Poe's Poetry Summary and Analysis of "The Raven"

Summary:
The unnamed narrator is wearily perusing an old book one bleak December night when he hears a tapping at the door to his room. He tells himself that it is merely a visitor, and he awaits tomorrow because he cannot find release in his sorrow over the death of Lenore. The rustling curtains frighten him, but he decides that it must be some late visitor and, going to the door, he asks for forgiveness

Poe's Poetry Summary and Analysis of "The City in the Sea"

Summary:
Death rules in a lonely city in the far West, where the buildings are unfamiliar and everything has come to rest beside melancholy waters. Here, nighttime prevails, but light from the sea shines onto the towers, and Death looks down from his tower. The graves lie open, but none of their riches tempts the still waters. Then, suddenly, a breeze causes some movement in the sea, which gains a red glow as if to advent the coming of Hell as the city begins to sink.

Poe's Poetry Summary and Analysis of "A Dream Within a Dream"

Summary:
The narrator kisses the listener in parting. He tells the listener that he agrees that his life has been a dream, but he suggests that everything "is but a dream within a dream." He stands on the shore of the ocean, holding grains of sand as he cries. He cannot keep the sand from running out of his hand, and he wonders if he cannot save even one grain from the surf.
Analysis:
The structure of "A Dream Within a Dream" consists of two stanzas containing two disparate but

Poe's Poetry Summary and Analysis of "The Conqueror Worm"

Summary:
An audience of angels gathers to watch a play. Mimes fly around the stage, seemingly as puppets driven by invisible forces, and the plot describes sin, madness, and horror. The crawlingConqueror Worm then appears, writhing as it eats the mimes. The curtain falls, and the distressed angels affirm that the play is a tragedy called "Man" and that the Conqueror Worm is the hero.
Analysis:
In its relatively brief five stanzas, "The Conqueror Worm" seeks to tell the allegorical history of

Poe's Poetry Summary and Analysis of "Lenore"

De Verde cannot weep for his dead beloved Lenore. He gives an elegy in which he berates everyone for loving her wealth and hating her pride, suggesting that people had wished her ill and effectively killed her. The narrator asks him not to speak in this manner, although Lenore has taken away Hope in her death. Guy responds that he does not mourn because her soul has ascended to Heaven.
Analysis:
Poe returns to his frequent themes of death and beauty in "Lenore," where, as in many of his works,

Poe's Poetry Summary and Analysis of "To Helen" (1831)

Summary:
The narrator praises Helen for her beauty, which he compares to a ship bringing a "weary, wayworn wanderer" to his home. Her classic beauty has reminded him of ancient times, and he watches her stand like a statue while holding a stone lamp.
Analysis:

In "To Helen," first published in 1831 and revised in later years, Poe displays an early interest in the

Poe's Poetry Summary and Analysis of "Sonnet - To Science"

Science, by enforcing reality and its dull truth, takes away from the abilities of poets. A poet cannot love or respect Science because it would rather study the stars than listen to his fancies. Because of Science, the old myths about nymphs and nature have lost their power, and poets can no longer dream easily.
Analysis:
"Sonnet - To Science" is a poet's lament over the dangers of scientific development and its negative