Eldorado (Poem Review)

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Eldorado

by Edgar Allen Poe

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!”

_____________________

Eldorado, by Edgar Allen Poe, is a twenty-four line poem divided into four six line stanzas (sextets.) Each of the first three stanzas has an AABCCB rhyme scheme, while the fourth has an ABCDDC rhyme scheme. I guess Poe decided in the last stanza that it didn’t matter whether mountains and moon rhyme, as it sounds good without the rhyme. (I agree.) The piece does not have a consistent meter.

Despite not having a consistent meter, the piece has a sing-song musical quality to it. The consistent rhyming refrain of “shadow” and “Eldorado” in each stanza’s 3rd and 6th lines adds to that effect.

The piece, thematically, is about dreams, their pursuit, and death. The knight is commonly depicted as a noble and good figure. He spends his entire life on a fruitless quest. This appears to be a waste, and a critique of excessive dreaming. However, the interpretation hinges on the final stanza, and the extent to which it is a metaphor for death.

You could interpret the fourth stanza as more of the same, with the knight chasing something unattainable all the way into the grave, following directions from a shadow he probably ought not to have trusted. In this view, his dreams were a complete waste and his life and death were both without purpose.

Alternatively though, we might view the shade as a trustworthy source of information. Heaven is often depicted as being a city of gold. The knight might finally arrive at Eldorado by dying. In this case, his life’s pursuit is not as bleak. If we embrace this interpretation, this his pursuit of Eldorado was not necessarily an earthly pursuit. The knight might have been a spiritual man in pursuit of heaven, on earth. If that is the case, then his journey was fruitful.

Poe’s poem then will be interpreted differently by his readers, depending upon their relationship with the concept of death.

Note:

“Gaily bedight” is a reference to his dress. He is probably wearing colorful cheerful clothing.