The+Bridal+Ballad+by+Edgar+Allan+Poe

Over the years, Edgar Allan Poe has written many popular poems. Though many of his short stories such as The Pit and the Pendulum, or The Tell Tale Heart may have had a major effect in Romanticism, many can assume that his poems had a better effect. It has been said that poetry in the Romanticism period is the “highest and most sublime embodiment of the imagination” (Langley). This happens to be true with many of Poe’s poems, such as The Bridal Ballad. “Daniel Hoffman observes that ‘the theme [of The Bridal Ballad] was one Poe had early tried to use in poetry [when Poe was starting to become a writer], producing only the bathetic Bridal Ballad.’ (Hoffman). Sova mentions that “Poe experienced greater success in developing the theme in what critics have termed the "Marriage Group" of stories, which include Eleonora, Ligeia, and Morella” (Sova). Although this may have been so, The Bridal Ballad can still be analyzed as a building block that would lead to better written stories and poems based on the Romanticist and Dark Romanticist principles.

What readers find in The Bridal Ballad by Edgar Allan Poe is a story told in a bride’s point of view. What the bride tells readers about is the fact that she cannot fully accept her newlywed husband. The reason for her doubts is because her recent husband, D’Elormie, unfortunately passed on. Though her new husband may be happy as mentioned several times within the poem, the bride does not feel all too completely happy herself. As featured in the poem, the readers find out what the bride’s true feelings and thoughts are of the wedding despite the greatest of times.

Getting back to the fact that the story is told in a bride’s point of view, it just shows many readers that Edgar Allan Poe does not just tell stories in a male’s point of view. Though some people may not think that this fact is not too important, it can be to others. The female is constantly wondering to herself whether she made the right decision to marry a new man. The feelings that she had with D’Elormie before are now projecting back towards her as she marries the new man. Many can assume from this that it is psychological, a trait in which many Dark Romanticist writers used towards their characters in order to create a mysterious and eerie mood to the stories in which they wrote.

What makes this particular poem similar to Poe’s many other works such as The Raven, or even short stories such as The Pit and the Pendulum is that there is a constant mystery on what will happen to the character after the story is finished. Readers have probably wondered what happens to the wife after marrying the husband. When it comes to The Raven, people may still be wondering to this day whatever happened to the man who had to tolerate with the perching raven. As for The Pit and the Pendulum as another example, others may be wondering what happens to the accused inmate when the French took over Spain during the Spanish Inquisition. Although Dark Romanticism is intentionally suppose to have mysterious moods, readers may consider it a bad thing whenever they have to assume what happens to the characters when the story or poem ends. This is especially true when it comes to Poe’s writings.

Readers find that the fictional bride’s point of view in a poem can be a great way to show the principles embodied within the Romanticism Literature. “Poe explains that, ‘events not to be controlled have prevented me from making, at any time, any serious effort in what, under happier circumstances, would have been the field of my choice. With me poetry has been not a purpose, but a passion. . . .’" (Bloom). His entire life was mostly filled with misery, a life in which many of his loved ones died before him, the fact that he was diagnosed with brain lesion when he was younger, and the terrible decisions of drinking and gambling he decided to make as well. (Bloom). Despite those facts, Edgar Allan Poe still had a sense of happiness inside him. The passion that he had with poetry was what still made him mentally strong as mentioned before. Like all of his poems, he even had a passion to write a ballad, even if the story was written in a woman’s point of view.

Works Cited Bloom, Harold, ed. "Poe, Edgar Allan." Edgar Allan Poe, Bloom's Major Poets. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishing, 1999. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. 8 Nov. 2010. Web. < http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= BMPEAP02&SingleRecord=True>.

Hoffman, Daniel. "The Marriage Group." In Edgar Allan Poe: Modern Critical Views, edited by Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House, 1985. Web. 10 Dec. 2010. .

Krueger, Christine, ed. "Romanticism." Encyclopedia of British Writers, 19th Century, vol. 1. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2002.Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 7 Nov. 2010. .

Langley, John. “Romanticism 1800-1860.” Mr. Langley's Digital Classroom. 24 Oct. 2010. Microsoft Powerpoint File. Web. 11 Dec. 2010. .

Sova, Dawn B. “Bridal Ballad”. Critical Companion to Edgar Allan Poe: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work, Critical Companion. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2007. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 11 Dec. 2010. < http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CCEAP1298&SingleRecord=True>.