To Helen

Where does your idea of ideal beauty come from? While today's beauty standards may come from ever-changing social media trends and celebrities, the famous American writer, Edgar Allan Poe (1809‐1849) looked to ancient Greece and Rome for his expression of ideal beauty. In his poem, 'To Helen' (1845), Edgar Allan Poe describes the overwhelming power of a woman whose beauty transcends time, transporting him back to the "glory" ¹ and "grandeur" ¹ of ancient civilizations.

The title of the poem is an allusion to Helen of Troy, a figure in Greek Mythology known for starting the War of Troy after being carried off by her lover Paris. This led to the start of the Trojan War. Wikimedia Commons

To Helen by Edgar Allan Poe: Background Information and Genre

'To Helen' is a 15-line poem written by the famous American poet and short story writer, Edgar Allan Poe. 'To Helen' was originally published in 1831, and a revised version of the poem was published in 1845. The 1845 version is the one most are acquainted with and will be detailed below.

The poem was written by Poe when he was in his early twenties. It is said to be about Jane Stanard, the mother of Poe's childhood friend. Jane Stanard was a motherly figure to Edgar Allan Poe, as Poe's own mother died when he was a baby. Jane Stanard was one of the few people to encourage Poe in his writing from a young age. She died of an unspecified mental illness when Poe was only fifteen. Poe wrote this poem in remembrance of her beauty.

'To Helen' is of the lyric poetry genre. It expresses strong emotions of love and infatuation from Poe's personal perspective.

'To Helen' by Edgar Allan Poe: Full Poem (1845 version)

To Helen by Edgar Allan Poe: Summary

In the first stanza of the poem, Edgar Allan Poe alludes to Helen of Troy, whose beauty he compares to ancient Greek ships sailing gently over the sea. Poe describes how these ships bring a tired wanderer back home.

In the second stanza, Poe describes the longing for this woman's bunched, curly hair and traditionally beautiful face. He explains that her beautiful nymph-like appearance transports him to the world of traditional Greek and Roman beauty.

In the third stanza, Poe describes the woman appearing in a window with a lamp in her hand. He compares her to a classical statue of art. Poe refers to the woman as Psyche, a beautiful Greek goddess. He says that wherever she is from must be a sacred and important place.

To Helen by Edgar Allan Poe: Meaning

The meaning of 'To Helen' is that beauty is powerful—so powerful that it can mentally transport you to another world. Throughout the poem, Edgar Allan Poe makes references to beautiful Greek goddesses and mythical creatures, which he uses to describe the beauty of the woman he loves. Poe references ancient Greek and Roman art and culture because these civilizations are associated with grand, classic, and romanticized beauty. Poe suggests that this woman's beauty is as striking as the idealized beauty of the goddesses seen in classical art and statutes.

To Helen by Edgar Allan Poe: Analysis

Let's look at an analysis of 'To Helen' by Edgar Allan Poe through the form and rhyme scheme of the poem and his use of literary devices.

Analysis of form and rhyme scheme

'To Helen' is comprised of three stanzas that are five lines each. The poem loosely follows iambic tetrameter and has an irregular rhyme scheme of ABABB CDCdC EFFEF (Notice that there is a set of three rhyming lines and two rhyming lines in each stanza, but the order of the rhymes is different in each stanza).

Edgar Allan Poe uses a loose form of iambic tetrameter in order to suggest a loose, back and forth rhythm, which mimics the movement of waves in the sea. The stanzas are tied together by rhymes, giving the poem a musical quality.

Analysis of literary devices by stanza

'To Helen' uses several allusions to Greek mythology, which are essential to the analysis of the poem.

Analysis of literary devices: stanza one

The poem starts with an allusion to Helen of Troy, who is known in Greek mythology for being the most beautiful woman in the world. Helen's capture led to the start of the Trojan War. Edgar Allan Poe uses this allusion to Helen at the outset of the poem in order to suggest the universal and powerful beauty of the woman he loves. Through this allusion, Edgar Allan Poe also instantly immerses the reader in the foreign, idealized world of Greek mythology.

Helen of Troy is also known as "The face that launched a thousand ships."

Pixabay

Poe continues his allusions to the past in a simile saying that the woman's beauty is "Like those Nicéan barks of yore." ¹ Poe takes the name of the ancient Greek city, Nicaea (which is now a part of modern-day Turkey), and turns it into an adjective describing the "barks of yore." ¹ "Barks" ¹ in an old Latin term for ships, and "of yore" means of times long past. Through these words, Poe emphasizes past traditions. This comparison of the woman to a ship suggests how her beauty metaphorically transports him to romanticized times of the past.

Poe uses personification in describing the sea as "perfumed." ¹ This adjective suggests how life is rose-tinted or sweet-smelling due to the speaker's love for the beautiful woman.

Poe uses alliteration of the "W" sound in describing the "weary, way-worn wanderer." ¹ The alliteration draws out the phrase and emphasizes the wanderer's tiredness, from which he is rescued by the ship, which represents the woman. This "weary" ¹ "wanderer" ¹ is also an allusion to Odysseus, a Greek king who was sent to bring Helen home in The Battle of Troy. Odysseus faces a long, difficult journey to return home. Poe uses this allusion to Odysseus in order to suggest that the beauty of a woman can guide men in their difficult journeys.

Analysis of literary devices: stanza two

The speaker describes being brought home by the woman's "hyacinth hair," ¹ "classic face," ¹ and "Naiad airs." ¹ These are all allusions to Greek mythology, which create visual imagery to help the reader picture the woman's appearance.

Hyacinth is a plant with bunched bulbs of flowers that resemble tightly curled hair. However, Hyacinth is also the name of a Greek hero who was the lover of Apollo, the sun god. This allusion points to the beauty of the woman in that her hair resembles flowers, but also suggests her goddess-like, heroic beauty.

Poe compares the woman's hair to hyacinth flowers, which resemble the texture of bundled curls.

Pixabay

The term "classic face" ¹ refers to the classical standards of beauty presented in the art of ancient Greek and Roman cultures. Poe implies that the woman was a traditional, imposing beauty like that, idealized and immortalized in classical art.

The description "Naiad airs" ¹ suggests that the woman has a mysterious and irresistible beauty similar to that of a water nymph.

Analysis of literary devices: stanza three

In the third stanza of the poem, Edgar Allan Poe makes frequent use of ecphonesis to build an emphatic, climactic end to the poem in a way that imitates ancient Greek and Latin poetry. The use of exclamatory phrases mimics the speaker's rising emotion as he sees the woman standing in a window in the distance. He is like a sailor at sea who finally sees his love in the distance upon the shore.

The final stanza is built upon an allusion to Psyche, a Greek goddess known for her beauty and for falling in love with Cupid. In the famous Greek myth, Psyche has a mysterious lover who comes to her in the night but refuses to let her see him. One night, Psyche hides a lamp in the bedroom and lights it to see Cupid while he is asleep. In Poe's poem, he refers to the woman he admires as Psyche holding a lamp like a Greek statue. This allusion indicates that the poet views the woman as his light and as an idealized beauty. Psyche is the Greek goddess of the soul, and it appears that the speaker's soul is enraptured with this woman.

Cupid is the son of Venus, the god of love. Venus, jealous of Psyche's beauty, asks Cupid to make Psyche fall in love with a horrid creature. However, Cupid falls in love with Psyche instead.

'Amore e Psiche' by Antonio Canova

Art Gallery ErgsArt, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

To Helen by Edgar Allan Poe: Theme

The main theme of 'To Helen' is the power of beauty. Throughout the poem, Poe uses allusions to Greek goddesses and creatures whose names are synonymous with ideal beauty. The fact that he uses mythological creatures and goddesses to describe the woman he loves, suggests that she has mysterious powers. Particularly, she has power over the speaker, as her beauty transports him to "the glory that was Greece, / And the grandeur that was Rome" ¹ (Lines 9 and 10)

¹ Edgar Allan Poe, 'To Helen,' 1845.

² Edgar Allan Poe, 'To Helen,' Poems, 1931.