To Helen Analysis

Helen, thy beauty is to me

Like those Nicean barks of yore,

That gently, o'er a perfumed sea,

The weary, wayworn wanderer bore

To his own native shore.



On desperate seas long wont to roam,

Thy hyacinth hair, thy classic face,

Thy Naiad airs have brought me home

To the glory that was Greece

And the grandeur that was Rome.



Lo! in yon brilliant window-niche

How statue-like I see thee stand,

The agate lamp within thy hand!

Ah, Psyche, from the regions which

Are Holy Land!

.: :.

I think this peom is about Poe loving a girl named Helen

| Posted on 2009-11-14 | by a guest

.: :.

A couple points of clarification:
1.) Jane Stannard died of a brain tumor, she did not go mad, when Poe was 15.
2.) Mrs. Helen Whitman was a poet, who was briefly engaged to Poe in the years following Virginia’s death. The engagement was ended partly due to Poe’s drinking, but the main issue was Mrs. Whitman’s mother did not want them to marry and told Poe he would have to sign a prenuptial agreement prior to the marriage. This was an insult in Poe’s mind. She was before his final engagement to Elmira Royster Shelton, who Poe was also engaged to before he married Virginia.
3.) Lastly, Poe refers to Virginia in the poem "The Raven" by the name Lenore and in the poem "Annabel Lee" by the name Annabel Lee, so to believe that he couldn't be both referencing Jane Stannard and Helen of Troy in one poem is very foolish.
4.) If any one has ever read Poe's literary criticism in which he explains how he writes, he mentions the fact that when it comes to naming his characters, he simply looks for names that fit the rhyme scheme of his poems.
5.) Finally to further support my third point, if you have ever read "The Black Cat”, you will find he draws on at least 3 different superstitions about black cats: black cats are unlucky, a black cat with a white circle around its neck is a witch, and cats have nine lives.
I know it is said by numerous Poe historians that he wrote this poem while he knew Jane Stannard, so my guess is it was somewhat direct to her.
While I have not listed my sources as our A.P. alumni has, I can assure you that over my last 6 years of teaching Poe and reading and watching numerous documentaries on his life, the information presented is credible.

| Posted on 2009-10-18 | by a guest

.: :.

Poe was a flirt/pimp--
and this poem was not
written for his wife
or Lady of Greece
but to one of his fans,
someone that had a crush on him
and thought very highly of his
works.
He did that alot-- i would call him a tease

| Posted on 2009-10-06 | by a guest

.: :.

This has nothing to do with a woman he was in love with. According to a national AP exam, this poem is about Helen of Troy, a Grecian (beautiful) woman carried off by the Trojan prince Paris. You guys should really check your sources before you post incorrect information.

| Posted on 2009-04-26 | by a guest

.: :.

Nice try, but no.
This poem was written after one of his best friends mother died. Her name was Jane, but Poe liked the name Helen better. As to the actual analysis; in my opinion, there are so many different explanations, it's hard to put them into one comment.

| Posted on 2009-03-11 | by a guest

.: Helens poem :.

I heard from my english teacher,in the 9th grade, that "Helen" was a beautiful woman, in which he admired greatly, but she only toyed with him, luring him on, but giving nothing to give him real hope. I also heard that he is saying he loved her even though he knew what she was doing, so he wrote a poem about how he felt about this beautiful maiden. So this leaves it at the small rambling of which I heard... I think that all of the above may be true... but I suppose since no one was physicaly there, and here to talk about it.. we'll never know?

| Posted on 2008-03-17 | by a guest

.: :.

In To Helen, the speaker sees pure idealized beauty, both physically and spiritually. He thinks that she is so beautiful that that it is a relief to just be with her and you are calmed by her extraordinary beauty. She has beautiful hair and a classic face, and her inner beauty is also tremendous. The speaker sees Helen as very poised and perfect and ideal. The words that characterize the beauty most clearly are ‘gently’, ‘perfumed’, ‘hyacinth hair’, ‘classic face’, ‘statuelike’, and ‘brilliant’.
2. The speaker says that Helen’s beauty has ‘brought me home/ To the glory that was Greece/ And the grandeur that was Rome’ because Poe had opened the poem with the simile “Helen, thy beauty is to me / Like those Nicean barks of yore” and this compares the beauty of Helen, with small sailing boats (barks) that took travelers home in ancient times. He extends this boat imagery into the lines above, when he says Helen brought him home to the shores of these great civilizations, classical Greece and Rome. Helens beauty inspires the speaker and calms him to a great extent. Just her presence is a blessing to him and being with her gives the speaker relief.
3. The words or phrases that make the reader believe that Helen may not be an actual person are in stanza two, where the speaker says that she has ‘hyacinth hair’ and a ‘classic face’. This is where the poem begins to describe her immense beauty. Later on in the poem, in stanza three, the speaker compares Helen (Mrs. Stanard) to Psyche, who infact wasn’t a real woman, but from Greek mythology. The poems allusions are in reference to greek mythology and the classical age.
s are moderated before posted.

| Posted on 2007-12-06 | by a guest

.: Truth about Helen :.

From his biography, This poem was written to a woman poe fell in love with after virgina died. The womans name was Sarah Helen Whitman who was an admiring fan of poes poem "The Raven". In 1845 She wrote him a poem imitated his his style from the raven and even borrowing some of the phrases and rhymes. When he discovered who she was he wrote her this poem and answered her compliments and titling it To Helen.
He met her once but didnt know it was her who wrote the poem to him and once he realized it was her cuz she was a poet also he wanted to see her again. Few years later he left NY to go to her and appeared at her front door, once he spoke with her he fell in love with her and perposed marriage. She did want to marry him but decided against it after she asked him to quit drinking and people said he still drank she became uneasy and didnt get marry him. And that was the end of it. So yeah.

| Posted on 2007-10-21 | by a guest

.: .: Analysis of "To Helen" :.

On pambytes.com I read that:
"About 1823 he became intimate in the home of a schoolmate, Robert Stanard, whose mother, Jane Stith Stanard, took a tender interest in the brilliant young boy, an affection which was ardently and romantically returned. It was to this lady that Poe afterwards addressed his poem "To Helen," beginning...

"Helen, thy beauty is to me"

Mrs. Stanard soon went mad and died. The tragedy was undoubtedly taken to heart by Poe to whom it came as a great blow shocking him significantly. He is said on somewhat questionable authority to have haunted her grave in the lonely cemetery by night. There is no doubt that he continued to cherish her memory as long as be lived. "

P.S. F.Y.I. "About 1823" is when Poe was about 14 years old!!! This might explain how Poe got so messed up with depression, suicide attempt, drinking, and marrying his thirteen year old 1st cousin.


http://www.pambytes.com/poe/bio.html

| Posted on 2007-04-30 | by a guest

.: Analysis of "To Helen" :.

This poem is about the ideal beauty of a woman. The poem was written about Poe's friend's mother (her name wasn't Helen). Helen is an allusion to either the Greek goddess of light or Helen of Troy who is considered the most bueatiful woman ever.


| Posted on 2006-06-16 | by Approved Guest