2。Thebibliographicalhistoryof“TheBells“iscurious。Thesubject,andsomelinesoftheoriginalversion,havingbeensuggestedbythepoet’sfriend,Mrs。Shew,Poe,whenhewroteoutthefirstdraftofthepoem,headedit,“TheBells,ByMrs。M。A。Shew。”Thisdraft,nowtheeditor’sproperty,consistsofonlyseventeenlines,andreadthus:
I。
Thebells!-ah,thebells!
Thelittlesilverbells!
Howfairy-likeamelodytherefloatsFromtheirthroats
Fromtheirmerrylittlethroats
Fromthesilver,tinklingthroatsOfthebells,bells,bells
Ofthebells!
II。
Thebells!-ah,thebells!
Theheavyironbells!
HowhorribleamonodytherefloatsFromtheirthroats
Fromtheirdeep-tonedthroats
Fromtheirmelancholythroats!
HowIshudderatthenotesOfthebells,bells,bells
Ofthebells!
Intheautumnof1848Poeaddedanotherlinetothispoem,andsentittotheeditorofthe“UnionMagazine。”Itwasnotpublished。So,inthefollowingFebruary,thepoetforwardedtothesameperiodicalamuchenlargedandalteredtranscript。Threemonthshavingelapsedwithoutpublication,anotherrevisionofthepoem,similartothecurrentversion,wassent,andinthefollowingOctoberwaspublishedinthe“UnionMagazine。”
3。ThispoemwasfirstpublishedinColton’s“AmericanReview“forDecember,1847,as“To-Ulalume:aBallad。”Beingreprintedimmediatelyinthe“HomeJournal。”itwascopiedintovariouspublicationswiththenameoftheeditor,N。P。Willis,appended,andwasascribedtohim。Whenfirstpublished,itcontainedthefollowingadditionalstanzawhichPoesubsequently,atthesuggestionofMrs。Whitman,wiselysuppressed:
Saidwethen-wetwo,tben-“Ah,canitHavebeenthatthewoodlandishghouls
Thepitiful,themercifulghouls
TobarupourpathandtobanitFromthesecretthatliesinthesewolds
HaddrawnupthespectreofaplanetFromthelimbooflunarysouls
ThissinfullyscintillantplanetFromtheHelloftheplanetarysouls?”
4。“ToHelen!’Mrs。S。HelenWhitmanwasnotpublisheduntilNovember,1848,althoughwrittenseveralmonthsearlier。Itfirstappearedinthe“UnionMagazine。”andwiththeomission,contrarytotheknowledgeordesireofPoe,oftheline,“Oh,Godloh,Heaven-howmyheartbeatsincouplingthosetwowords。”
5。“AnnabelLee“waswrittenearlyin1849,andisevidentlyanexpressionofthepoet’sundyingloveforhisdeceasedbride,althoughatleastoneofhisladyadmirersdeemeditaresponsetoheradmiration。Poesentacopyoftheballadtothe“UnionMagazine。”inwhichpublicationitappearedinJanuary,1850,threemonthsaftertheauthor’sdeath。Whilesufferingfrom“hopedeferred“astoitsfate,Poepresentedacopyof“AnnabelLee“totheeditorofthe“SouthernLiteraryMessenger。”whopublisheditintheNovembernumberofhisperiodical,amonthafterPoe’sdeath。Inthemeantimethepoet’sowncopy,leftamonghispapers,passedintothehandsofthepersonengagedtoedithisworks,andhequotedthepoeminanobituaryofPoe,intheNewYork“Tribune。”beforeanyoneelsehadanopportunityofpublishingit。
6。“AValentine。”oneofthreepoemsaddressedtoMrs。Osgood,appearstohavebeenwrittenearlyin1846。
7。“AnEnigma。”addressedtoMrs。SarahAnnaLewis“Stella“,wassenttothatladyinaletter,inNovember,1847,andthefollowingMarchappearedinSartain’s“UnionMagazine。”
8。Thesonnet,“ToMyMother“MariaClemm,wassentforpublicationtotheshort-lived“FlagofourUnion。”earlyin1849,’butdoesnotappeartohavebeenissueduntilafteritsauthor’sdeath,whenitappearedinthe“LeafletsofMemory“for1850。
9。“ForAnnie“wasfirstpublishedinthe“FlagofourUnion。”inthespringof1849。Poe,annoyedatsomemisprintsinthisissue,shortlyafterwardscausedacorrectedcopytobeinsertedinthe“HomeJournal。”
10。“ToF“FrancesSargeantOsgoodappearedinthe“Broadwayjournal“forApril,1845。Theselinesarebutslightlyvariedfromthoseinscribed“ToMary。”inthe“SouthernLiteraryMessenger“forJuly,1835,andsubsequentlyrepublished,withthetwostanzastransposed,in“Graham’sMagazine“forMarch,1842,as“ToOneDeparted。”
11。“ToFsS。Od。”aportionofthepoet’striunetributetoMrs。
Osgood,waspublishedinthe“BroadwayJournal“forSeptember,1845。Theearliestversionoftheselinesappearedinthe“SouthernLiteraryMessenger“forSeptember,1835,as“LineswritteninanAlbum。”andwasaddressedtoElizaWhite,theproprietor’sdaughter。Slightlyrevised,thepoemreappearedinBurton’s“Gentleman’sMagazine“forAugust,1839,as“To。”
12。Although“Eldorado“waspublishedduringPoe’slifetime,in1849,inthe“FlagofourUnion。”itdoesnotappeartohaveeverreceivedtheauthor’sfinishingtouches。
AHbrokenisthegoldenbowl!thespiritflownforever!
Letthebelltoll!-asaintlysoulfloatsontheStygianriver;
And,GuyDeVere,hast_thou_notear?-weepnowornevermore!
See!onyondrearandrigidbierlowliesthylove,Lenore!
Come!lettheburialriteberead-thefuneralsongbesung!-
Ananthemforthequeenliestdeadthateverdiedsoyoung-
Adirgeforherthedoublydeadinthatshediedsoyoung。
“Wretches!yelovedherforherwealthandhatedherforherpride,“Andwhenshefellinfeeblehealth,yeblessedher-thatshedied!
“Howshalltheritual,then,beread?-therequiemhowbesung“Byyou-byyours,theevileye,-byyours,theslanderoustongue“Thatdidtodeaththeinnocentthatdied,anddiedsoyoung?”
_Peccavimus_;butravenotthus!andletaSabbathsongGouptoGodsosolemnlythedeadmayfeelsowrong!
ThesweetLenorehath“gonebefore。”withHope,thatflewbesideLeavingtheewildforthedearchildthatshouldhavebeenthybride-
Forher,thefairand_debonair_,thatnowsolowlylies,Thelifeuponheryellowhairbutnotwithinhereyes-
Thelifestillthere,uponherhair-thedeathuponhereyes。
“Avaunt!to-nightmyheartislight。NodirgewillIupraise,“ButwafttheangelonherflightwithaPaeanofolddays!
“Letnobelltoll!-lesthersweetsoul,amiditshallowedmirth,“Shouldcatchthenote,asitdothfloat-upfromthedamnedEarth。
“Tofriendsabove,fromfiendsbelow,theindignantghostisriven-
“FromHelluntoahighestatefarupwithintheHeaven-
“Fromgriefandgroan,toagoldenthrone,besidetheKingofHeaven。”
TOONEINPARADISE。
THOUwastallthattome,love,Forwhichmysouldidpine
Agreenisleinthesea,love,Afountainandashrime,Allwreathedwithfairyfruitsandflowers,Andalltheflowersweremine。
Ah,dreamtoobrighttolast!
Ah,starryHope!thatdidstariseButtobeovercast!
AvoicefromouttheFuturecries,“On!on!”buto’erthePastDimguld!myspirithoveringliesMute,mothionless,aghast!
For,alas!alas!withmeThelightofLifeiso’er!
Nomorenomorenomore
SuchlanguageholdsthesolemnseaTothesandsupontheshore
Shallbloomthethunder0blastedtree,Orthestrickeneaglesoar!
Andallmydaysaretrances,AndallmynightlydreamsArewherethydarkeyeglances,Andwherethyfootstepgleams
Inwhatetherealdances,Bywhateternalstreams。
TYPEoftheantiqueRome!RichreliquaryOfloftycontemplationlefttoTimeByburiedcenturiesofpompandpower!
Atlength-atlength-aftersomanydaysOfwearypilgrimageandburningthirst,Thirstforthespringsoflorethatintheelie,
Ikneel,analteredandanhumbleman,Amidthyshadows,andsodrinkwithinMyverysoulthygrandeur,gloom,andglory!
Vastness!andAge!andMemoriesofEld!
Silence!andDesolation!anddimNight!
Ifeelyenow-Ifeelyeinyourstrength-
Ospellsmoresurethane’erJud鎍nkingTaughtinthegardensofGethsemane!
OcharmsmorepotentthantheraptChaldeeEverdrewdownfromoutthequietstars!
Here,whereaherofell,acolumnfalls!
Here,wherethemimiceagleglaredingold,Amidnightvigilholdstheswarthybat!
Here,wherethedamesofRometheirgildedhairWavedtothewind,nowwavethereedandthistle!
Here,whereongoldenthronethemonarchlolled,Glides,spectre-like,untohismarblehome,Litbythewanlight