LEONORE

Project in Reading and Writing Skills

I. Poem

Lenore
Edgar Allan Poe

Ah broken is the golden bowl! the spirit flown forever!

Let the bell toll!--a saintly soul floats on the Stygian river;
And, Guy De Vere, hast thou no tear?--weep now or never more!
See! on yon drear and rigid bier low lies thy love, Lenore!
Come! let the burial rite be read--the funeral song be sung!--
An anthem for the queenliest dead that ever died so young--
A dirge for her the doubly dead in that she died so young.
"Wretches! ye loved her for her wealth and hated her for her pride,
"And when she fell in feeble health, ye blessed her--that she died!
 "How shall the ritual, then, be read?--the requiem how be sung
"By you--by yours, the evil eye,--by yours, the slanderous tongue
"That did to death the innocent that died, and died so young?"
Peccavimus; but rave not thus! and let a Sabbath song
Go up to God so solemnly the dead may feel so wrong!
The sweet Lenore hath "gone before," with Hope, that flew beside
Leaving thee wild for the dear child that should have been thy bride--
For her, the fair and debonair, that now so lowly lies,
The life upon her yellow hair but not within her eyes--
The life still there, upon her hair--the death upon her eyes.
"Avaunt! to-night my heart is light. No dirge will I upraise,
"But waft the angel on her flight with a Pæan of old days!
"Let no bell toll!--lest her sweet soul, amid its hallowed mirth,
"Should catch the note, as it doth float up from the damnéd Earth.
"To friends above, from fiends below, the indignant ghost is riven--
"From Hell unto a high estate far up within the Heaven--
"From grief and groan, to a golden throne, beside the King of Heaven."

II. Short background/biography of the author

Edgar Allan Poe was an American writer, poet, critic and editor best known for
evocative short stories and poems that captured the imagination and interest of readers around
the world. His imaginative storytelling and tales of mystery and horror gave birth to the
modern detective story.Poe was born on January 19, 1809, in Boston, Massachusetts.Poe
never really knew his parents — Elizabeth Arnold Poe, a British actress, and David Poe, Jr.,
an actor who was born in Baltimore. In 1841, Poe launched the new genre of detective fiction
with "The Murders in the Rue Morgue." His literary innovations earned him the nickname
"Father of the Detective Story." A writer on the rise, he won a literary prize in 1843 for "The
Gold Bug," a suspenseful tale of secret codes and hunting treasure.Poe died on October 7,
1849. His final days remain somewhat of a mystery. Poe left Richmond on September 27,
1849, and was supposedly on his way to Philadelphia. The cause of death has been the subject
of endless speculation.
His works were the following:
The Black Cat, The Raven, Annabel Lee, Lenore, and a number of short stories.
III. The type of environment (social, political, culture) where and when the author raised in
relation in making his/her poem

Social
Poe probably consider himself primarily a poet, and he wrote poems to express his
feelings. There never been much money in poetry, and Poe was in financial difficulties. His
life was very depressing, which helped his inspiration for his dark stories. He was separated
from his parents and siblings at the birth and went to watch the rest of his family die around
him. His works feature many dead or dying women. The illness and death of his young wife
greatly affected him and influenced him to write Lenore.
Culture
Base on the poem itself, it talks about the death of his wife, Lenore, and his beliefs in
afterlife had influenced his writing. He notes on the 4th and final stanza that Lenore’s soul has
risen to heaven from its turmoil on earth, and begs the others to leave off their rituals of
mourning so that Lenore will not hear them. As for Poe, he concludes that he is glad for
Lenore that she was finally far away from the “fiends” and he will not mourn her at all but
“waft the angel on her flight with a paean of old days”
Political
Base on the poem on the second stanza, Poe was influenced to write his poem because
of political critics. We can actually see that the speaker on the second stanza rages against the
speaker in the first stanza, calling them “wretches” and blaming them for their “evil eye” and
their “slanderous tongue”. It would be shameful hypocrisy for them to read the burial rite or
sing the funeral song. Lenore died to escape from their unkindness.
IV. Style and structure of the piece (How is it written?)
The poem is composed of twenty-six lines which have been separated into one stanza of
five lines and three of seven. While the number of lines changes from stanza to stanza there is
a similarity to the rhyme throughout. In the first stanza the lines follow a pattern of aabbccc.
The same pattern is repeated in stanzas three and four. In the second stanza, the only
containing five lines, the pattern is aabbb. Poe chose to utilize a rhyming triplet at the end of
each set. This allows continuity to exist within the lines even when they vary in number and
length.
Poe's use of the name "Lenore" sets a precedent for the melancholy "L" and "O"
sounds that dominate the poem's four stanzas. In particular, the internal rhyme in the first two
lines features this sound, in "broken is the golden bowl" and "let the bell toll," while the
alliteration of "a saintly soul floats on the Stygian river" brings attention to the assonant
vowels of "soul" and "floats." The poem does not have a strict rhythm, but it uses a rhyme
scheme that features couplets, as do many of Poe's poems. The last three lines of each stanza
form a triplet, usually with two lines of end word repetition, to emphasize the words "young,"
"eyes," and "Heaven," all of which contribute to the poem's overall concern with the body
and youth of the dead woman and her fate in Heaven.
V. What are the symbols presented in the piece? What are the figurative languages used? what
are the meanings in relation to poem and to the author

Types of Statement Meaning

Figurative Languages
*Sybolism Lenore A girl meaning Light
*Imagery spirit flow forever ; saintly soul As time goes by,our life
floats on the Stygian river ; the becomes short due to a lot of
life upon her yellow hair but not circumstances and if we realize
within her eyes we just want to cry and.
*Hyperbole From grief and groan, to a De Vere then says he will not
golden throne, beside the King mourn for Lenore but instead
of Heaven rejoice that her soul rose to
heaven, to a golden throne
reserved for her next to God
Himself.

VI. Relationship of the piece to today’s generation or experience of the reader.

The piece is about a woman named Lenore, who died young and people around her became so
kind and good to her burial while her fiancé didn't even shed a tear. Her fiancé even called those
people hypocrites for treating her good just because she is dead. In today's generation we may
experience losing someone so important to us, it may be our family, friends and love ones. Losing
someone ay caused us to be shock and denial because we have the tendency to deny the reality just to
keep us sane. Pain and guilt may arise because we are guilty over the things that we did or didn't do
with them. In this stage life may be chaotic because we try to avoid or escape it with alcohol or even
drugs. Being and angry and lashing out to everyone or anything is normal because with this, we
release those emotions that we've been hiding. Thinking of things that we could have do for us to bring
them back in life and isolating our self to other to reflect on the things we did with them and just focus
on the memories with them is also normal if your loss some important to you. Some of us still live those
people unconditionally even though they are dead already. People have tendency to nurture or take
care the memories of that someone. New people may come but there will always be a place in our heart
for that someone we loss. Losing someone also lead to hypocrisy to people who surround them. They
would just focus on the good thing he/she did while he/she is still alive and would discard those bad
thing he/she did.

VII. Insight/Reaction of the Reader to the piece.

This piece shows the love of Poe to his wife. This shows how a man proves that he loves
his woman forever until they fall apart. It also shows beauty and death. He shows challenge to
his family and friends to show a proper reaction to the of his loved ones. this piece also shows
hope that his love one will go to heaven and it also shows the belief of afterlife that they will
reunite afterlife in heaven. Although it is a sad poem or elegy, it shows how much he cared
and loved for his loved ones. This is a masterpiece of Edgar Allan Poe where the girl is falsely
liked and loved by those people and when she fell ill, they did'nt care for her so much.
VIII. Values Presented in the Piece
Lenore may represent idealized love, beauty, truth or hope in a better world. She is rare
and radiant.
Lesson:
You should let her go! You cannot hold unto everything you love forever, because it will
only bring you pain and suffering. Every woman deserves a man that will value her, respect
and above all, that will prove that he loves her.