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!”
Sad, but great poem. I memorized it in 7th grade and I still beleive that it is a great poem, 5 years later.
i like it
Es Ist sehr gut!!!
i guess that eldorado is the lost city in poe’s heart, perhaps its where he held the little hope he had for contentment
Wow I am doing a report on him in school and he was so depressed after his wife/cousin died I think that El Dorado was his way of looking at his life and that it was his version of saying that he is worn out by the end but he sees the light of heaven and is ready to go
I think that this poem isn’t all that happy at all… the gallant knight might relate to Poes own life. he seeked happiness and a “shadow” fell over him as he realized that there is no real happiness in life. the pilgrim’s shadow might be depression or thoughts of death as the shadow tells him that the only el dorado is in the life after.
“over the mountains of the moon
down the valley of the shadow
ride boldly ride
the shade replied
if you seek for el dorado”
I think that Eldorado expresses Poe hope to find some peace or his own Eldorado. This poem shows another side of Poe. Most of the poems that Poe had wrote are depressing, but this poem shows the never ending search of his own Eldorado. It baffled me to find out that Eldorado was the last poem that Poe wrote. He died right after he wrote Eldorado, moreover that left me to wonder did he ever find his Eldorado.
i really like this poem and it seems to me that poe may have been loking for his own Eldorado while writing this poem.
i relly like this poem because of the mood.
The interesting thing about “Eldorado” is that it seems to contrast drastically with the rest of Poe’s works. While “Eldorado” uses adjectives like “bold” and “gallant”, Poe’s other poems contain the sort of hint of sorrow or unhappiness that he felt his lifestyle reflected. For example, compare the text of Eldorado to this passage from “The Raven”:”Once upon a midnight dreary, while I wandered weak and weary…”. If there contained Poe’s ordinary message of gloom in “Eldorado”, it is certainly more subtle than those of his other works.
I love this poem it so sweet.
Well written,Perhas to well written,brillant I have always been interested in this type of poetry. This man was a pyscho genius, Im glad he was here to rite poems on this planet and not mars or another random planet. OK PEACE HOMIEZ!!!!!
I THINK THAT THIS IS A VERY HEART TOUCHING POEM, AND ALSO I THINK THAT MORE PEOPLE NEED TO READ IT TO SEE THE REAL TRUE MEANING OF THE POEM.MY FAVORITE EDGAR ALLEN POE POEM IS THE RAVEN I KNOW IT IS A SAD AND DEPRESSING POEM BUT IT IS BEAUTIFUL IN IT’S OWN WAY.
AND THATS WHAT I THINK ABOUT THE POEMS BY EDGAR ALLEN POE. BY DESIREE’ LYNN HARRIS
I must say that Eggar was a very depressed man but he can bring in such a lively manner!
I never knew that this was by Poe. If you’re interested in literature and film, this poem was used in the John Wayne movie “El Dorado.”
I think that in order to appreciate Poe’s full view on Eldorado, one must first delve into the realm of a Dark Poet, or rather Dark Romantic. Beauty is always in the eye of the beholder, but one thing that makes the works of a Dark Romantic is the aspect of tragedy and loss in their words. Death is a release from the pain of living, because no matter how wonderful and happy one’s life is, we are born dying, and it doesn’t matter what’s on the other side, it’s release.
We like to tell ourselves that bliss, heaven or whatever you would like to name it, is here, that it’s closer than we think. It’s not. We catch glimpses of it from time to time, but we are never really able to make it there. The goal that’s just out of reach.
I remember the first time I had ever read Edgar Allen Poe’s works. I was in the third grade and he was my favorite author from the first time I read The Black Cat, to the time I memorized the Raven in the fourth grade, and Eldorado in the Fifth grade. I’ll always remember that because my fifth grade teacher was upset about the fact that I wrote dark poems, and understood his works. I’ll never forget Ms. Hussman’s reaction to me when I recited Eldorado, and 15 of the 20 stanzas of The Raven for the class and proceeded to explain the two poems to the class, and her.
🙂
Eldorado will always be one of the many poems of his that has touched my life the most. It’s the silver lining on the dark clouds of my life.
great poem, but I had to memorize the whole Raven, and say it to my class, in SIXTH GRADE! whooie!
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This is an incredible poem. Im only in grade 9 but i have been fascinated with his works since grade 7. He is an absolute genius and has influenced me on the way I write dark poetry. For example…. Crimson
Death, a figment of a desperate mans imagination. Life, a stain of pleasure on our souls. The present leaves a crimson outline, of a man, who went insane, over the pleasure of life.
They are very different, but the way I write sort of combines his type of poetry, and the way i imagine it to be. He has influenced me on all my writing, and is truly an unrivaled genius.
MAN WHAT A GREAT POEM! Dont you think, when i was in 8th grade i had to memorize that biotch and say it to my class…haha oh what great fun! I still remeber it til this day.
Hard as it is to disagree with a genius, I do… I genuinely prefer the view point that eternal bliss is to be found not in death (as the shadow traveler suggests) but within oneself. So while I agree entirely that the quest over the entire Earth should have been fruitless, I really think that Eldorado lies closer than Poe suggests.