Lenore

"Lenore" is a poem by the American author, Edgar Allan Poe. Though it began as a different poem, "A Paean," it was not published as "Lenore" until 1843.

Interpretation

The poem discusses proper decorum in the wake of the death of a young woman, described as "the queenliest dead that ever died so young". The poem concludes: "No dirge shall I upraise,/ But waft the angel on her flight with a pæan of old days!" Lenore's Fiance, Guy de Vere, finds it inappropriate to "mourn" the dead; rather, one should celebrate their ascension to a new world. Unlike most of Poe's poems relating to dying women, "Lenore" implies the possibility of meeting in paradise. [Kennedy, J. Gerald. "Poe, Death, and the Life of Writing". Yale University Press, 1987: 69. ISBN 0300037732]

The poem may have been Poe's way of dealing with the illness of his wife Virginia. The dead woman's name, however, may have been a reference to Poe's recently-dead brother, William Henry Leonard Poe. [Silverman, Kenneth. "Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance". Harper Perennial, 1991: 202–203. ISBN 0060923318] Poetically, the name Lenore emphasizes the letter "L" sound, a frequent device in Poe's female characters including "Annabel Lee", "Eulalie", and "Ulalume". [Kopley, Richard and Kevin J. Hayes "Two verse masterworks: 'The Raven' and 'Ulalume'," as collected in "The Cambridge Companion to Edgar Allan Poe", edited by Kevin J. Hayes. Cambridge University Press, 2002: 200. ISBN 0521797276]

Major themes

* Death of a beautiful woman (see also "Annabel Lee," "Eulalie," "The Raven," "Ulalume." In Poe's short stories, see also "Berenice", "Eleonora", "Morella")

Publication history

The poem was first published as part of an early collection in 1831 under the title "A Pæan." This early version was only 11 quatrains and the lines were spoken by a bereaved husband. The name "Lenore" was not included; it was not added until it was published as "Lenore" in February 1843 in "The Pioneer", a periodical published by the poet and critic James Russell Lowell. Poe was paid $10 for this publication. [Silverman, Kenneth. "Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance". Harper Perennial, 1991: 201. ISBN 0060923318] The poem had many revisions in Poe's lifetime. Its final form was published in the August 16, 1845, issue of the "Broadway Journal" while Poe was its editor. [Sova, Dawn B. "Edgar Allan Poe: A to Z". Checkmark Books, 2001: 130. ISBN 081604161X]

The original version of the poem is so dissimilar from "Lenore" that it is often considered an entirely different poem. Both are usually collected separately in anthologies. [Hoffman, Daniel. "Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe". Louisiana State University Press, 1972: 68. ISBN 0807123218]

Lenore in other media

*Roman Dirge made a comic book inspired by the poem, involving the comedic misadventures of Lenore, the Cute Little Dead Girl.

*A character by the name of Lenore, thought to be a deceased wife, is central to Poe's poem "The Raven" (1845).

References

External links

*Full text at [http://www.eapoe.org/works/poems/Lenorea.htm Baltimore Poe Society online]
*Henry Sandham (illustrator). [http://www.archive.org/details/lenorepoe0poeeiala "Lenore"] . Boston: Estes and Lauriat, 1886. Scanned color illustrated book, via Internet Archive.