In the greenest of our valleys
By good angels tenanted,
Once a fair and stately palace-
Radiant palace- reared its head.
In the monarch Thought’s dominion-
It stood there!
Never seraph spread a pinion
Over fabric half so fair!

Banners yellow, glorious, golden,
On its roof did float and flow,
(This- all this- was in the olden
Time long ago,)
And every gentle air that dallied,
In that sweet day,
Along the ramparts plumed and pallid,
A winged odor went away.

Wanderers in that happy valley,
Through two luminous windows, saw
Spirits moving musically,
To a lute’s well-tuned law,
Round about a throne where, sitting
(Porphyrogene!)
In state his glory well-befitting,
The ruler of the realm was seen.

And all with pearl and ruby glowing
Was the fair palace door,
Through which came flowing, flowing, flowing,
And sparkling evermore,
A troop of Echoes, whose sweet duty
Was but to sing,
In voices of surpassing beauty,
The wit and wisdom of their king.

But evil things, in robes of sorrow,
Assailed the monarch’s high estate.
(Ah, let us mourn!- for never morrow
Shall dawn upon him desolate!)
And round about his home the glory
That blushed and bloomed,
Is but a dim-remembered story
Of the old time entombed.

And travellers, now, within that valley,
Through the red-litten windows see
Vast forms, that move fantastically
To a discordant melody,
While, like a ghastly rapid river,
Through the pale door
A hideous throng rush out forever
And laugh- but smile no more.

Analysis, meaning and summary of Edgar Allan Poe's poem The Haunted Palace

5 Comments

  1. chucknorris says:

    this poem makes no sense, ill stick to chuck norris jokes. email me if you want some jokes.

  2. Trey says:

    Fred from Poland, you’re a jackass.
    Of course Poe was drunk when he wrote this poem…he was an alchoholic. He was drunk everytime he wrote a poem. Not trying to trash talk you or anything, but seriously. Who calls people “idiots” for liking a poem? Who insults people via poem website for no reason? I hope you feel like a bigger man on the inside. Because to all of us, you look like a total douche bag.

  3. Fred says:

    this poem was poe’s worst poem ever. It was poorly written and it had no point to it. I think Poe was drunk when he wrote this and that you all are pathetic and stupid for enjoying this. You are all dumber for reading this poem. May god have mercy on your souls for this.

  4. Sharlene says:

    The poem is about a head. Each paragraph describes a different part of a once sane head that has now gone mad, hence the maniacal laughter at the end. It starts with the hair, then to the eyes, next the mouth, and then ends on the brain which has turned ‘desolate’ and is haunted…the person in the poem has gone mad.
    On the surface, this is a straight-forward, spooky, campfire poem whose meaning is superficial and is, in fact, about a haunted palace. The allegorical meaning behind it becomes more appearent, however, in a closer second reading. The way the poem is split up, the diction that is used, and the denouement with the mad laughter at the end, proves that there is most definitely a hidden meaning, which I think can be agreed, it is that of a head.

  5. Sharon Loh says:

    The imagery in this peom is magnificent! The way Allan Poe describes this ‘Haunted Palace’ is far more magical than the common tales describing the scary monsters lurking inside the tall, dark house. It seems to have more of a fleeting emotion rather than fear. I love this poem. =) It’s so magical*

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