Edgar Allan Poe was an American writer, poet, critic and editor best known for evocative short stories and poems that captured the imagination and interest of readers around the world. His imaginative storytelling and tales of mystery and horror gave birth to the modern detective story. Many of Poe’s works, including “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Fall of the House of Usher,” became literary classics. Some aspects of Poe’s life, like his literature, is shrouded in mystery, and the lines between fact and fiction have been blurred substantially since his death. Edgar Allan Poe’s “To Helen” is a tribute to the mother of his school friend, Mrs.Jane Stannard. He epitomized his ‘Helen’ as “the first ideal love of my soul.” The theme of the poem is the elevation of a human woman to the status of a Greek goddess who represents the human soul. Poe uses a simile to compare Helen’s beauty to the ancient ships that sailed over a calm sea. A reference is made to Odysseus and his travels home from the Trojan War which took him ten years. Beauty is the lasting legacy of Greece and Rome, and its supreme symbol is the most beautiful of women, Helen, daughter of Zeus, who brings the nomad home and inspires the poet. The poem's form consists of three quatrains with an irregular rhyme scheme. The musicality of the poem is pleasant and Poe’s vocabulary choice is soothing to the ear. The alliteration emphasizes the calming impact of this woman’s beauty. Enjoy free online English audiobook “To Helen”, a breathtaking novel by Edgar Allan Poe.
