- To Helen
"To Helen" is the first of two poems to carry that name written by
Edgar Allan Poe . The 15-line poem was written in honor of Jane Stanard, the mother of a childhood friend. It was first published in 1831 collection "Poems of Edgar A. Poe" then reprinted in 1836 in the "Southern Literary Messenger ". Poe revised the poem in 1845, making several improvements, most notably changing "the beauty of fair Greece, and the grandeur of old Rome" to "the glory that was Greece and the grandeur that was Rome." These improved lines are the most well-known lines of the poem.fact|date=April 2008Analysis
In "To Helen," Poe is celebrating the nurturing power of woman. [Kennedy, J. Gerald. "Poe, 'Ligeia,' and the problem of Dying Women" collected in "New Essays on Poe's Major Tales", edited by Kenneth Silverman. Cambridge University Press, 1993. p. 115. ISBN 0521422434] Poe was inspired in part by
Samuel Taylor Coleridge , particularly in the second line ("Like those Nicean barks of yore") which resembles a line in Coleridge's "Youth and Age" ("Like those trim skiffs, unknown of yore"). [Campbell, Killis. "The Origins of Poe", "The Mind of Poe and Other Studies". New York: Russell & Russell, Inc., 1962: 153–154.]Allusions
Poe, in referring to Helen, may be alluding to the Greek goddess of light or
Helen of Troy who is considered to be the most beautiful woman who ever lived, though not enough information is given to determine for certain.Full poem
Original 1831 version
Helen, thy beauty is to me Like those Nicean barks of yore, That gently, o'er a perfum'd sea, The weary way-worn wanderer bore To his own native shore. On desperate seas long wont to roam, Thy hyacinth hair, thy classic face, Thy Naiad airs have brought me home To the beauty of fair Greece, And the grandeur of old Rome.
Lo ! in that little window-niche How statue-like I see thee stand! The folded scroll within thy hand — A Psyche from the regions which Are Holy land !
Revised 1845 version
Helen, thy beauty is to meLike those Nicean barks of yoreThat gently, o'er a perfumed sea,The weary, way-worn wanderer boreTo his own native shore. On desperate seas long wont to roam,Thy hyacinth hair, thy classic face,Thy Naiad airs have brought me homeTo the glory that was Greece,And the grandeur that was Rome.
Lo, in yon brilliant window-nicheHow statue-like I see thee stand,The agate lamp within thy hand,Ah!
Psyche , from the regions whichAre Holy Land!In popular culture
*The poem is prominently recited by
Tom Hanks in the2004 Cohen Brothers film The Ladykillers.References
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
