89. balm in Gilead. See Jeremiah 8: 22; 46: 11 and Genesis 37: 25.
93. Aideen, fanciful spelling of Eden.
106. This line has been often criticized on the ground that a lamp could not cause any shadow on the floor if the bird sat above the door. Poe answered this charge by saying: "My conception was that of the bracket candelabrum affixed against the wall, high up above the door and bust, as is often seen in English palaces, and even in some of the better houses of New York."
What effect does this poem have upon you? Work out the rhyme scheme in the first and second stanzas. Are they alike? Does this rhyme scheme help to produce the effect of the poem? Have you noticed a similar use of "more" in any other poem? Point out striking examples of repetition, of alliteration. Are there many figures of speech here?
TO HELEN
This Helen is Mrs. Whitman.
15. parterre: a flower garden whose beds are arranged in a pattern and separated by walks.
48. Dian: Roman goddess representing the moon.
60. elysian: supremely happy.
65. scintillant: sending forth flashes of light.