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Edgar Allan Poe - 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! 

Added: on August 6th, 2005 at 11:15 PM | Viewed: 5397 times | Comments and analysis of Spirits Of The Dead by Edgar Allan Poe Comments (4)


Spirits Of The Dead - Comments and Information

Poet: Edgar Allan Poe
Poem: Spirits Of The Dead

Comment 4 of 4, added on November 22nd, 2005 at 9:18 PM.

this poem is very meloncholy. as you are alone your thoughts change to death and other saturnine ideas. soon you are surrounded by the ghosts of those you knew while they were live. you have to stay still as these spectral visitors swirl around your knees. moving to the third stanza, you see the clear night is offering you no hope that the rays of stars usually instill in your soul. your thoughts are there to stay (as said in the 4th stanza). death is a mystery that is yet to be solved.

noah malik from United States
Comment 3 of 4, added on November 8th, 2005 at 10:16 AM.

This is a really confusing poem, and it's really hard to find background info on.

Amanda from United States
Comment 2 of 4, added on August 6th, 2005 at 11:15 PM.

This poem is about darkness
depression
how it will never leave u what ever you do.
its like a disease
it may seem that everyone & everything is against u.
a powerfull poem I feel
he no doubt wrote it to mirror his own feeling of lonelness

nova from Australia

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