To Helen 爱伦坡

"To Helen" is the first of two poems to carry that name written by Edgar Allan Poe. The 15-line poem was written in honor of Jane Stanard, the mother of a childhood friend. It was first published in 1831 collection Poems of Edgar A. Poe then reprinted in 1836 in the Southern Literary Messenger. Poe revised the poem in 1845, making several improvements, most notably changing "the beauty of fair Greece, and the grandeur of old Rome" to "the glory that was Greece and the grandeur that was Rome." These improved lines are the most well-known lines of the poem.

Background

Edgar Allan Poe wrote “To Helen” as a reflection on the beauty of Mrs. Jane Stith Stanard, who died in 1824. She was the mother of one of Poe’s school classmates, Robert Stanard. When Robert invited Edgar, then 14, to his home in 1823, Poe was greatly taken with the 27-year-old woman, who is said to have urged him to write poetry. He was later to write that she was his first real love.

Theme

The theme of this short poem is the beauty of a woman with whom Poe became acquainted when he was 14. Apparently she treated him kindly and may have urged him–or perhaps inspired him–to write poetry. Beauty, as Poe uses the word in the poem, appears to refer to the woman's soul as well as her body. On the one hand, he represents her as Helen of Troy–the quintessence of physical beauty–at the beginning of the poem. On the other, he represents her as Psyche–the quintessence of soulful beauty–at the end of the poem. In Greek, psyche means soul.

Imagery and Summary of the Poem Poe opens the poem with a simile–“Helen, thy beauty is to me / Like those Nicéan barks of yo re”–that compares the beauty of Helen with small sailing boats (barks) that carried home travelers in ancient times. He extends this boat imagery into the second stanza, when he says Helen brought him home to the shores of the greatest civilizations of ant iquity, classical Greece and Rome. It may well have been that Mrs. Stanard’s beauty and other admirable qualities, as well as her taking notice of Poe’s writing ability, helped inspire him to write poetry that mimicked in some ways the classical tradition of Greece and Rome. Certainly the poem’s allusions to mythology and the classical age suggest that he had a grounding in, and a fondness for, ancient history and literature. In the final stanza of the poem, Poe imagines that Mrs. Stanard (Helen) standing before him in a recess or alcove in front of a window. She is holding an agate lamp, as the beautiful Psyche did when she discovered the identity of Eros (Cupid). For further information on the agate lamp, Psyche, and Eros, sees the comments opposite the third stanza.

Analysis:

As is typical with many of Poe's poems, the rhythm and rhyme scheme of "To Helen" is irregular but musical in sound. The poem consists of three stanzas of five lines each, where the end rhyme of the first stanza is ABABB, that of the second is ABABA, and that of the third is ABBAB. Poe uses soothing, positive words and rhythms to create a fitting tone and atmosphere for the poem. His concluding image is that of

light, with a "brilliant window niche" and the agate lamp suggesting the glowing of the "Holy Land," for which Helen is the beacon.

"To Helen" is the first of two poems to carry that name written by Poe. The 15-line poem was written in honor of Jane Stanard, the mother of a childhood friend.. It was first published in 1831 collection Poems of Edgar A. Poe then reprinted in 1836 in the Southern Literary Messenger. Poe revised the poem in 1845, making several improvements, most notably changing "the beauty of fair Greece, and the grandeur of old Rome" to "the glory that was Greece and the grandeur that was Rome." These improved lines are the most well-known lines of the poem.

Imagery and Summary of the Poem

Poe opens the poem with a simile–“Helen, thy beauty is to me / Like those Nicéan barks of yore”–that compares the beauty of Helen with small sailing boats that carried home travelers in ancient times. He extends this boat imagery into the second stanza, when he says Helen brought him home to the shores of the greatest civilizations of antiquity, classical Greece and Rome. It may well have been that Mrs. Stanard’s beauty and other admirable qualities, as well as her taking notice of Poe’s writing ability, helped inspire him to write poetry that mimicked in some ways the classical tradition of Greece and Rome. Certainly the poem’s allusions to mythology and the classical age suggest that he had a grounding in, and a fondness for, ancient history and literature. In the final stanza of the poem, Poe imagines that Mrs. Stanard (Helen) is standing before him in a recess or alcove in front of a window. She is holding an agate lamp, as the beautiful Psyche did when she discovered the identity of Eros (Cupid). For further information on the agate lamp, Psyche, and Eros, see the comments opposite the third stanza.

The Theme

The beauty of a woman with whom Poe became acquainted when he was

14.Apparently she treated him kindly and may have urged him or perhaps inspired him to write poetry.

Beauty,as Poe uses the word in the

poem ,appears to refer to the woman’s body as well as her soul.

On the one hand ,he represents her as Helen of Troy—the quintessence（典范）of physical beauty-at the beginning of this poem.

On the other ,her represents her as Psyche –at the end of the poem.In Greek,Psyche means soul.

Stanza 1

The poet first mentioned Helen, the most famous beauty in Great mythology. Then Poe compared himself to Odysseus, who wandered for ten years over the sea to get home. As Odysseus, Edgar Allan Poe was persistent in his chasing after fine arts with the sincere belief that art, or beauty and truth, is the ultimate aim, the home, for the wandering poet; while Helen, the embodiment of ancient beauty, is the guider to that dreamland

诗人第一次提到海伦,最著名的风景就像是伟大神话。然后坡把自己比做奥德修斯,就是走迷了十年海里回家。作为奥德修斯、埃德加·爱伦·坡执说捕美真诚的信仰,艺术、美与真,不是最终的目的,;海伦的美,体现古代美,是那梦境的向导。

Stanza 2

All the art and literature originated from one thing---beauty. Having taken Helen as the embodiment of beauty, the poet was confident that once he saw Helen, he was sure to be led by Helen to the home of beauty---fine and pure literature. Poe insisted that Greece and Rome are the homes of beauty, the treasure houses of fine art and literature.

所有的艺术和文学的起源从一件事---美。海伦作为美的化身，诗人有信心，有一次他看到海伦，他相信由海伦导致美家---及纯文学。坡坚持认为，希腊和罗马是最美丽的家园，美术和文学宝库

Stanza 3

The speaker sees Helen standing in the bright niche and holding in her hand an agate lamp. She is quite similar to goddess Psyche from Greek Myth. Through his description of his passion to Helen, Poe expressed his pursuit and sincere devotion to beauty.

In the poem, three beauties in ancient Greek mythology—Helen, Naiad and Psyche---are mentioned just to show that beauty is something that existed; it is very holy but it is hard to reach.

看到海伦站在明亮的利基，及举起了她的手中玛瑙灯。她和希腊神话女神颇为相似。通过他的描述，表示表明他对美的追求和真诚奉献。

在这首诗中，提到了三个美女在古希腊神话中的海伦，稚虫和普赛克---只是表明美是存在的，它是非常神圣的，但它是很难达到的。

In To Helen, Poe is celebrating the nurturing power of women.

Poe opens the poem with a simile that compares the beauty of Helen (Mrs. Stanard) with small sailing boats (barks) that carried home travelers in ancient times. He extends this boat imagery into the second stanza, when he says Helen brought him home to the shores of the greatest civilizations of antiquity古老, classical Greece and Rome. It may well have been that Mrs. Stanard’s beauty and other admirable qualities, as well as her taking notice of Poe’s writing ability, helped inspire him to write poetry that mimicked模仿in some ways the classical tradition of Greece and Rome. Certainly the poem’s allusions to mythology and the classical age suggest that he had a grounding in, and a fondness for, ancient history and literature. In the final stanza of the poem, Poe imagines that Mrs. Stanard (Helen) is standing before him in a recess or alcove壁龛in front of a window. She is holding

an agate lamp, as the beautiful Psyche did when she discovered the identity of Eros (Cupid).

据作者说，这首诗是为中学一位同学的年轻母亲斯丹娜夫人而作，写的是“我的灵魂的第一次纯洁、理想的爱”。从诗里提到的地理、历史背景来看，对斯丹娜夫人的爱慕和对古希腊史诗《伊利亚特》中的绝世美人海伦的景仰合二为一。而在最后一节里，对不可企及的美人的倾倒又升华为对艺术——甚至是对真、善、美的无穷无尽的追求。因为在西方文人心中，古代的希腊和罗马已成为一种理想的境界，那里的一切似乎都是至美与至善的。

Stylistic Appreciation

1、音韵美

整首诗大体遵循四步抑扬格格律，一反传统诗歌五步抑扬格的格律，读起来有种别样的美感。该诗的韵式ABABB , CDCDC , EFFEF.

e.g. A—me C—roam E—niche

B—yore D—face F—stand

A—sea C—home F—hand

B—bore D—Greece E—which

B—shore C—Rome F—and

第一诗节中押尾韵的单词为me, yore, sea, bore, shore; 第二节中为roam, face, home, Greece, Rome.