Eldorado (poem)

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"Eldorado" is a ballad poem by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in April 1849.

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[edit] Summary

The poem describes the journey of a "gallant knight" in search of the legendary El Dorado. The knight spends much of his life on this quest. In his old age, he finally meets a "pilgrim shadow" who points the way through "the Valley of Shadow." It was first published in the April 21, 1849, issue of the Boston-based The Flag of Our Union.[1]

[edit] Analysis

The poem is made up of four six-line stanzas. Poe uses the term shadow in the middle of each stanza. The meaning of the word, however, changes with each use. First, it is a literal shadow, where the sun is blocked out. In the second, it implies gloom or despair. The third use is a ghost. The final use, "the Valley of Shadow," can be replaced with "Valley of Death," possibly suggesting that Eldorado (or riches in general) does not exist in the living world.

The time of the poem's publication, 1849, was during the California Gold Rush and was Poe's reaction to that event.[2]

[edit] Text

Gaily bedight,
A gallant knight,
In sunshine and in shadow,
Had journeyed long,
Singing a song,
In search of Eldorado.

But he grew old,
This knight so bold,
And o'er his heart a shadow,
Fell as he found,
No spot of ground,
That looked like Eldorado.

And, as his strength,
Failed him at length,
He met a pilgrim shadow;
"Shadow," said he,
"Where can it be,
This land of Eldorado?"

"Over the mountains
Of the moon,
Down the Valley of the Shadow,
Ride, boldly ride,"
The shade replied,
"If you seek for Eldorado!"

[edit] Adaptation

"Eldorado," along with "Hymn" and "Evening Star," was adapted by choral composer Jonathan Adams as Three Songs from Edgar Allan Poe for SATB chorus and piano in 1993. The poem was used for the lyrics of a Donovan's song on his 1996 album Sutras.

[edit] References

  • Silverman, Kenneth (1991). Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance, Paperback ed., New York: Harper Perennial. ISBN 0060923318. 
  • Sova, Dawn B. (2001). Edgar Allan Poe, A to Z, Paperback ed., New York: Checkmark Books. ISBN 081604161X. 
  1. ^ Quinn, Arthur Hobson. Edgar Allan Poe: A Critical Biography, Paperback ed., Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998. ISBN 0801857309. p. 605.
  2. ^ Campbell, Killis. "The Origins of Poe", The Mind of Poe and Other Studies. New York: Russell & Russell, Inc., 1962: 159.


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Works of Edgar Allan Poe