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User Rating:
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6.0
/10
(96 votes)
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"Seldom we find," says Solomon Don Dunce,
"Half an idea in the profoundest sonnet.
Through all the flimsy things we see at once
As easily as through a Naples bonnet-
Trash of all trash!- how can a lady don it?
Yet heavier far than your Petrarchan stuff-
Owl-downy nonsense that the faintest puff
Twirls into trunk-paper the while you con it."
And, veritably, Sol is right enough.
The general tuckermanities are arrant
Bubbles- ephemeral and so transparent-
But this is, now- you may depend upon it-
Stable, opaque, immortal- all by dint
Of the dear names that he concealed within 't.
Edgar Allan Poe
| Submitted Date |
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Tuesday, December 31, 2002 |
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Read poems about / on: sonnet
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Comments about this poem (An Enigma
by
Edgar Allan Poe
) |
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Ramesh T A (10/26/2010 3:10:00 AM)
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It is really an enigmatic sonnet to read!
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Michael Webster (1/19/2010 10:46:00 AM)
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'how dare to 'appreciate' poet like poe who was once a drunkard poet? '
Hmm... no, you still don't make sense.
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Albert Ahearn (10/27/2009 7:25:00 AM)
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' tuckermanities' The editor of the 'Boston Miscellany' was Henry T. Tuckerman. There was no love lost between Tuckerman and Poe.The editor earlier rejected Poe's tale 'The Tell-Tale Heart '
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Albert Ahearn (10/27/2009 5:55:00 AM)
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'American poet and playwright Sarah Anna Robinson was born near Baltimore, MD. She married Sylvanus D. Lewis in 1841. In later years, Mrs. Lewis helped to take care of Mrs. Clemm when Poe was away, and his reliance on her for such matters, as well as financial considerations, probably forced him to put aside his critical eye and actively promote her writings.She was somewhat free with her first name, sometimes calling herself Estelle and later merely Stella. She divorced her husband in 1858, traveled to Europe and moved to London, England, living for her last decade in Bedford Square.'
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Herman Chiu (10/26/2009 7:24:00 PM)
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Interesting enigma - it has a good point considering the writing of many pretentious authors, along with the hidden message Mr. Ahearn pointed out (thank you; I would not have seen that) . I will admit to not fully understanding his point here, and will therefore not give a rating. However, I would like to stress that Poe was not one for writing any idea directly (as is the way with most poets) , let alone an enigma. Laziness to pursue further meaning in any piece of work is no basis to accuse a cleverly written piece of being too abstract or pointless. As long as the writing pertains logically to the central idea, and it does not have inappropriate references, there is nothing 'killed' here - only an unappreciated style, fitted around the rigid structure of a sonnet.
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Michael Harmon (10/26/2009 4:27:00 PM)
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Are you intending your last two sentences to be insults aimed indirectly, but personally, at me, Mr. Ahearn? Or did you intend them to be direct, and therefore frontal, assaults?
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Albert Ahearn (10/26/2009 2:26:00 PM)
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The word intended was critique not critic. The comments made are critiques.
The poem was intended for intellects. Some people qualify, others don't.
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Michael Harmon (10/26/2009 1:58:00 PM)
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No one questions the meaning of the title.
Perhaps, the perplexing part is why Poe thought anyone but him (and his dedicatee, Sarah Anna Lewis) would have any esthetic interest in figuring out the 'enigma'. Once figured out, what is the insight, truth, beauty, or point of the poem which lends itself to a rereading, which most good poems, by the very nature of their being good, entice us to do?
As I said, in poetry, cleverness kills. And, I believe, the word is 'critics'.
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Albert Ahearn (10/26/2009 12:58:00 PM)
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The title of this sonnet is 'An enigma' meaning a a perplexing text; a riddle.
Poe is literally saying the names are embedded within the poem. Set like stone. The poem is dedicated to Sarah Anna Lewis. The name is found by searching for the first letter of the first line and then the second letter of the second line and so on.. which is a code he used in another one of his poems: 'A Valentine' which is addressed to another person. Figure it out for yourself if you are inclined.
I hope this satisfies our confounded critiques.
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