Roxana: The Fortunate Mistress by Daniel Defoe | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. ‘Roxana: The Fortunate Mistress,' is a novel by Daniel Defoe that was first published in the year 1724. After Moll Flanders, it was the second novel by Defoe in which he raised the issue of a woman’s right as an individual and criticized the British society of the 18th century. The individual liberty of a woman is a major theme of the novel that also deals with the obligations of motherhood. Earlier, playwright George Farquhar raised the issue of the possibility of eighteenth-century women owning their own estate despite living in a patriarchal society in his Restoration Comedy The Beaux Stratagem (1707). John Vanbrugh too raised issues of women’s rights in his plays. Defoe’s novel can be considered a proto-feminist novel because it was written much before a feminist ideology was fully formed.

Characters of Roxana:

Roxana is the titular character and narrator of the novel. Roxana isn’t her real name but an alias that she acquired when she became a wealthy courtesan of London. It is implied that her birthname is Susan (though it is not clear). She is a beautiful woman belonging to a well-to-do family. She gets married to a rich man who loses all his money and leaves Roxana penniless. She legally marries twice and gives birth to 11 children. The Brewer is Roxana’s first husband who is a handsome and charming man, but he is also spoiled, selfish, and foolish. He recklessly spends the family's money, leaving them destitute, and then disappears. The Landlord is a merchant and jeweler who owns the house where Roxana used to live with her husband. After her husband runs away, she fails to pay the rent. The landlord tries to help Roxana but also shows his sexual interest in her. Amy is a trusted maidservant of Roxana who is very loyal to her. Amy is a clever and cunning young woman with a deceptive and cruel mind but she maintains her loyalty towards Roxana. The Prince is a German married aristocrat who develops an affair with Roxana. He lavishly spends money on Roxana and continues his relationship with her for 8 years. After his wife’s untimely death, he starts feeling guilty and decides to end his relationship with Roxana. The Dutch Merchant is a Dutch native working in Paris, France as a merchant. After the prince leaves Roxana, the Dutch merchant helps her in transferring her assets from France to England. They develop a steamy relationship and ultimately, he becomes the second legal husband of Roxana. The Quakeress is a resident of London belonging to a religious minority, She owns a house and rents parts of the house to the needy. Roxana decides to lead a modest life and settles in the house of the Quakeress at rent. The Quakeress becomes her friend and though she never asks about Roxana’s past, she does help her in avoiding her secret identity to be discovered by Susan. Susan is Roxana’s daughter from her first marriage. She is either the youngest daughter of Roxana, or the eldest. After her father ran away, Roxana managed to send her to her uncle and aunt’s house for safekeeping. Eventually, she became a maidservant while Roxana left her children to make her own independent life. Later on, when Roxana tried to look for her children whom she had left at different times with the help of Amy, Amy came to know that Susan, the daughter of Roxana is working as a servant in Roxana’s house itself.

Summary of Roxana:

The novel begins as the narrator introduces herself. Her parents were British Catholics who ran away to France due to religious persecution where her mother gave birth to Roxana. Her birthname was Susan and her parents were rich enough to raise their kids in affluence. She also had a younger brother. The family returned to England and at the age of 15, Roxana was married to the son of a wealthy brewer. Roxana and her husband had five sons (two sons, and three daughters). While her husband was a handsome and charming man, he had some bad habits and lacked financial acumen. As a result, he continued to make big losses at his business. Considering Roxana’s relationship with her husband, her father trusted some money for her with her younger brother. However, just like her husband, her brother too was a financially careless man, who eventually loses all of his money, goes bankrupt, and goes to prison. Meanwhile, her husband too continues to make big losses, and one day, about seven years after their marriage, he vanishes and leaves Roxana and their kids destitute with no way to provide for herself, or her children. Her brother already had wasted all the money her father had saved for her bad times. At such a difficult time, Amy, Roxana’s maidservant stands by her as a loyal pillar and suggests she give up her children with her husband’s relatives. Roxana agrees but realizes that none of the relatives of her husband is willing to take responsibility for the five kids. Amy forces the children's paternal aunt and uncle to reluctantly assume responsibility for the children. The landlord of the house where Roxana used to live with her family asks for the rent but she had no money to pay the rent. Amy notices that the landlord is interested in Roxana. Amy suggests that Roxana may remarry the landlord. However, after her bitter experiences with the first marriage, Roxana is not willing to marry again. Amy persuades Roxana to become the landlord’s mistress while he will take care of her financial needs. Roxana is unwilling to indulge in such a relationship but the landlord promises her to treat well and respect her as his wife. He also signs a contract providing her with money upon his death. Roxana then agrees and becomes his mistress. The landlord asks her why she denied marrying him to which she says, “I thought a woman was a free agent as well as a man, and was born free, and, could she manage herself suitably, might enjoy that liberty to as much purpose as the men do… that the very nature of the marriage contract was, in short, nothing but giving up liberty, estate, authority, and everything to the man, and the woman was indeed a mere woman ever after—that is to say, a slave.” The comparison of a wife to a slave is a simile that creates a driving connotation to reveal the severity of Roxana’s beliefs on marriage. As a slave is subjected to every command of his or her master, a wife in the eighteenth century is a marionette to the husband: her actions and beliefs must be in line with his desire. The landlord then counterargues and says that he will grant her complete control over her property. Roxana then says that after marriage, the property will no longer legally be her own. Though the husband may allow the wife to act as the manager of the property, she will be forced to administer according to the husband’s instructions. The landlord then accepts her argument.

They continue to enjoy their time together but one day, Amy teases her of sleeping with a man she is not married to and compares her with a courtesan or a whore. Roxana gets irritated and forces Amy to sleep with the landlord. As a result, Amy becomes pregnant and gives birth to a girl child. Roxana takes financial responsibility for her child. Meanwhile, Roxana too gives birth to a daughter who dies shortly after her birth. Roxana again becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son. To manage his jewel business, the landlord plans to visit France and Roxana suggests he take her with him as France was her birthplace to which the landlord agrees. They leave their son and house under the care of Amy. While spending their time in France, Roxana feels that something bad is about to happen and insists that the landlord must all of his valuables (including some jewels) with her. The landlord agrees and when he goes out for some business, he is attacked by some robbers who kill him. After the landlord’s murder, Roxana pretends that all his money and precious jewels were robbed by the robbers and keeps them for herself. She also manages to get a big part of the Jewel merchant’s estate in France and becomes a very rich woman. She then writes a letter to Amy and instructs her to join her in France. During her time in France, she meets a German aristocrat who falls in love with her. Though the German prince is already married, he develops a relationship with Roxana who becomes his mistress. The Prince lavishly spends money on Roxana and takes her on a trip to Italy where he buys Turkish garments for her. After returning to France with the Prince, Roxana accidentally meets her first husband, the brewer who is now working as a soldier in the French army. Though Roxana recognizes him, he fails to recognize her and then Roxana manages to avoid him detecting her real identity. Roxana continues to be a mistress of the Prince for eight years during which she gives birth to his three sons. One of their sons dies but two sons survive. Meanwhile, the wife of the German prince gets ill and dies. This renders the Prince very sad and repentant. He remembers how virtuous his wife was while he continued to waste his life pursuing carnal pleasures. Feeling guilty, he breaks his relationship with Roxana.

Roxana then decides to return to England and tries to liquidate all the jewels and property she owned after the death of the landlord. However, one Jewish merchant recognizes the jewels when she tries to sell them and suspects that Roxana was an accomplice of the robbers who murdered the landlord. Roxana presents herself as the widowed wife of the landlord who is being unfairly persecuted. A Dutch merchant helps her in getting rid of the charges and later on, he also helps her in liquidating her property in France while she decides to travel back to England with Amy. Roxana then decides to go to Holland while taking care of all the wealth she has amassed in France and England. The Dutch merchant visits her in Holland and helps her in managing her assets. During this period, Roxana develops an affair with the Dutch merchant and becomes pregnant. When the Dutchman comes to know about her pregnancy, he happily proposes to her to marry him but Roxana refuses to marry him. The Dutch merchant is very saddened by Roxana’s adamant behavior and tries to persuade her but she stubbornly leaves him and returns to England with all of her wealth.

In England, she settles in Pall Mall, close to Buckingham Palace with Amy and soon gives birth to her final child, the son of the Dutch merchant. Roxana continues to wisely invest her wealth in businesses while making new social relationships with wealthy successful men. Amy on the other hand, takes care of Roxana’s home and her two sons. Roxana develops affairs with many wealthy and important men and she also becomes close to the King of England during this period, she earns the name Roxana and becomes the most popular courtesan in London. However, she continues to avoid any proposal of marriage. Meanwhile, she falls in love with an old lord who ignores her beauty and doesn’t fall for her charms.

Meanwhile, she persuades Amy to find out about her children from her first marriage. Amy discovers that two of the five children of Roxana from her first marriage, one boy and one girl, have died; the other boy is working as an apprentice, and the two girls are working as servants somewhere. Amy succeeds in finding out the whereabouts of Roxana’s son and then Roxana manages to anonymously ensure a huge fund for his further education so that he can eventually be a merchant. Amy continues to try to locate the two daughters of Roxana. One day, she realizes that one of Roxana’s daughters is named Susan and she is working as a servant in Roxana’s own house. When she informs Roxana about it, Roxana gets frightened and asks Amy to do anything to avoid being detected by her daughter. Amy sends Susan away but also provides her a big amount of money so that she may get higher education.

When Susan comes to know that just like her, her brother too has got a big amount of money, she becomes suspicious and doubts that Amy is her long-lost mother who left her children. On the other hand, Roxana is too sad to know that she cannot openly meet with her children. Though she is still a popular courtesan, she realizes that she is getting old and losing her charm. Her bad experience with the old lord whom she really loved, also depresses her. She decides to give up her affluent life and goes away and starts living with a Quaker landlady at her house on rent. She leads a modest and quiet life but finds herself unable to stop thinking about the Dutch Merchant. She sends Amy to France to enquire about him. Amy goes to France to know the whereabouts of the Dutch Merchant but Roxana accidentally meets him in London as he has moved to England. The Dutch merchant still loves Roxana and wishes to marry her so that they may take care of their son as good parents. After her initial hesitation, Roxana agrees to marry the Dutch merchant. After their marriage, they plan to move to Holland and settle there. However, Susan comes to know that Amy is now living in a Quaker’s house and as she believes that Amy is her lost mother, she visits there to enquire about her. Roxana gets frightened that if the Dutch merchant came to know about her past, it will ruin their marriage. Amy tries to dissuade Susan from her search for her mother but Susan is very persistent. Amy then suggests that Roxana should hire some murderer to kill Susan to which Roxana gets shocked and refuses to do any such thing. However, After some days, Susan mysteriously vanishes and Roxana becomes convinced that Amy did in fact murder her. Roxana and the Dutch merchant settle in Holland and they expect to lead a successful married life but the novel ends with a hint that Roxana’s past continued to haunt her and she lost all of the wealth and happiness she has found for herself.

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

Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. Moll Flanders was a novel by Daniel Defoe that was published in 1721. Just like his first novel Robinson Crusoe, Daniel Defoe presented this novel as an autobiography, a truthful account told in first person narrative. Daniel Defoe tried to depict the story of Moll Flanders as her spiritual biography detailing her exploits from birth until old age. The full title of the novel is "The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders, Etc. Who was born in Newgate, and during a life of continu'd Variety for Threescore Years, besides her Childhood, was Twelve Year a Whore, five times a Wife (whereof once to her own brother), Twelve Year a Thief, Eight Year a Transported Felon in Virginia, at last grew Rich, liv'd Honest and died a Penitent. Written from her own Memorandums." The full title offers a short summary of the novel in essence.

Characters of Moll Flanders:

Moll Flanders is the narrator and protagonist of the novel. She is a beautiful lady who is determined to survive and do well in her life. She is not a wicked person but remains ready to sacrifice morality in favor of prosperity. Moll's mother was a prisoner facing execution but was spared for being pregnant. She gave birth, then was allowed to leave for the American colonies as an alternative to execution. Moll was raised by a pious widow Nurse who took good care of Moll during her early childhood but then dies. Moll is then adopted by the Mayor and his wife. The Mayor’s wife is a generous lady who takes Moll in as a favored maid. The Mayor’s eldest son is a smart young man who seduces Moll but soon gets bored of her and decides to leave her. Robert or Robin is the Mayor’s youngest son who falls in love with Moll and marries her. Robert and Moll become parents of two children but then Robert succumbs to death. Moll then marries a Draper who is a gentleman but terrible at his business. He gets bankrupt and runs away from the country while his child from Moll becomes a ward of the state. Humphrey is a man from the American colonies whom Moll meets at Mint. He marries Moll and takes her to America where she meets Humphrey’s old mother. Humphrey and Moll become parents of three children one of whom dies during the birth. Moll’s mother-in-law is a mighty cheerful, good-humored old woman who develops a good relationship with Moll. When Moll’s mother-in-law tells her about how she had to leave England and settle in America, Moll comes to know that she is the daughter of her mother-in-law, and a half-sister of Humphrey, her husband. She then leaves her husband and returns to England where she meets the Gentleman of Bath and becomes his maid and then mistress. He gets a spiritual vision and decides to leave Moll. She then meets a grave gentleman whose wife had cheated on him. He falls in love with Moll and asks her to marry her but she insists that he should get a divorce from her wife first. She then meets James, a man from Lancashire. He is a poor man who pretends to be a rich landlord. Moll falls in love with him and marries him. However, their marriage fails and they divorce each other. Moll then becomes a thief and is helped by the Governess, an unprincipled woman who manages the affairs of many whores, deals with the problems of unmarried mothers, and also eventually has a pawnshop and deals with thieves. Moll learns that her mother left a plantation for Moll before she died. Moll returns to America to take care of her fortune. Moll takes the help of a Quaker to get control of the plantation without letting Humphrey know about her return to Virginia. She meets her son Junior Humphrey and reveals to him that she is her mother.

Summary of Moll Flanders:

The story begins as Moll introduces herself as a person who leads a life of Debauchery and Vice. She says that she is going to share her private history which is full of wickedness and corruption, yet, the readers who are willing to read her story with a virtuous purpose will find great spiritual and moral merits in it. Moll then says that she is using a pseudonym (Moll Flanders) to avoid any controversy as some legal matters of criminal significance are still pending on her real name in the records of Newgate Prison and Old Baily in London.

She then begins her story and informs that she was born in Newgate Prison where her mother was kept for stealing a few pieces of fabric. Her mother was sentenced to death but she “pleaded her belly” (that is, asked to be spared due to her pregnancy) and her sentence was commuted to transportation to the American colonies. Her mother was transported to Virginia when Moll was 6 months old. She was then raised by a widowed nurse who took good care of her. When Moll was 15 years old, the nurse died. The Mayor took notice of her and she became a maid-servant of the Mayor’s wife who was a generous lady. At Mayor’s house, Moll got the same education and treatment as the daughters of the Mayor and his wife. Both the daughters of the Mayor were jealous of her because Moll was exceptionally beautiful. The Mayor’s eldest son got infatuated with her and seduced her by giving compliments and gifts to her. However, after sexually exploiting her for some years, he got bored of her. The Mayor’s younger son Robert was unaware of Moll’s relationship with his elder brother. He fell in love with Moll and proposed to her to marry him. His elder brother convinced Moll to marry Robert. The Mayor’s wife was against this marriage yet, Robert married Moll and they remained married for a few years during which they became parents of two children. Robert died after that and Moll was forced to leave the house while Robert’s family took charge of the two children from the marriage.

Moll then met a draper or a tradesman who was a gentleman and always treated Moll with respect. They married and the Draper continued to spend money on Moll. Soon he became bankrupt He broke out of jail and left the country, leaving Moll free to marry again. Moll was then helped by one of her widowed friends. During the same time, she also became a friend of a young girl who was in love with a ship captain. The captain was a proud man who though used Moll’s friend but didn’t wish to marry her. With Moll’s help, her friend succeeds in marrying the captain and turns him into a humble and obedient husband.

Meanwhile, Moll meets Humphrey a gentleman from Virginia, America. She tries to impress him by pretending to be a rich lady. Humphrey realizes that Moll is a poor woman but he falls in love with her and proposes to her to marry him. Then he takes her to Virginia where she meets his old mother who is a former transported convict. Moll and Humphrey lead a happy married life for many years and become parents of three children one of whom dies. Moll develops a good relationship with her mother-in-law. One day, her mother-in-law reveals the circumstances in which she was forced to leave England and her six moth’s old daughter whom she gave birth to in jail. Moll realizes that she is the daughter of her mother-in-law and unknowingly, she has married her half-brother. When Humphrey comes to know about this, he becomes too depressed and tries to commit suicide. Though Moll saves Humphrey, she decides to leave America and returns to England.

Moll starts living in Bath where he meets a very modest and very friendly gentleman, whose wife was insane. Moll becomes his housemaid and they live a chaste life under the same roof for some years. One day, he returns home after drinking alcohol and makes love with Moll. Moll becomes his mistress then and continues their sexual relationship for some years while she gives birth to his son. The gentleman from Bath then gets ill and when he recovers, he starts worrying for his insane wife and relatives. He starts feeling guilty about making a relationship with Moll and asks her to leave him while he decided to take care of their son.

Moll was forty years old now and found it difficult to live in London as it was a costly place and decided to go somewhere in the north since living there was cheaper. Before going away, she decided to take care of her financial obligations with the help of an honest banker. The banker introduces her to a grave gentleman whose wife was a cheat whom he had caught red-handed with another man. He was looking for a virtuous wife and he found Moll a good woman whom he wished to marry. Moll told him that she will marry him but he first needs to get a divorce from his first wife. The grave gentleman said that he will get the divorce soon and will marry Moll when she returns from the North.

Moll then shifted to Lancashire where she met one of her old friends. Moll again decided to pretend to be a rich lady so that her friend may introduce her to some rich young man and then she will be able to marry a rich man. Her friend introduced her to a rich Catholic family who took good care of Moll. She also met a handsome, rich-looking Irish man named James and fell in love with him. James courted her and she married him. After the marriage, Moll came to realize that James is actually not a rich man, rather just like her, he too pretended to be a rich guy so that he may seduce a rich lady and marry her for her wealth. After realizing that both are poor and none of them have any wealth, they decided to divorce and try their luck elsewhere. However, both loved and appreciated each other.

Moll then decides to return to London but when she returns, she comes to realize that she is pregnant. She takes the help of a midwife who tells her to sell her child to a rich man whose wife is unable to conceive a baby. Moll agrees and sells her child. After getting rid of the pregnancy, she meets the banker who helped her before she left London. She comes to know that the grave gentleman has divorced his first wife and is willing to marry her. Moll ascertains that he may never come to know about what she did in Lancashire and about her child that she sold and marries him. They live a happily married life for five years but then the grave gentleman’s business fails and he goes bankrupt. He fails to control the situation and dies of a heart attack.

Moll becomes lonely and destitute again and she realizes that she is no longer a young and attractive woman who may get a good rich handsome man who will marry her. She tries her luck but fails to get any honest way of rich living and then decides to meet the midwife who helped her in selling her child. The midwife is now working as a pawnbroker and leader of thieves. She recruits Moll and trains her to become a skillful thief. Being a clever woman, Moll soon becomes an excellent and successful thief who uses ingenuine tricks and techniques to steal silver and cloth. Moll always remained careful and never used violence. She was clever enough to always hide her real identity and whereabouts from her colleagues and thus she always succeeded in avoiding being caught while most of her colleagues suffered jail terms. However, her luck fails to save her for long and she ends up in police custody for stealing some silk.

Moll is then sent to the Newgate Prison where her mother gave birth to her. Initially, she remains unrepentant though she regrets being caught. She leads a miserable life in jail. One day, she finds that James too has been imprisoned at Newgate Prison for a highway robbery. This helps her in bearing the burden of her jail term. But when she falls in despair when she is sentenced to death for thievery. During such a time, her Governess sends a Minister to help her during her last days and she starts leading a life of a pious Christian. The Minister gets impressed by the stark change in her behavior and appeals for a reprieve for her from the death sentence. Her punishment is then reduced to transportation to Virginia. Moli comes to know that James too has been given a chance to either accept the death sentence or to be transported to some American colony. She tries to convince him to come with her to Virginia but James is more willing to accept the death sentence than living a life of destitution in some far land. At such a time, Moll gets the news of the death of her mother who has left a plantation farmland to her. Moll then convinces James to go to Virginia with her where they can restart their life again.

After returning to Virginia, Moll finds it difficult to acknowledge herself to be her brother's former wife and the mother of his son, now a thriving young man, because she did not want James to know about her incestuous past. She takes the help of a Quaker who is her trustworthy friend to get hold of the plantation left by her mother in her name. James and Moll start living on a plantation of tobacco near the plantation of Humphrey, her brother, who is now a very old and almost blind man. Moll finds it difficult to avoid meeting her son Junior Humphrey and decides to reveal to him that she is her mother. Junior Humphrey accepts her as his mother and becomes an obedient son while acting as a paid steward of her. They decide not to reveal her identity as Junior Humphrey’s mother either to James or old Humphrey. After some years, old Humphrey dies of old age and then Moll tells James about her past and reveals that once she was married to her half-brother and Junior Humphrey is her own son. James accepts their relationship and says that he is "perfectly easy on that account... For, said he, it was no fault of yours, nor of his; it was a mistake impossible to be prevented." Moll and James then make a good fortune through their plantation and become very rich. At the age of 69, Moll decides to return to London along with James and live there with fake names.

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

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!