Romance

Romance, who loves to nod and sing With drowsy head and folded wing Among the green leaves as they shake Far down within some shadowy lake, To me a painted paroquet Hath been—most familiar bird— Taught me my alphabet to say, To lisp my very earliest word While in the wild wood I did lie, A child—with a most knowing eye. Of late, eternal condor years So shake the very Heaven on high With tumult as they thunder by, I have no time for idle cares Through gazing on the unquiet sky; And when an hour with calmer wings Its down upon my spirit flings, That little time with lyre and rhyme To while away—forbidden things— My heart would feel to be a crime Unless it trembled with the strings. Edgar Allen Poe's "Romance" contains vivid imagery that is illustrated through the first few lines which reflect some of Poe's famous horror tendencies that is characteristic of his work. However, "Romance" is very insightful and reflective at life--it constantly assesses its past as in the first verse Poe directs the reader towards an awareness about youth and childhood years.Moreover, the first verse illustrates how the child develops into an adult as he gradually matures--"While in the wild wood I did lie,/ A child-with a most knowing eye." This therefore illustrates how the child gains that insight that is only suggestive of higher-order thinking in an adult's mind. In the second stanza of the poem, the child has now officially entered adulthood. He seems displeased and the poem sets of a bitter tone to reflect the child's attitude--"I have no time for idle cares/ Through grazing on the unquiet sky." By suggesting that the child has no time for recreational activities or matters of 'unimportance' such as thoughtlessly viewing the sky that nearly seems disturbing to the adult suggests that the child has become aware of the pessimism that defines adulthood since usually children live in an encased protective mental barrier that prevents them from viewing reality from the lens of an adult's acumen and insight. Thus the child realizes how reality is harsh and disappointing in the world as he begins to realize that the forces around him are acting against him and indifferent to his needs. The threatening "late, eternal Condor years" also suggests that the child after transitioning into his adulthood is now entering into the later years of his life and fast approaching death, rather than leaning more towards the youth and excitement hallmark of more young, vibrant years. Other latent imagery hidden within "Romance" is visible when Poe describes "lyre and rhyme/ To while away--forbidden things!" These last two lines reflect the condition of Poe's heart which seems to be in an unstable condition. By using crime as an adjective, Poe illustrates the guilty nature of his heart that seems to be pulling at him through the description of strings. Moreover, there is also a sense of fright for his heart "trembles" suggesting that he is afraid of something that most likely has to do with age. The poem structure also adds to "Romance" as it uses rhyming couplets in its introductions while alternating rhyme schemes during the rest of the poem. The shift in rhyme structure and the use of hyphens are meant to contrast the imagery and the effects of realism that is associated with maturation from childhood to adulthood as well as the reflective and agitated feelings that often accompany the uncertainties that face us while developing throughout our later years in pastime. In all, Poe is shifting from the theme of romance and reality that often obfuscated as one struggles to make sense of emerging into adulthood from childhood. The first stanza illustrates how like the bird, "paroquet" there is a romance which characterizes his writing style in his youth whereas in the second stanza the speaker is unable to view the beautiful that becomes "forbidden things". Yet there are times when the author reflects and feels satisfaction and happiness which illustrates how despite one's inability to go back into gleeful, childhood times one can take pleasure in relishing his past--"And when an hour with calmer wings/ Its down upon my spirit flings/ That little time with lyre and rhyme/ To while away-forbidden things."