| City in the Sea Lo! Death has reared himself a throne In a strange city lying alone Far down within the dim West, Where the good and the bad and the worst and the best Have gone to their eternal rest. There shrines and palaces and towers (Time-eaten towers that tremble not!) Resemble nothing that is ours. Around, by lifting winds forgot, Resignedly beneath the sky The melancholy waters lie. No rays from the holy heaven come down On the long night-time of that town; But light from out the lurid sea Streams up the turrents silently-- Gleams up the pinnacles far and free-- Up domes--up spires--up kingly halls-- Up fanes--up Babylon-like walls-- Up shadowly long-forgotten bowers Of sculptured ivy and stone flowers-- Up many and many a marvellous shrine Whose wreathed friezes intertwine The viol, the violet, and the vine. Resignedly beneath the sky The melancholy waters lie. So blend the turrents and shadows there That all seem pendulous in air, While from a proud tower in the town Death looks gigantically down. There open fanes and gaping graves Yawn level with the luminous waves; But not the riches there that lie In each idol's diamond eye-- Not the gaily-jewelled dead Tempt the waters from their bed; For no ripples curl, alas! Along the wilderness of glass-- No swellings tell that winds may be Upon some far-off happier sea-- No heavings hint that winds have been On seas less hideously serene. But lo, a stir is in the air! The wave--there is a movement there! As if the towers had thrust aside, In slightly sinking, the dull tide-- As if their tops had feebly given A void within the filmy Heaven. The waves have now a redder glow-- The hours are breathing faint and low-- And when, amid no earthly moans, Down, down that town shall settle hence, Hell, rising from a thousand thrones, Shall do it reverence. |
| Edgar Allan Poe |
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| Biography Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts on January 19, 1809. His father deserted the family, and his mother, an actress, died of tuberculosis when Edgar was three. Edgar went to live with his uncle, John Allan, and aunt Frances in Richmond, Virginia. In 1826, Poe entered the University of Virginia and was an exceptional student, unfortunately, he was forced to drop out due to immense gambling debts. In March 1827, Poe enlisted in the army under the name "Edgar A. Perry", because his uncle wanted him to become a lawyer instead of following a literary career. When he was discharged from the army in 1829, he had attained the rank of sergeant major. In 1830, Poe moved to Baltimore to live with his aunt, Maria Clemm, and her daughter Virginia, and enlisted in the U.S. Military Academy in an effort to attain his uncle's respect. When Frances' Allan died and Poe's uncle remarried, Poe decided to he would never reconcile with his uncle or receive an inheritance. Poe deliberately broke regulations to force his dismissal from West Point. Poe's literary career first began with poetry. He published two volumes of poetry before he became disappointed with the lack of recognition, and began to write short stories. The first five of which were published in 1832. On May 16, 1836, Poe married his cousin Virginia, who at the time was just thirteen. He worked as an editor for several magazines following his marriage and throughout his lifetime. The last years of Poe's life were very tragic. Virginia died of tuberculosis in 1847, after five years of suffering from the illness. Poe occasionally turned to alcohol to ease his despair. He was able to control the drinking, so it didn't affect his work, despite what some critics may say. In 1849, Poe became engaged to Sarah Royster Shelton. On the way to the wedding (on Sept. 28) he stopped in Baltimore and was later found lying outsided a voting place on October 3. He died in a hospital four days later, cause of death unknown. |
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Click on the link for more of Edgar's Poems. More poems The Raven |