Abstract： Allan Poe， who had been orphaned and disinherited， suffered from death of families and poverty for most of his life.However，he emphasized his difference between him and other people.There is always a tone of melancholy and gloomy in the theme and images of his poems.Although he suffered from the miserable experience， the aesthetic of melancholy bloomed in his poems.

Key words： Allan Poe； Poetry； Melancholy； Theme； Image

Edgar Allan Poe， one of the most important American authors and poets， enjoys great reputation as the father of detective story， the pioneer of science fiction and the master of horror novel.However， his literary career started with writing poems and end with poems.Poe believed that the tone of poetry should be melancholy.[1]This belief is shown in his poems.Most of his poems are full of melancholy.The theme， the image， the rhyme and the rhythm of his poems are united to form the melancholy tone.

The life experience of Poe

Born in 1809， Poe was the second child of actress Elizabeth Arnold Hopkins and actor David Poe.Soon after his birth， his parents died and he was taken by John Allan.In 1826， he studied at the University of Virginia but the living expenses brought him into conflict with his foster father.[2]In 1830， he was sent to West Point but was expelled for breaking rules.His forest father did not leave a penny to him after his death.In 1847， his young wife died of consumption.In his whole life， he experienced destitution and death of his families.The influence of his depressed experience over his poetry writing cannot be neglected.This is also why death and loneliness have frequently found its way into his poems.And the tone of his poem is sad and gloomy as his blue eyes.

The melancholy themes

In “The Philosophy of Composition” he stated， “The death of a beautiful woman is， unquestionably， the most poetical topic in the world.”[3]Since he was a child， he had seen death and suffered from loneliness.These constitute two major poetic themes of his poems.

In Poes important autobiographical poem “Alone” （1829）， he expressed his difference of character and his loneliness， “From childhoods hour I have not been/ As others were—I have not seen/ …And all I lovd—I lovd alone.”[4]Although he suffered from this， his poems showed consciousness of isolated individual which is edgy at his era.

His last poem “Annabel Lee” is a mournful dirge for his wife Virginia Poe.He wrote， “ Of my darling—my darling—my life and my bride， / In her sepulchre there by the sea—/ In her tomb by the sounding sea.”[5]The process of missing his wife is deeply heart-broken， but it purify readers heart and sublimates the poem.The beauty of death emerged from the deep ocean of tears and became the purest emotion of human.endprint

The images used

Poe frequently uses images in his poem.And those images are often mystic， suggesting the feeling of melancholy.In his poems， the image of “water” is an emblem of melancholy in the form of “ocean” “wave” “sea” etc.In “The City in the Sea”， he wrote， “Resignedly beneath the sky/ The melancholy waters lie.” There are also “lurid sea” and “dull tide”.The most famous image he used is the raven.This “grim， ungainly， ghastly， gaunt， and ominous bird” came to the poet when he immersed himself in the sadness of losing Lenore.In “The Sleeper”， he wrote about the death of the sleeping beauty Irene.The poet did not mention a word about death but he rendered the melancholy and sullen atmosphere through using images like grave， mystic moon， ghosts and shadows.Poe used many images to materialize the strong emotion in his poetry.Those images like sea， fog， raven and tomb symbolize the melancholy feeling of the poet and create a world of magnificent imagination in which readers experience a strong sense of fancy and mystery.

Conclusion

Allan Poes life remained impoverished and he suffered from the families death painfully.In his book “ The Philosophy of Composition”，he expressed his idea of poem writing that the tone of poem should be melancholy and he practiced his idea in his poetry.Two major themes of his poem are death and loneliness.The images he used like sea， grave and tomb are also mystic and create a tone of melancholy.His melancholy poems are just like the flowers in the cold wind， blooming and trembling.

Bibliography

[1] Jay Parini， Brett C.Miller.The Columbia History of American Poetry[M].Beijing： Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press， 2005：174.

[2]劉海平，王守仁，张冲.新编美国文学史[M].上海：上海外语教育出版社.2000.

[3]Edgar Allan Poe.The Philosophy of Composition[M].New York： Macmilan Publishing Co.Inc， 1974

[4]曹明伦.爱伦坡诗选（英汉对照）[M].北京：外语教学与研究出版社.2013.

[5]姜涛.美国诗歌赏析[M].北京：新华出版社.2006.

作者简介：高旭今（1995-）女，汉族，河北石家庄人，就读于四川外国语大学，本科生，英语专业（外事管理方向）。endprint