Bringing it back, Old School
Edgar Allan Poe was my first poetic love. I remember Poe’s “The Haunted Palace” vividly. I would read it, usually alone and underneath my blankets late at night. It scared the hell out of me. The last part of the poem scared me the most, during the moment when the palace opens up so the travelers may see what is inside: “a Hideous throng rush out forever/And laugh—but smile no more” (47-48). All I could think of was a bunch of ghosts searching to destroy the travelers or committing some other unspeakable evil.
Another of Poe’s poem’s that inspired me was “The Raven.” The last stanza is the one I remember reading the most:
and the Raven, never flitting, still sitting, still sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon’s that is dreaming,
And the lamplight o’er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted—never more! (102-108).
The word “demon” in reference to the raven (104) makes the raven sinister, though repetition makes this poem seem less frightening. At the time, the repetition made the poem more frightening when I read the line: “And my soul from that shadow that lies floating on the floor” (106). This line made my child’s brain envision that the raven killed the man. The raven became the first monster I ever met in poetry.
And, don't forget about this great event tomorrow!
Poetry Reading
Featuring:
Chris Goodman
Stephanie Brea
Kelly Scarff
Teresa Petro-Micchelli
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