Spirits of the Dead by Edgar Allan Poe
Analysis
"Spirits of the Dead" is a poem written by Edgar Allan Poe. It was first titled "Visits of the Dead" during its first publication in Tamerlane and Other Poems (1827). The title was then changed for the 1829 publication of Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane, and Minor Poems.
The dialogue is between a person visiting a grave and the dead speaker. The version below is from 1829.
"Spirits of the Dead" consists of five stanzas of varying lengths. Each stanza is written as rhyming couplets.
Poem
Spirits of the Dead Thy soul shall find itself alone 'Mid dark thoughts of the grey tomb-stone; Not one, of all the crowd, to pry Into thine hour of secrecy. Be silent in that solitude, Which is not loneliness- for then The spirits of the dead, who stood In life before thee, are again In death around thee, and their will Shall overshadow thee; be still. The night, though clear, shall frown, And the stars shall not look down From their high thrones in the Heaven With light like hope to mortals given, But their red orbs, without beam, To thy weariness shall seem As a burning and a fever Which would cling to thee for ever. Now are thoughts thou shalt not banish, Now are visions ne'er to vanish; From thy spirit shall they pass No more, like dew-drop from the grass. The breeze, the breath of God, is still, And the mist upon the hill Shadowy, shadowy, yet unbroken, Is a symbol and a token. How it hangs upon the trees, A mystery of mysteries. Written in 1829.
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Find out more information about this poem and read others like it.
Nationality
American
Literary Movement
Romanticism, 19th Century
Subjects
Death, Spirit
Find out more information about this poem and read others like it.
Nationality
American
Literary Movement
Romanticism, 19th Century
Subjects
Death, Spirit