room is represented as richly furnished. The denoument (or resolution of the conflict) takes place when the raven's reply 'Nevermore' to the lover's final demand if he shall meet his mistress in another world. Having dilated on the critical appreciation, we shall now proceed to the section on poetical devices. 21.4.3 Poetic Devices

1) The metre employed in the poem is trochaic. That is, the feet employed throughout (trochees) consist of a long syllable followed by a short syllable. 2) In the refrain of the poem, i.e. 'Nevermore' the most sonorous vowel '0' and the most producible consonant 'r' are used. 3) The literary device 'alliteration' is employed in the prese-oeni in a number of places : Example : napping - tapping - rapping flirt - flutter further - feather - flutter startled - stillness If you find any other poetic devices, please discuss them with your Counsellor. Self-check Exercise 2 Answer the following. 1) Write a brief note on the outline of the poem. (100 words)

...... 2) Write a critical appreciation of the peom. (175 words)

...... 3) Write a brief note on the poetic devices used in the poem. (75 words)

21.5 SUMMING UP

Longfellow's 'A Psalm of Life' is a lucid and meaningful poem. It deals with the role of action in human life. It decries pessimism and the preachings of.prophets of doom. Poe's poem entitled 'The Raven' is a beautiful poem with a well-chosen, meaningful refrain. We can call it an essay on how to compose a poem. It can be a model for budding creative writers.

21.6 ANSWERS TO SELF-CHECK EXERCISES Self-check Exercise 1 1) Read the poem tnoroughly and refer Section 21.4' 2) Refer Section 21.5 after re-reading the poem Self-check Exercise 2

1) Refer Section 21.7 ' 2) Read the poem carefully and refer Section 21.8 3) Refer Section 21.9