Al Aaraaf
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"Al Aaraaf" is a poem by American poet Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1829. The poem was one of Poe's first renowned works, and is famous for its historical references. It is based on stories from the Qur'an, and tells of the afterlife in a place called Al Aaraaf.
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[edit] Overview
"Al Aaraaf" is the major poem of Edgar Allan Poe's book Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane, and Minor Poems, and was inspired by Tycho Brahe's discovery of a supernova back in 1572 which was visible for about seventeen months. This nova was identified by Poe with Al Aaraaf, a star that was the place between paradise and hell. Al-A`raaf (Arabic الأعراف) was a place where people who have not been either markedly good nor markedly bad had to stay until forgiven by God and let in to Paradise, as depicted in Sura 7 of the Qur'an.
In the opening section of the poem, God commands Nesace, a name for Beauty's spirit, to convey a message to "other worlds". Nesace rouses the angel Ligeia (a name Poe would use again in "Ligeia") and tells her to awaken the other thousand seraphs to perform God's work. Two souls, however, fail to respond: the "maiden-angel" Ianthe and her "seraph-lover" Angelo (Michelangelo), who describes his death on earth and the flight of his spirit to Al Aaraaf. Ianthe and Angelo are lovers, and their failure to do as Nesace commanded results in God not allowing them into heaven. The poem focuses on three key elements - the relationship between man and God, the plight of the people at Al Aaraaf, and the importance of duty.
"Al Aaraaf" mixes of historical facts, religious mythology and elements of Poe's imagination. The poem primarily focuses on the afterlife, ideal love, and ideal beauty to passion, and has no discernible poetic rhythm when read. Poe was indebted to Irish poet Thomas Moore, whose poem Lalla-Rookh inspired, among other parts of "Al Aaraaf", the catalogue of flowers near the beginning.[1]
[edit] Critical response
John Neal, a critic for the Yankee and Boston Literary Gazette, described "Al Aaraaf" as an enduring poem portraying a higher place than Earth, and John Hewitt from the Minerva and Emerald wrote that the work was often incoherent but had some beautiful sections of poetry too.[2]
"Al Aaraaf" brought Edgar some small public attention. The work was reviewed in at least four different publications when published and the work was described by one critic as "highly creditable to the Country".
In the 20th century, poet Daniel Hoffman called "Al Aaraaf" "Poe's most ambitious failure," suggesting it is a "fractured" attempt at an epic poem that "ran out of gas."[3]
[edit] Publication history
"Al Aaraaf" was first published in 1829 in the book "Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane, and Minor Poems", and was republished by Thomas Ollive Mabbott in 1933. The poem was published only once in Edgar Allan Poe's lifetime.
[edit] Other information
"Al Aaraaf" was used between 1928 and 1952 as a pen name by the noted Glasgow artist Hannah Frank.
"Al Aaraaf" is referenced in the title of the final chapter of the 1966 novel "Tarantula", written by American poet and musician Bob Dylan.
[edit] References
- ^ Campbell, Killis. "The Origins of Poe", The Mind of Poe and Other Studies. New York: Russell & Russell, Inc., 1962: 152.
- ^ Al Aaraaf
- ^ Hoffman, Daniel. Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe. Louisiana State University Press, 1972. pp. 36-7. ISBN 0807123218
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