The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe | Structure, Themes, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. ‘The Raven’ is a gothic narrative poem written by Edgar Allan Poe that was first published in the New York Evening Mirror on January 29, 1845. The poem proved to be a huge success that established Poe as a celebrity poet during his lifetime. The poem includes a supernatural talking raven and a man alone at night. Poe's belief in the unity of effect leads scholars to agree that symbols, syllables, and poetic devices are purposeful in the poem, especially the talking raven. Poe mentioned in his 1846 essay The Philosophy of Composition, Edgar Allan Poe asserted that "the death... of a beautiful woman" is "unquestionably the most poetical topic in the world,” and The Raven is considered a fine example of this assertion. Poe wrote this poem while his wife Virginia was terminally ill with tuberculosis. It appears as if the character of Lenore, presumably the narrator’s lost beloved, represents Virginia, Poe’s wife. The narrator is a young student who is lamenting the loss of his love, Lenore. He is facing the struggle to overcome the emotions of mourning and sadness, which is a battle that cannot be avoided. Even though these confrontations are not physical, they still cause damage and suffering.

Structure of The Raven:

The Raven is a narrative ballad consisting of 108 lines set in 18 six-line stanzas written in Trochaic octameter. Poe wrote the poem from the first-person point of view. The poem is written with a consistent rhyming scheme of ABCBBB. Poe used many words with similar endings, like Lenore and Evermore. In addition, he also used Epistrophe (or Epiphora), Alliteration, and Caesura in many instances. Poe also made use of Parallelism, Symbolism, and Imagery in the poem.

Themes of The Raven:

The major theme of the poem is the effects of loss and death on the living, such as grief, mourning, and memories of the deceased. In addition, the poet also explores the issue of the afterlife. Another theme is the perverse conflict of the narrator as he desires to forget and a contradictory desire to remember. The poet describes the memories of a deceased loved one as a sorrowful, inescapable burden. The poem is of Gothic nature as it depicts a lonely character in a state of deep emotion, the cold and dark of midnight in December. The Raven itself, a seemingly demonic, talking bird that arrives at midnight, is the poem’s most prominent example of the supernatural. Throughout the poem, it appears that something terrible is about to happen, or has just happened, to the narrator and those around him.

Summary of The Raven:

Stanza 1

“Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,

Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore—

While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,

As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.

"'Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door—

Only this and nothing more."”

The narrator describes the incidences of a night when he was reading an old book containing old forgotton lores. He continued reading for a long at was feeling weak and tired when at midnight, he heard gentle knocks on the door of his study chamber. The narrator was too tired and was feeling ‘dreary’ or bored and sleepy. He was shocked by the ‘tapping’ on the door as it was not a time when a visitor would appear at his door. Yet, he reasoned that it must be some visitor and nothing else as what else can create such disturbing noise. The narrator isn’t very sure though because of the odd hour of the night.

The poet begins with imagery, offering an idea of ominous suspense engulfing the poem from the beginning. The narrator is reading old mythical folklore as he is a scholar. The closed ‘chamber door’ symbolizes the insecurity and seclusion of the narrator. The door can open the narrator’s chamber to the outside world. The closed ‘chamber door’ is a symbol of the insecurities and weakness of the narrator who is not willing to open up and express himself.

Stanza 2:

“Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December;

And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.

Eagerly I wished the morrow;—vainly I had sought to borrow

From my books surcease of sorrow—sorrow for the lost Lenore—

For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore—

Nameless here for evermore.”

The narrator clarifies why he is unsure about the knock on the chamber door. It is a cold December midnight when even the ‘embers from the fireplace were about to die and turn into cold ashes. It was so late that the narrator was eagerly waiting for the dawn to appear. The narrator explains why he was sad, weak, and weary when he mentions that he tried to busy himself in the book of lore while wishing for the night to pass faster, desperately trying to escape the sadness of losing Lenore, his beloved to death. He describes his late beloved as a ‘rare and radiant maiden’ who recently died as now she is ‘nameless here for evermore.’

The ‘dying ember’ in the 14th line symbolizes loss. The narrator lost Lenore, his beloved, (girlfriend or wife) and he is very sad and he is trying to escape that grief by reading. A knock on the chamber door, so late at a cold midnight appears inappropriate and hence he is unsure.

Stanza 3

“And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain

Thrilled me—filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;

So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating

"'Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door—

Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door;—

This it is and nothing more."”

At such an odd time, the narrator was already shocked by the knock on the door and to add the mystery and horror, the ‘purple’ curtains of his chamber rustled up in a frenzied manner. The narrator, who is already weak and burdened by the loss of his beloved feels a sense of terror and it thrills him with horror. He tries to calm himself down and ascertains that it was just some visitor who had come to see him in these late hours and “nothing more.” Though he is not convinced within himself. The ‘purple curtains’ of the narrator’s chamber symbolize his healing wounds as he is trying to recover from the sadness of the death of his beloved lady.

Stanza 4

“Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,

"Sir," said I, "or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;

But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping,

And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door,

That I scarce was sure I heard you"—here I opened wide the door;—

Darkness there and nothing more.”

Despite all the uncertainties and a bit of fear, the narrator convinces himself to gather enough courage and answers the knock on the door, and begs pardon for the delayed response. He says, ‘Sir’ or ‘Madame’, he had been napping and the ‘tapping’ at the door was so light that he wasn’t even sure that there was actually someone knocking at the door, at first. Then the narrator opens the door wide and sees no one is on the door but just the darkness of the terrible night. The ‘darkness’ again symbolizes the narrator's difficulties and inability to find optimism and hope in the outer world.

Stanza 5:

“Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,

Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before;

But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token,

And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, "Lenore?"

This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, "Lenore!"—

Merely this and nothing more.”

The narrator is stunned by seeing no one and nothing when he opens the door and wonders if he really heard the knock on the door. He imagines what might have happened and starts thinking of the unthinkable. The only thinking he comes up with is that his dead beloved Lenore visited and knocked on the door. He then whispers her name ‘Lenore,’ and he appears to hear his own echo murmuring back to him. The imagery symbolizes that after the loss of a dear one, often a person finds that there’s nothing more optimistic, pleasurable, or pleasing left for them in the world. When the narrator opened up the door, he expected someone (sympathy) but found none but darkness (endless suffering). As he hears the echo of Lenore, it becomes clear that all the pain he is suffering is emanating from the death of his beloved.

Stanza 6:

“Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning,

Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before.

"Surely," said I, "surely that is something at my window lattice;

Let me see, then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore—

Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore;—

'Tis the wind and nothing more!"”

The narrator turns back and closes the door again but he feels unease as he wonders if he really heard the knock on the door, and if he did, why is there no one? Furthermore, the immense sense of ‘Lenore’ knocking on the door fills him with pain again. He realizes that he cannot escape from the pain of the fact that he has lost Lenore forever. And then, he hears a clear louder tapping on the door again. The knocking is so loud and clear that the narrator is sure of the tapping. But he is still unsure if there really is someone on the door, or was it just a strong wind that knocked on the door? He decides to check and unravel the mystery.

Stanza 7:

“Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter,

In there stepped a stately Raven of the saintly days of yore;

Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;

But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door—

Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door—

Perched, and sat, and nothing more.”

The narrator decides to open the door again and this time, he observes a raven who appears impressive and stately. The aristocratic impressive raven doesn’t acknowledge the narrator and flies in while ignoring him. He first perches on the open door of the chamber and then flies in to sit on the bust of Pallas, the goddess of wisdom. Pallas is the Greek goddess of wisdom who is also known as the goddess Athena. In Roman terms, she is known as the goddess Minerva. The bust of Pallas further ascertains that the narrator is a student.

The raven sitting on the bust of Pallas symbolizes that the feeling of despair, grief, and despair because of the death of his beloved, the narrator has lost his ability to think rationally. His pain of loss is literally sitting on his wisdom.

Stanza 8:

“Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,

By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore,

"Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou," I said, "art sure no craven,

Ghastly grim and ancient Raven wandering from the Nightly shore—

Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!"

Quoth the Raven "Nevermore."”

The insolent incoming of the raven brings a little smile on the face of the narrator who is impressed by the stately demeanor of the raven. The raven remained stern and serious though. The narrator personifies the bird and asks its (the bird/his grief) name, as it looked so grand and uncowardly even though it came from the world of suffering (the dark night).

The raven answers ‘nevermore’ which again is a symbol as the raven clearly states a fact to the narrator that what he had the deepest desire for in this life of his, is now strictly nevermore. He loved the maiden Lenore so much, but he can never have her as she is dead.

Stanza 9:

“Much I marvelled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly,

Though its answer little meaning—little relevancy bore;

For we cannot help agreeing that no living human being

Ever yet was blessed with seeing bird above his chamber door—

Bird or beast upon the sculptured bust above his chamber door,

With such name as "Nevermore."”

The narrator is shocked at hearing the raven as the bird answers. He says that though the name of the bird ‘Nevermore’ holds no worth or meaning to it, yet, it is a wonder that the narrator witnessed a speaking bird who perched on his door and sat on the bust of Pallas in his chamber. He states that no living being ever had a chance to hear a raven who speaks like humans. But the raven symbolizes the narrator’s own grief and sense of loss. The poet makes the raven blatantly signify the reason for the weakness and insecurity of the raven, which is his inability to accept the finality of “nevermore.” The narrator says that he is the ‘blessed’ one who met his loss and grief in physical form, and he names this physical form of his grief as ‘nevermore’, the finality of never living with Lenore again.

Stanza 10:

“But the Raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only

That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.

Nothing farther then he uttered—not a feather then he fluttered—

Till I scarcely more than muttered "Other friends have flown before—

On the morrow he will leave me, as my Hopes have flown before."

Then the bird said "Nevermore."”

The raven is still sitting calmly on the bust of Pallas without saying anything but its name, ‘Nevermore.’ The narrator gradually accepts the presence of the raven in his chamber and sits calmly in front of the bird. He wonders and says that though the raven is now with him, he may fly away the next morning like his other friends have left him alone in the past. As the Raven listens to him, it answers back, ‘Nevermore.’ The narrator says that with the death of Lenore, all his Hopes have gone away. Like the optimistic feelings and hopes abandoned him, this personified grief and sense of loss of him will too go away. However, he is startled by hearing the raven answering, ‘Nevermore,’ symbolizing the grief and sense of loss will remain with the narrator forever.

Stanza 11:

“Startled at the stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken,

"Doubtless," said I, "what it utters is its only stock and store

Caught from some unhappy master whom unmerciful Disaster

Followed fast and followed faster till his songs one burden bore—

Till the dirges of his Hope that melancholy burden bore

Of ‘Never—nevermore'."”

The raven's reply startles the narrator as the bird didn’t speak for so long and when it spoke, it repeated the word ‘Nevermore.’ The narrator imagines that it appears beyond any doubt that the raven had been a pet of some sad owner who went through some serious hardship and never experienced good times. Thus, the master of the raven probably used the phrase ‘Nevermore’ too often and from him, the raven picked up and learned to croak ‘Nevermore.’ The narrator is not ready to accept that he won’t be able to forget the grief of losing Lenore, his beloved. He imagines that the previous owner of the stately raven accepted the finality of such grief in his life which is why the raven learned to croak ‘nevermore’ but the thought of having to live with such feelings forever scares the narrator into denial.

Stanza 12:

“But the Raven still beguiling all my fancy into smiling,

Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird, and bust and door;

Then, upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking

Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore—

What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt, and ominous bird of yore

Meant in croaking "Nevermore."”

The narrator is fascinated by this stately raven who looks so impressive. The raven is sitting on the bust of Pallas and the narrator sets a chair in front of the bust and sits on the chair, observing the raven. He wonders what could be the possible meaning of the word ‘nevermore’ that the bird continues to repeat. He allowed his insecurities and weakness to overpower him and then opened the door of realization that allowed this strong sense of grief and loss to enter his inner soul, his chamber, in the form of the raven that now engulfs his wisdom and ability to reason. However, the narrator is not willing to accept that this grief is forever, he wonders why cannot this sense of loss is temporary, why it must remain with him forever, and why he will be free of his grief ‘nevermore?’

Stanza 13:

“This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing

To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosom's core;

This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining

On the cushion's velvet lining that the lamp-light gloated o'er,

But whose velvet-violet lining with the lamp-light gloating o'er,

She shall press, ah, nevermore!”

The narrator continues to observe the raven while contemplating different theories to negate its claim of ‘nevermore.’ However, he realizes that though he speaks no word, the raven can understand whatever he is thinking as he can see directly into the narrator's heart with his ‘fiery eyes’ to read his thoughts. The narrator tries to evade the eyes of the raven and reclines his head on the soft velvet cushion of the chair. As he reclines, he sees the light coming from the lamp gloating on the shining line of the velvet cushion which appears so beautiful. The comfort of the velvet cushion and the beauty of the shining velvet line gleaming in the lamp-light reminds him of Lenore, who will never get a chance to touch that cushion again, now that she’s gone.

Stanza 14:

“Then, methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer

Swung by Seraphim whose foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor.

"Wretch," I cried, "thy God hath lent thee—by these angels he hath sent thee

Respite—respite and nepenthe from thy memories of Lenore;

Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore!"

Quoth the Raven "Nevermore."”

The narrator begins to hallucinate. He starts to feel as though the air around him is getting thicker with perfume. He imagines angels bringing this perfume to him. He compares this imaginary perfume to ‘nepenthe’, an ancient Greek mythical medicine that was said to be used for curing sorrow. He chides himself and calls himself a ‘wretch’ to help whom, God himself has sent ‘Seraphim’ to offer him nepenthe with a message to forget Lenore. He shouts that he must drink this illusionary medicine nepenthe and forget all his grief and sorrow. However, he is unable to do so as the raven understands his inner thoughts and says, ‘Nevermore.’ even with the godly help, the narrator is not able to defend himself against his grief. His grief overpowers him and still claims that he will never forget her.

Stanza 15:

“"Prophet!" said I, "thing of evil!—prophet still, if bird or devil!—

Whether Tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,

Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted—

On this home by Horror haunted—tell me truly, I implore—

Is there—is there balm in Gilead?—tell me—tell me, I implore!"

Quoth the Raven "Nevermore."”

The narrator is extremely annoyed by the raven by now. He experiences the raven’s power over him and calls him a prophet, though he is unsure if the bird came to him while saving itself from a storm, or did Satan himself sent the bird? The narrator says that though he yells at the raven, the bird remains unfazed and unmoved. The narrator is in his home which appears strange to him as if he is trapped in a desolate, deserted land, haunted, and full of horror. The narrator resigns and asks the raven if there is any hope or peace in the future, to which the raven answers ‘Nevermore.’

Stanza 16:

“"Prophet!" said I, "thing of evil!—prophet still, if bird or devil!

By that Heaven that bends above us—by that God we both adore—

Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn,

It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore—

Clasp a rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore."

Quoth the Raven "Nevermore."”

The poet uses Epistrophe or Epiphora (repetition). The narrator again calls the Raven a Prophet of evil as he feels the strength of the words of the raven. He accepts that there is no hope of him feeling the softness of Lenore in his life and that he can never forget her and can be free of his grief. He wonders about the afterlife and asks the raven if it is possible for him to hold the beautiful ‘sainted maiden’ and embrace her in paradise, or ‘distant Aidenn’? The raven answers back again, ‘Nevermore.’ The raven crushes any hope that the narrator could have and affirms that he won’t be able to feel the presence of his beloved even in the afterlife.

Stanza 17:

“"Be that word our sign of parting, bird or fiend!" I shrieked, upstarting—

"Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore!

Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!

Leave my loneliness unbroken!—quit the bust above my door!

Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!"

Quoth the Raven "Nevermore."”

As the narrator comes to realize that even death cannot be the path for him to reach near Lenore, he becomes too desperate and angry at the raven. He shouts at the bird and tells it to leave him and go back to the storm it came from and to not even leave a trace of it being present in his chamber. The narrator is not ready to give up the illusions and hopes of anyhow meeting and feeling the presence of his beloved Lenore again. He feels that he was better when he was alone and yells at the bird to go away, but the raven croaks again, ‘Nevermore.’ The raven has engulfed the rational faculty of the narrator and no matter how much the narrator tries to free himself, he is unable to do so.

Stanza 18:

“And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting

On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;

And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming,

And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;

And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor

Shall be lifted—nevermore!”

Despite all the efforts of the narrator to fly the bird away, the raven continues to sit on the bust of Pallas, unmoved, and unfazed. The raven is sitting on the bust of Pallas just above the door of the narrator’s chamber and the narrator is sitting in front of the raven. The raven continues to ogle at the narrator with its demon-like eyes and the narrator is unable to avoid his gaze. The lamp-light falls on the raven and casts its shadow that falls on the floor. The narrator feels that the shadow of the raven has trapped his soul of him and he will never be able to free himself from this prison of grief, sorrow, and sense of loss.

So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of American English literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards!

The City In The Sea by Edgar Allan Poe | Structure, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. ‘The City In The Sea’ was a poem written by Edgar Allan Poe that was published in its final form in 1845. Poe began writing the poem in 1830 and it was first published under the title ‘The Doomed City’ in 1831. Poe revised the poem and published it again in 1841 with the new title ‘The City of Sin’. In 1845, the poem was republished in its final form under the title The City in The Sea. It is a gothic poem of the genre of Dark Romanticism that talks about a fictional city ruled by Death personified. The theme of the poem is isolation and decadence. The poem is allegoric in nature depicting the death of the human soul, which results from sin. The poem depicts how opulence results in sin and corruption which results in the descent of the soul. In the beginning, Poe describes the city as a unique place with glorious surroundings in a serene manner as if it is the most praised and proud construction of nature. As the poem proceeds, the tone of the poem becomes horrific declaring that we are always under the attention of Death. The poet sympathizes with the dead that even their wealth could not save them from destruction and how their life got wasted running for the chase after prosperity while the end is the same for both the rich and the poor.

Structure of The City In The Sea:

The poem consists of 54 lines set in five stanzas. The 1^st, 2^nd, 4^th, and 5^th stanza consists of 12 lines each while the 3^rd stanza contains 6 lines. The poem follows a rhyming scheme of AABBCC but the pattern changes in a few instances. Poe wrote the poem in iambic tetrameter and deliberately chose archaic old-fashioned words in the poem to make it more poetic and impressive. Poe has used personification, anaphora, alliteration, caesura, and metaphor.

Summary of The City In The Sea:

Stanza 1

“Lo! Death has reared himself a throne
In a strange city lying alone
Far down within the dim West,
Where the good and the bad and the worst and the best
Have gone to their eternal rest.
There shrines and palaces and towers
(Time-eaten towers and tremble not!)
Resemble nothing that is ours.
Around, by lifting winds forgot,
Resignedly beneath the sky
The melancholy waters lie.”

The poet begins with the personification of Death, depicting it as a stately King who has “reared himself a throne.” Death has an independent will and he rules over a strange city that is unique, isolated, and detached. The city of Death is situated “Far down within the dim West” which suggests the descent of life with the setting of the Sun. The sun is sinking in the west and Death is presented as the monarch of the silent city which lies near the sea. Poe describes the city as a place where “the good and the bad and the worst and the best” find their “eternal rest”. It is the afterlife, located in the “west,” where even the light of the sun fails as it sinks into the sea.

In the fifth line, Poe uses accumulation (using a list of words having similar meanings; Shrines, Palaces, Towers). Poe then describes the difference between our living world and this gloomy city under the sea where the ‘shrines and palaces and towers’ are ‘time-eaten.’ They are very old and dilapidated but they are strong enough not to tremble or fall, as if they are immortally frozen as they are. The tone of the poem changes in the last line of the stanza as the poet describes the sea as ‘melancholy waters.’

Stanza 2

“No rays from the holy Heaven come down
On the long night-time of that town;
But light from out the lurid sea
Streams up the turrets silently—
Gleams up the pinnacles far and free—
Up domes—up spires—up kingly halls—
Up fanes—up Babylon-like walls—
Up shadowy long-forgotten bowers
Of sculptured ivy and stone flowers—
Up many and many a marvellous shrine
Whose wreathed friezes intertwine
The viol, the violet, and the vine.”

Poe makes ample use of alliteration in this stanza ( ‘holy Heaven’ in the 13th line, ‘the viol, the violet, and the vine’ in the 24^th line). In addition, he uses ‘Up’ in lines 18, 19, 20, and 21, augmenting the poem with anaphora. In addition, Poe also used caesura, breaking a line between words.

The poet continues to describe the city in the sea and explains how vast it is, the light that strikes it, and what kind of sights one might see there. The poet describes how despite its size that no “rays,” or light/goodness from “holy heaven” make it to the city. It is perpetually in the night, obscured from the warmth of Heaven. But, the light of another kind strikes the city in the sea. This light is not coming directly from the Sun but from the ‘lurid sea’ and touches the “turrets silently.” Poe uses accumulation again while describing how this gloomy light spreads throughout the city far and wide as it falls on the “domes,” “spires” and “kingly halls” of the city. Despite all gloominess, the city has some marvelous shrines, but it is the city of Death, and hence, nothing lively is there. There are beautiful ‘ivy and stone flowers.’ The sculptured vines and violet flowers can intertwine with the music of the viol. Thus, the poet describes the beauty of the city with brilliant ivy and stone flowers and fluent music of viol, but nothing is lively.

Stanza 3

“Resignedly beneath the sky
The melancholy waters lie.
So blend the turrets and shadows there
That all seem pendulous in air,
While from a proud tower in the town
Death looks gigantically down.”

The third stanza is 6 lines long and it describes the sea, ‘the melancholy waters.’ The sea is calm, and the melancholy waters calmly accept anything unpleasant or difficult without any protest or resistance. The sea is thoroughly defeated and it stands still ‘resignedly beneath the sky.’ The melancholy waters don’t fight against their lot in life, nor do those in the city itself. Everything is blended into shadows in this place. The waters seem perfectly in harmony with the air as if in a to-and-fro motion. There are many tall towers but the tallest is the one owned by Death. He looks down “gigantically” from his “proud tower in the town”. Everything else is a minion against his stature.

Stanza 4

“There open fanes and gaping graves
Yawn level with the luminous waves;
But not the riches there that lie
In each idol’s diamond eye—
Not the gaily-jewelled dead
Tempt the waters from their bed;
For no ripples curl, alas!
Along that wilderness of glass—
No swellings tell that winds may be
Upon some far-off happier sea—
No heavings hint that winds have been
On seas less hideously serene.”

The poet then describes the opulence of the temples or churches (open fanes) and gaping graves (alliteration) that have been left open and unattended. The churches and the graves have been leveled by the waves but their richness is still intact. There are many grandiose idols decorated with diamonds and jewels. Anyone could step into them and loot what’s inside, but no one does. The “riches there that lie” do not tempt “the waters from their bed”. The poet alludes to the sins, corruption, and frauds that human beings indulge in to collect immense wealth but at the time of death, all this opulence, all this wealth, appears useless. The melancholy waters could easily engulf the place but it doesn’t, it remain still. Poe uses metaphor and compares the sea surface to an unstable ‘glass’ (“Along that wilderness of glass” (Line 37)). Some onlookers may wonder if there are some strong winds on “some far-off happier sea” that may come to the city shortly but that is not the case. Everything is calm in this world and there are no ‘heavings’ or strong moving waves anywhere that may offer a hint of any wind of happiness anywhere,

Stanza 5

“But lo, a stir is in the air!
The wave—there is a movement there!
As if the towers had thrust aside,
In slightly sinking, the dull tide—
As if their tops had feebly given
A void within the filmy Heaven.
The waves have now a redder glow—
The hours are breathing faint and low—
And when, amid no earthly moans,
Down, down that town shall settle hence,
Hell, rising from a thousand thrones,
Shall do it reverence.”

While any movement is unexpected in such a calm and serene place, a sudden ‘stir’ ruffles the air and there is a ‘wave’, a ‘movement’ in otherwise all still water. The scene completely changes as it is no longer ‘hideously serene’ as it had been. The water begins to grow and glow and the high towers appear to shift as if giving space to the water. The towers begin ‘slightly sinking’ in the tides, and the poet uses alliteration again. The violet light changes its color and now the whole city is engulfed in a much redder glow, as if it is receding down. The poet then personifies Time as ‘the hours are breathing faint and low.’ The ground begins to shift but there is no ‘earthly moan,’ it doesn’t appear the same world, the same earth. The city begins to sink “Down, down” to settle under the sea. The poet says that the city of Death in the sea is much worse than Hell itself and thus, Death’s city shall be held in reverence by Hell.

So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of American English literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards!

Desirable Daughters by Bharati Mukherjee | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. Desirable Daughters was a novel by Bharati Mukherjee that was published in the year 2002. Like her other previous novels, this novel too talks about the Indian diaspora that immigrated to the Western countries (Canada, or the U.S.A.) and the problems faced by them. Bharati Mukherjee once again puts forth the imperialist idea of American feminism to the fore without realizing its inadequacy and inefficiency to deal with feministic issues of the greater world.

Desirable Daughters deals with America and its liberties, individualism, and money power and with India and its gods, ghosts, and curious social ill practices. The story is about three Calcutta-born sisters, Tara, Padma, and Parvati who were born into a wealthy Brahmin family presided over by their doting father and his traditionalist mother. Intelligent and artistic, the girls are nevertheless constrained by a society with little regard for women. Their subsequent rebellion will lead them in different directions, to different continents, and through different circumstances that strain yet ultimately strengthen their relationship.

Characters of Desirable Daughters:

Tara Lata is the main character and the narrator of the novel. She is an Indian-born American who recently got divorced from Bishwapriya Chaterjee, a successful software engineer inventor, and businessman based in California, and got a big sum of alimony. Tara and Bish have a son named Rabindranath or Rabi who is living with Tara. Padma is the eldest sister of Tara whom she calls Didi. Padma is six years older than Tara and she lives in New Jersey, is a well-known news anchor who also runs a designer sari business on the side. Since her younger days, Padma is a brash hypocrite and a shameless flirt. Parvati is the other sister of Tara who lives in India. Parvati is three years older than Tara. Unlike Tara, Parvati married in a love match rather than through an arranged marriage. However, after her marriage, she gracefully accepted and adopted the traditional role of an Indian housewife. Unaware of the delicacies of Indian ways, Tara describes Parvati as an anxious woman who cleans compulsively, and her husband is depressed. Ron Dey is a Christian Indian who had an affair with Padma, the eldest sister of Tara during her younger years when she was aspiring to be an actress. Ron and Tara had an illegitimate child named Christopher Dey. Padma, Tara, and Parvati are unaware of Christopher Dey’s whereabouts because Padma gave birth to him in secrecy without even revealing it to her family and never cared about Ron or Christopher after leaving them. Jai Krishna Bhattacharjee was an ancestor of Tara Lata in yester years. He too had three daughters and one of them was named Tara-Lata who later became The Tree Bride.

Summary of Desirable Daughters:

The novel begins as Tara remembers one of the mythical stories she has been hearing since her childhood. She remembers Jai Krishna, one of her ancestors who had three daughters. One of his daughters was named Tara Lata. The narrator reveals that her ancestor Tara Lata was betrothed to a boy at the age of 5 as arranging a married relationship during childhood was a norm in India in the past. However, just before the ceremony, the groom is bitten by a venomous snake and dies. The deceased groom's family arrives at the home of Tara Lata's father, Jai Krishna, they insist that she is responsible for their son's death. Though the marriage has not taken place, the bridegroom’s father claims his share of Tara Lata’s dowry as he blames her for the untimely death of his son. Jai Krishna blatantly refuses this demand, saying he would see his daughter marry a tree before paying the price for a marriage that did not take place. Thus, Jai Krishna made good on this promise, forcing Tara Lata to remain a virgin for life. Thus, Tara Lata, the ancestor of the narrator became known as the Tree Bride.

The narrator then describes her present. She was named Tara Lata after her ‘Tree Bride’ ancestor. She describes her past in India when she was 19 years old. Her eldest sister Padma was aspiring to be an actress in the Indian film industry and she got an offer to play the lead role in a big-budget movie. However, she was forced by her father to turn down the movie offer who considered it a menial and derogatory job. Padma developed an affair with a fellow actor Ron Dey but since he was a Christian, Padma couldn’t marry him. Later on, she ran away from home and settled in New Jersey, America where she works as a news anchor. Tara’s elder sister Parvati too rebelled against her father and engaged in a love marriage without her father’s permission. After completing her school, Tara Lata wished to continue her studies but her father was already frustrated by her two elder daughters and decided to arrange the marriage of Tara Lata as per his choice. He said, “There is a boy and we have found him suitable. Here is his picture. The marriage will be in three weeks” Tara was aware of her father’s pain because of her elder sisters’ rebellion and didn’t wish to create more ruckus and thus she decided to marry. She mentions her dilemma about this marriage by saying, "I married a man I had never met, whose picture and biography and bloodlines I approved of because my father told me it was time to get married and this was the best husband on the market."

Tara gets married to Biswapriya Chatterjee who is an Indian immigrant in California, America. Tara settles in America and leads an opulent life there. Biswapriya is an Americanized Indian who devotes most of his time to his newly established software business. He is a self-made Silicon Valley multimillionaire who recently developed a computing algorithm that is earning millions. Tara tries to fulfill the duty of a housewife and soon gives birth to a son named Rabindranath whom she lovingly calls Rabi. Rabi is a sensitive child who is very close to his mother while her father remains busy with his business. Sometimes, Biswapriya spends 15 hours in his office, and when he returns home, he would follow his traditional Indian religious chores first and then notices his wife and son. Tara, on the other hand, is more interested in American ways and starts thinking of her own Individual self as an independent woman. She realizes her dream of a free American wife was not fulfilled. She wished to drive, but she had no place to go. Though she was not well-educated and only completed her school education, she wished to be a working woman, but couldn’t work because people would think that Biswapriya Chatterjee couldn’t support his wife.

As her frustrations continued to grow, she decided to divorce Biswapriya and lead her own life. She got many millions as a divorce settlement and started living in San Francisco with her son Rabi. Biswapriya regretted the divorce and wished he could prove to be a better husband. He continued to take financial care of Tara and his son. Tara, on the other hand, started working as a primary school teacher and soon developed an affair with Andy, a latter-day hippie described as a “Hungarian Buddhist yoga instructor/contractor.” Tara doesn’t like the Indian immigrant community in America and doesn’t approve of divorces. She recognizes herself as American. She compares her life with her sisters. Padma is still leading an unabashed life. She runs her own saree business and works as a popular news anchor. She is married to a man in New Jersey. Her other sister Parvati is happily married to her lover. Though she revolted against her father and refused to accept an arranged marriage, she now lives as a traditional Indian housewife, taking care of her husband, his kids, and his parents. Tara, on the other hand, is a woman living off a generous divorce settlement from one man while playing around with another and still keeping the first one on a leash.

One day, a young man appears at the door of Tara’s home. When She arrives home, she finds a stranger sitting with Rabi in her living room. The man, Christopher Dey, addresses her as his ‘mashi’ and explains that he is Padma’s illegitimate son, the product of an affair with a Christian man when Padma was only a teenager. Christopher shows her a letter written by Ron Dey, his alleged father. Tara knew Ron Dey since her teenage and remembers her eldest sister Padma developing a tumultuous passionate affair as an adolescent. This secret shocks Tara as it means a huge sin in traditional Indian culture. First, it means that Padma was not a virgin when she was married. Secondly, she bore a child out of wedlock. Finally, she intermingled her Brahmin bloodline with someone of a lower caste and different religion. This causes Tara to question her traditional upbringing and how it has affected her present circumstances.

However, despite reading the letter from Ron Dey, Tara is not fully convinced about his claim and decides to discover the truth behind it. Christopher continues to pester Tara again and again and this causes Andy to break his relationship with Tara and leaves the shared apartment. Tara decides to take the help of Parvati, her second sister in confirming the status of Christopher Dey. Parvati reluctantly agrees to help her out. Eventually, Tara comes to know that though Padma did give birth to an illegitimate child of Christopher Dey, the man who appeared at her home is not the son of Padma and Ron. He is a scam artist with a history of fraud, and he is not her illegitimate nephew. This fraud belongs to an Indian hacking group that had planned to blackmail and rob Biswapriya Chatterjee and thus, he targeted Tara. Tara has already lost her lover Andy and thus, she decides to find her roots by traveling back to India with her son. When she arrives in Calcutta and goes to Mishtigunj, the birthplace of the Tree Bride that she discussed in the beginning, she feels a similarity with her, as if she is the Tree Bride, reincarnated. Tara starts to feel the good aspects of her culture and childhood, and that even with all its faults, she harbors a deep respect for her homeland.

So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of Indian English literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards!

Two Ways to Belong in America by Bharati Mukherjee | Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. Two Ways to Belong in America was an analytical article written by Bharati Mukherjee that was published in The New York Times in 1996. In the article, Bharati Mukherjee discusses the differences between Indian Expatriates living in America and the Immigrants who have chosen to become citizens of America while they have relinquished their Indian nationality. Bharati suggests that though the expatriates and the immigrants face similar problems and issues in the foreign land, their ways of tackling those issues differ and this difference in their ways of coping with the alien situations makes them either an immigrant or an expatriate.

Bharati Mukherjee always maintained that she was not an expatriate but an immigrant Indian who actually loved the American way of living much more than the Indian traditions. In this article, she offers the other perspective too using discussing the experiences of her cousin sister Mira Mukherjee who chose to remain an Indian expatriate.

Summary of Two Ways to Belong in America:

The title of the article suggests that there are always more than one ways in which one may belong in a culture. The author discusses an American congress movement in 1996 that restricted the resident aliens or expatriates living in America, from accessing government benefits and how it affected those who chose to remain expatriates even after spending many years in America. She discusses her own experiences and those of her sister Mira is working in America for more than 36 years, yet claims that she is an Indian expatriate and hopes to return to India someday in the future after she retires.

The author begins by explaining the similarities between the two sisters and informs that she along with her sister Mira went to America for education in the 1960s. In India, they both shared almost identical views on socio-political and cultural issues. They both left India with a decision to return home (India) for marriage after pursuing education in the U.S. However, both continued to live in America for more than they expected. In 1962, Mira married an Indian student in America and they applied for a labor certificate which is necessary for a green card. Mira continues to live in the U.S. for more than 36 years as a legal immigrant with Indian citizenship. Since her husband too was an Indian and both had the wish to return to their homeland someday, Mira never thought of taking full citizenship of America and always maintained herself as an Indian expatriate. Mira lived in Detroit city and works in Southfield Mich., school system. She is dedicated to her work and won national recognition for her contributions in the fields of preschool education and parent-teacher relationships. Yet, after all this success in America, she maintained her Indian nationality and hopes to return to India after she retires. Mira loves Indian culture, Indian cuisines, Indian dresses, and Indian values. She never succeeded in accepting American pop culture.

Bharati, on the other hand, chose to marry her fellow student who was an American in 1963. By marrying him, Bharati got rid of the requirement to apply for the labor certificate and since her husband was an American who had little or no emotional attachment with India, he never thought of settling in India, and thus, Bharati too never thought of returning to India. She was aware of the emotional and social difficulties she might face after marrying outside her race, nationality, and caste and she was prepared for it. In fact, she was already willing to get a way out of the patriarchial, casteist ways of her family that she didn’t like much from the beginning. By marrying a man who was not her father’s choice, she chose to revolt and opted for fluidity. She open-handedly accepted the American ways of living. She mentioned the emotional trauma she suffered after marrying an American in her novel ‘The Tiger’s Daughter’ in which she mentioned how even her own mother alienated her from her family just because after marrying an American, she was no more an Indian who could understand and respect the cultural and religious traditions and feelings of her mother. Bharati mentions that since she continued to write about why she chose American ways over Indian traditions, her books were often criticized for being unapologetic, overenthusiastic ‘mongrelization,’ which means intermixing racial or ethnic character. Nonetheless, Bharati enjoyed doing so.

Despite these differences, Bharati maintained a cordial relationship with Mira. Bharati writes that Mira is her only blood relative in the USA and they spend some time communicating by phone. Bharati says that they expect to see each other through the looming crises of aging and ill health without being asked.

Bharati then mentions the USA Citizenship drive started by then Vice-President Al Gore in 1996 and how it forced Expatriates either to accept American citizenship or to relinquish government aid and benefits. Bharati says that she and Mira had already discussed the ethics of retaining overseas citizenship while expecting the permanent protection and economic benefits that come with living and working in America. Mira thought that since she is working honestly for the benefit of American society, she must be given all the aid that is meant for an American citizen despite her choice of remaining an Indian expatriate. Bharati differed from her views. Though they both have differences of opinions, they maintained polite conversation probably that was out of pity. Bharati sympathized with her sister Mira for her narrow perception and superficial understanding of American society. Mira pitied Bharati for the consequences of her marriages like the erasure of Indianness and unstructured lifestyle. While Bharati sees Mira as an alien to the American culture, Mira contends that Bharati has betrayed her Indian identity.

Now when the American congress has passed anti-immigration bills, Bharati and Mira fail to ignore their differences. While Bharati has already accepted American citizenship and has completely forgotten her Indianness, Mira is still not ready to give up her emotional attachment to her home country. Mira was upset about the implementation of the new immigration policy forced upon the old settlers. She complains that in the name of illegal immigrants, the American government is targeting legal expatriates too. She felt that she was manipulated and discarded by the American government. Mira complained that though she invested her knowledge in the development of the American preschool and obeyed all the rules, America imposed its new rules even upon legal immigrants. Bharati compares Mira’s interest to stay in America and at the same time her rejection of American citizenship with loveless marriage which is comfortable and long-lasting. Mira is determined to maintain her Indian identity despite her long stay in America and she is very particular about not transforming it.

In the wake of Al Gore’s American Citizenship movement, Bharati asks Mira again about her decision to accept American citizenship but the answer of Mira comes as a shock to her. Mira says that she can only become an American citizen for now to avoid the anti-immigrant rules but later change to become an Indian because she does not plan to remain an American citizen forever. Bharati describes her situation and that of her cousin's sister as one with great divergence. While she chooses the American way, marrying an American, abandoning her Indian culture, and living a new life altogether in the United States of America, Mira retains her culture and her Indian identity and chooses not to live the American life. Bharati says Mira, “is sticking to one job, one city, ancestral culture, and one cuisine all through her entire life.”

Bharati wonders about the difference between her and her sister. Both got exposed to the same kind of environment and situations and react in different manners to their immigrant experiences. One is ready to accept the new culture, to move from the ‘expatriate aristocrat’ to ‘immigrant nobody’ willingly, whereas the other one sticks with the old. Mira like the larger number of immigrant communities across the globe attached to her home country. However, there are some considerable differences exist between Mira and those hardworking, silenced documented immigrants due to her English fluency, anger, and confidence.

Bharati then remembers her experiences in Canada. Bharati too had undergone betrayal by the Canadian government some 20 years ago. She along with her husband lived in Canada and was placed in a good job. Despite her superior position in merit and job, she was discriminated against by the local Canadian society. The feeling of betrayal drove many immigrants out of the country. Despite their disappointment with the settled society, Bharati feels to be like a part of the community wherever she lives (either in Canada or in America).

Bharati concludes the article by suggesting that the difference between her and Mira is because of the fact that Bharati was willing to face the trauma of self-transformation to become a part of the chosen country. This trauma is experienced by the immigrants whereas the expatriates escape from this.

So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of Indian English literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards.