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“Helen, thy natural beauty is to me Like all those Nicean barks of yore That gently, o’er a perfumed sea, The careful, way-worn wanderer bore To his individual native shore. On eager seas long wont to roam, Thy hyacinth locks, thy vintage face, Thy Naiad will be presented on have brought me home To the beauty that was Greece, Plus the grandeur that was Rome. Lo, in yon brilliant window-niche How statue-like I see thee stand, The faluche lamp within thy palm, Ah! Mind, from the areas which Are Ay Land!  By Edgar Allan Poe To Helen by Edgar Allan Poe is a poem about a gentleman speaking about beauty of a woman both in body ” with the potential reference to Sue of Troy ” in addition to spirit ” comparing her to the perfect beauty of Psyche.

The pretty woman appears in the poem to be a totally free spirit that reminds the storyteller of long gone times. To accentuate this kind of reference to her ancient natural beauty “To Helen employs a solid use of Greek mythology with references to both the history of Mind and Cupid, Helen of Troy, and possible Dionysos or Bacchus within the stanza’s of the composition.

The first stanza of “To Helen describes beauty of Helen similar to that of a boat bringing travellers home by a long time overseas. This can be seen in the second collection, “Like individuals Nicean barks or yore barks staying the small cruising boat and Nicean for being an ancient city that was near the Trojan War. The Trojan War is one of the American world’s many mythical fights where the Ancient greek language fleet conducted the city of Troy within a war that lasted for more than nine years. The fight began with Paris of Troy seducing Helen by her husband Menelaus the King of Sparta.

The Trojan War is one of the most significant battles in Greek mythology. As the Helen in the poem is being compared, or may be, the Helen of Troy contrasting her splendor to that in the woman who have caused the weary travellers to become weary and home deprived to begin with due to the battle their returning from is quite ironic. Even so this symbolism in the beginning of the poem, “Like those Nicean barks of yore / Gentle, o’er a perfumed sea,  almost instantly evoke an emotional response in the target audience as it uses two rather strong psychological elements in society, war time and the joy of finally returning house.

Feature ArticleCountry SchoolAllen Curnow

This is more than likely the point with the imagery found in the poem and not to point out the irony of Helen of Troy’s beauty being when compared to that of the aftermath of her activities of elopement with Paris of Troy. The poem then accentuates the line with a strong use of imagery, “That gently, o’er a perfumed sea, / The tired, way-worn wanderer bore / To his native shore.  The application of “gently, o’er a perfumed sea can be described as strong use of imagery that leaves a definite picture inside the readers mind allowing them to conveniently picture the tired, “way-worn wanderer coming back home.

The description of the “weary, way-worn wanderer itself also hard drives the point home with the author’s use of stabreim. This cardiovascular warming symbolism that floods the stanza is in by itself a metaphor for beauty of Helen which is launched in the initial line of the poem. This kind of opening stanza gives a incredibly decisive view on the subject of the rest of the poem and leaves you with a crystal clear view in the woman inside their mind. About desperate seas long will not to roam,  This kind of beginning range sets up the structure from the stanza while the nameless narrator tells the audience how, even though they’re so accustomed (“wont) to roaming the ocean the beauty of Sue brings them back home. The midst of the stanza is focused on describing the sweetness that brought them home whereas you see, the returning to residence is described in the last two lines. Likewise the extension of the marine in the composition, “On needy seas can be described as continuation from the imagery created in the initially stanza by simply reference to the “barks or perhaps small ships.

This in that case brings through the imagery in the first stanza into the second stanza since the narrator identifies for the weary, way-worn wanderer. As well the recognition of Sue of Troy in the composition is additional enforced in the second stanza with lines such as “hyacinth hair, thy classic face which were aspects of beauty that had a weighty weight in the ancient times of Greece and Rome. Likewise the mention of “To the glory that was Portugal / And the grandeur that was Rome Is a alternatively forward inference that all the possible significance of Greek and Roman mythology in the poem are correct.

The line, “Thy hyacinth hair,  is not only stabreim once again however it may be referring to another Traditional myth. The parable is one out of which Apollo takes a fan in the form of a sensational boy named Hyacinthus who will be tragically slain in his junior. This once again is a metaphor of Helens exquisiteness as Hyacinthus was known for his beauty in Greek mythology. However the comparison can yet again be construed in two ways as, though Hyacinthus was viewed as beautiful he as well died tragically and at a new age.

The poem therefore could also be discussing the fact that beauty is actually a tragedy in addition to a gift ” which can then simply be further supported by the fact that the beautiful woman is/being compared to Helen of Troy who singlehandedly caused the Trojan Battle because the lady fell in love. It is more encomiable however the fact that poem is simply comparing the advantage of Helen’s hair to that of Apollo’s mate. This can be deduced as most Greek mythology offers tragedy woven throughout that anyway and so any mention of the beauty will result in several tragedy yet another. Thy traditional face, / Thy Naiad airs have got brought me personally home This kind of line relates again for the archetypal natural beauty of woman who lived in these historical times once again provoking symbolism about the advantage of the secret Helen the poem is definitely depicting. “Thy Naiad apparence have brought me home this range makes reference towards the Naiads who had been, in both equally Greek and Roman mythology, minor mother nature goddesses often referred to as nymphs whom presided over mountains, waterways or woodlands. The Naiad airs would therefore be referring to a peaceful piece of cake.

This symbolism of a Naiad airs brings about the reader to believe that the piece of cake is homebound and is sending the narrator towards their home. The fact that this breeze is from the narrators home is usually expanded upon in the last two closing lines, “To the glory that was Greece / And the grandeur that as Rome This jewelry in with the prior line saying that the air flow is indeed sending the narrator towards their very own native coast. The descriptions given of both Greece and Rome are similar to the wonders they were in the past and is highly symbolic of that time period long gone by simply.

The imagery of historical and untouchable beauties is usually apparent over the entirety from the poem. The ending lines wrap up the stanza somewhat neatly and complete the references to the sea that shows up in the initially line of the stanza. “Lo! In yon brilliant window-niche / How statue-like I realize thee stand!  This kind of line again opens up the stanza which has a strong perception of imagery. This brings on to the visitors mind typical silhouette of your woman against a windowpane that is usually seen from a distance.

Although perhaps this cliched vision might not have been as used previously as it is today it still would’ve triggered an very easily attainable eyesight for the reader to hold on to for the rest of the stanza. “How statue-like I see the stand!  this line may be representational of the fact that the Greek’s acquired mastered the study of the human type in statue, sculptures which have lasted up till today and are still because stunning because they were after they were first chiselled via rock.

This kind of stone portrayal of Helen is highly representational of timeless beauty a theme firmly expanded upon throughout the poem. The line leads to the images of the scene and the untouchable nature of the woman silhouetted in the “brilliant window-niche who have still appears to be untouchable although the narrator is usually finally house. “The faluche lamp inside thy hands, / Ah! Psyche, from the regions which usually / Happen to be Holy Land!  The first two lines once more have hefty connotations with Greek mythology.

The agate lamp and the mention of Mind refers to are actually Greek/Roman myth’s that does not end in tragedy. It is the myth of Cupid/Eros and Psyche in which Cupid is doing a favour for the goddess Aphrodite/Venus, whom is jealous of Psyche’s beauty. Aphrodite desired Cupid for making Psyche fall in love with the ugliest man he could find however instead Cupid fell in love with Psyche. The two, through meddling parents and an oracle, end up appointment at the top of a mountain in a dark cave full of riches and finery ” presumably placed right now there by Cupid in anticipation of Psyche’s arrival.

Mind and Cupid then turn into lovers underneath the condition that Psyche may never find Cupids encounter. One night however , because of pressure via her sisters, Psyche lamps a lamp ” this may be the calot lamp the poem describes ” and recognizes Cupid immediately, waking up him up in the process and causing him to flee. The story then goes on to present Psyche carrying out numerous difficult tasks to get Aphrodite in order to find her mate ” Cupid (Aphrodite’s son) ” and be with him once again.

One of these tasks included retrieving a box from the underworld that could possibly be referenced in the second and last lines of the poem “Ah! Psyche, through the regions which / Are Holy Land!  On the other hand Holy Land could also be discussing Greece and Rome. The reference to the myth of Psyche and Cupid in the composition is symbolic of the narrators and Helen’s love and possible it’s endurance. The connotations will be that of a deeper romantic relationship than those of admiring Helen’s beauty because their love may’ve undergone studies like the kinds with which Psyche went through to be with Cupid.

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