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Notes and Annotation by Michael
J. Cummings..©
2006
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Type
of Work and Date of Publication
"The Bells" is a four-stanza
lyric poem that first appeared in 1849 in the November issue of Sartain's
Union Magazine of Literature and Art. Poe is said to have sold the
poem for $15. The first book to publish the poem was said to be The
Poetical Works of Edgar Allan Poe, printed in London in 1888 by John
H. Ingram.
Inspiration
for the Poem
Poe wrote an early, shorter
version of "The Bells" while living in a cottage in the village of Fordham,
now part of New York City but then  outside
the city limits. He had moved from the city to Fordham in 1846 in hopes
that its rural atmosphere and climate would improve the health of his wife,
Virginia, who was suffering from tuberculosis. Virginia's mother, Maria
Clemm, also resided there. The manuscript of this early handwritten version,
dated May 1848, bears the name "Mrs. M. L. Shew," who had been nursing
Virginia. Apparently Mrs. Shew (Mary Louise Shew, referred to in documents
after 1848 as Mary Louise Shew Houghton) had proposed that Poe write "The
Bells" and even suggested the opening lines of the stanzas of the first
version. Supposedly, she and Poe drew inspiration from bell ringing at
nearby St. John's College, now Fordham University. Poe often walked its
campus, and he befriended the Jesuit priests who operated the college.
Some writers have suggested that another bell provided the inspiration–the
bell at the Bleeker Street Presbyterian Church, for example, and that at
St. Mark's in the Bowery. In the end, though, it was the tintinnabulation
of Poe's gray matter that he attempted to express in the poem.
Assessment
of the Poem
Some critics regard the poem
as masterly; other critics regard it as shallow and sing-song. The latter
critics–including many 20th and 21st Century poets–tend to eschew rhyming
poetry because of its emphasis on form and musicality over substance. It
is true that the "The Bells" is highly musical, in keeping with Poe's belief
that a poem should appeal to the ear. In the November 1849 issue of the
Southern Literary Messenger, John Reuben Thomson commented on the
musicality of the poem:
The poems of Mr. Poe are
remarkable above all other characteristics, for the exceeding melody of
the versification. “Ulalume” might be cited as a happy instance of this
quality, but we prefer to quote “The Bells” from the last number of the
Union Magazine. It was the design of the author, as he himself told
us, to express in language the exact sounds of bells to the ear. He has
succeeded, we think, far better than [Robert] Southey, who attempted a
similar feat, to tell us “how the waters come down at Lodore” (694-697).
The Russian composer Sergei
Rachmaninoff wrote a symphony based on the poem. It contains four movements
in imitation of the four stanzas of "The Bells," as translated into Russian.
Yes, the poem is musical. However, it is not true that it lacks substance,
as the analysis on this page attempts to demonstrate.
Theme
Death ultimately triumphs
over life (or, life is a journey toward death). The bells ring joyfully
in youth. However, even as they ring, death lurks in the background. For
example, in Stanza 1, the narrator hears the tinkling sleigh bells at night
(Line 5), meaning the darkness of death (night) is present at the beginning
of life. In Stanza 2, the bells ringing in celebration of the wedding resound
"through the balmy air of night," meaning the darkness of death is present
in young adulthood. In Stanza 3, the bells ring "in the startled ear of
night," meaning the darkness of death is present in middle age and
later, when fire begins to consume the exuberance of youth. In Stanza 4,
the bells ring "in the silence of the night," meaning death has triumphed
over life.
The
Bells as Death's Accomplice
In the first stanza, the
bells keep time in a "Runic rhyme," a mysterious rhyme that pleases the
ear. Thus, the bells become death's accomplice, marking the passing of
time–each second, hour, day, year–with beautiful sounds that continue until
life ends and the king of the ghouls tolls the death knell (Stanza 4).
The ghouls, demons who feed on the flesh of the dead, are happy to welcome
death's victims. Their happiness mockingly echoes the joy expressed in
the first stanza. Moreover, the bells that the ghoul tolls also peal with
a "Runic rhyme," like the bells in Stanza 1. That characteristic of the
bells is the same one that celebrated youth and marriage in Stanzas 1 and
2. From the ghouls' perspective, young people are the future food of the
ghouls. And married people produce new youths. All the while, the bells
keep time, counting each passing moment.
Onomatopoeia
and Alliteration
Onomatopoeia and alliteration
occur throughout the poem, helping to support the musicality of the poem.
Onomatopoeia, a figure of speech in which a word imitates a sound, occurs
in such words as tinkling, jingling, chiming, shriek, twanging, clanging,
and clang. Alliteration, in which words repeat consonant sounds,
occurs in such groups as "bells, bells, bells" and "tinkle, tinkle, tinkle."
Other examples of alliteration are the following:
What
a world of merriment
their melody foretells! (Stanza 1,
third line)
What
a world of happiness
their harmony foretells! (Stanza
2, third line)
What
a tale of terror,
now, their turbulency tells!
(Stanza 3, third line)
Irony
The third line of Stanza
1 (What a world of merriment their melody foretells!) and the third
line of Stanza 2 (What a world of happiness their harmony foretells!)
are correct in their predictions. Ironically, however, it is the king of
the ghouls who fulfills the predictions. Stanza 4 says
". . . . . .his merry bosom
swells"
With the paean of the bells!
And he dances, and he yells;
Keeping time, time, time,
In a sort of Runic rhyme,
To the paean of the bells-
Structure
The poem has four stanzas
with end rhyme occurring sometimes in two successive lines, sometimes in
three, and sometimes in four. The first three lines of each stanza are
exactly the same metrically and structurally, although some of the words
change:
Hear the sledges
with the bells–
Silver bells!
What a world of merriment
their melody foretells!
Hear the mellow wedding bells,
Golden bells!
What a world of happiness
their harmony foretells!
Hear the loud alarum bells–
Brazen bells!
What a tale of terror, now,
their turbulency tells!
Hear the tolling of the bells–
Iron Bells!
What a world of solemn thought
their monody compels!
The second stanza is longer
that the first, the third longer than the second, and the fourth longer
than the third. The third stanza acts as a sort of climax in which the
pace is frantic, with some lines long and some short, like the irregular
heartbeat and breathing of a person in death throes. The fourth stanza
celebrates death–and the new life destined for death, as promised by the
marriage referred to in the second stanza.
Author
Information
Edgar Allan Poe was born
on January 19, 1809, in Boston. After being orphaned at age two, he was
taken into the home of a childless couple–John Allan, a successful businessman
in Richmond, Va., and his wife. Allan was believed to be Poe’s godfather.
At age six, Poe went to England with the Allans and was enrolled in schools
there. After he returned with the Allans to the U.S. in 1820, he studied
at private schools, then attended the University of Virginia and the U.S.
Military Academy, but did not complete studies at either school. After
beginning his literary career as a poet and prose writer, he married his
young cousin, Virginia Clemm. He worked for several magazines and joined
the staff of the New York Mirror newspaper in 1844. All the while,
he was battling a drinking problem. After the Mirror published his
poem “The Raven” in January 1845, Poe achieved national and international
fame. Besides pioneering the development of the short story, Poe invented
the format for the detective story as we know it today. He also was an
outstanding literary critic. Despite the acclaim he received, he was never
really happy because of his drinking and because of the deaths of several
people close to him, including his wife in 1847. He frequently had trouble
paying his debts. It is believed that heavy drinking was a contributing
cause of his death in Baltimore on October 7, 1849.
.
The Bells
By Edgar Allan Poe
Published in 1849
| Text of the Poem |
Notes and Comments |
| I
Hear the sledges
with the bells–
Silver bells!
What a world of merriment
their melody foretells!
How they tinkle, tinkle,
tinkle,
In the icy air of night!
While the stars that oversprinkle
All the heavens, seem to
twinkle
With a crystalline
delight;
Keeping time, time, time,
In a sort of Runic
rhyme,
To the tintinnabulation
that so musically wells
From the bells, bells, bells,
bells,
Bells, bells, bells–
From the jingling and the
tinkling of the bells.
. |
I
sledges:
sleighs
crystalline
delight: sight that gleams pleasingly, like crystals
Runic:
(see above): mysterious, mystical; involved, complicated, hard to fathom
tintinnabulation:
small ringing sound; from the Latin words tintinnabulum (small bell)
and tintinnare (to jingle, to ring). Use of tintinnabulation
follows the use of tinkle (Line 4), suggesting the smallness of
the sound made by the sledge bells. It also sets up the use of jingling
and tinkling in the last line of the stanza.
Comment: The
mood of Stanza 1 is cheerful and, as the third line suggests, optimistic
and hopeful. It is as if a child hears the bells during the Christmas season
and expects life to give him wonderful presents. However, pay close attention
to Line 5: In the icy air of night. This line suggests a deathly
presence (which is cold and dark). |
| II
Hear the mellow wedding bells,
Golden
bells!
What a world of happiness
their harmony foretells!
Through the balmy
air of night
How they ring out their
delight!
From the molten-golden
notes,
And
all in tune,
What a liquid ditty
floats
To the turtle-dove
that listens, while she gloats
On
the moon!
Oh, from out the sounding
cells,
What a gush of euphony
voluminously wells!
How it swells!
How it dwells
On the Future! how it tells
Of the rapture that impels
To the swinging
and the ringing
Of the bells, bells, bells,
Of the bells, bells, bells,bells,
Bells, bells, bells-
To the rhyming and the chiming
of the bells!
..
.. |
II
Golden:
This word suggests prosperity and promise
balmy:
This word suggests spring or summer, the traditional time of the year for
weddings. It also suggests the springtime of life.
molten:
past participle of melt, usually describing melted or liquefied
metal. Its use here suggests warmth and passion. It also sets up the use
of liquid in the eighth line of the stanza.
And
all in tune: Notice that this line (7) is the antithesis of
Line 8 in Stanza 3.
ditty:
short song; short poem intended to be sung
turtle-dove
(turtledove): dove that coos with affection for its mate
gloats:
exults, rejoices.
On
. . . moon: Apparently the dove perches on a tree branch crossing
in front of the moon, making the dove appear as if it is on the moon.
euphony:
sound that is harmonious and very pleasing
swinging:
This word is associated here only with joy and contentment, for a bell
rings on the upswing. However, it foreshadows the "ebbs and flows" and
"sinks and swells" of danger in Stanza 3.
Comment: The
mood of Stanza 2 remains cheerful and upbeat. However, balmy air of
night (the fourth line of the stanza) suggests the continuing presence
of death. Also, the output of the bells has "matured" from the little tinkling
and jingling sounds of Stanza 1 to mellow, golden, and chiming sounds of
this stanza |
| III
Hear the loud alarum bells–
Brazen
bells!
What a tale of terror, now,
their turbulency tells!
In the startled ear of night
How they scream out their
affright!
Too much horrified to speak,
They can only shriek, shriek,
Out
of tune,
In a clamorous appealing
to the mercy of the fire,
In a mad expostulation
with the deaf and frantic fire,
Leaping higher, higher,
higher,
With a desperate desire,
And a resolute endeavor,
Now- now to sit or never,
By the side of the pale-faced
moon.
Oh, the bells, bells, bells!
What a tale their terror
tells
Of Despair!
How they clang, and clash,
and roar!
What a horror they outpour
On the bosom of the palpitating
air!
Yet the ear it fully knows,
By the twanging,
And the clanging,
How the danger ebbs and
flows:
Yet the ear distinctly tells,
In the jangling,
And the wrangling,
How the danger sinks and
swells,
By the sinking or the swelling
in the anger of the bells-
Of the bells-
Of the bells, bells, bells,bells,
Bells, bells, bells-
In the clamor and the clangor
of the bells! |
III
alarum:
alarm
Brazen:
This word has two meanings: (1) made of brass, an alloy of copper and zinc,
and (2) bold, harsh, piercing.
Brazen
bells:
Here begins an extended metaphor in which the poet personifies the bells,
making them scream and shriek in fright and plead with the fire to subside.
turbulency:
turbulence (noise, racket, commotion)
Out
. . . tune: Notice that this line (8) is the antithesis of Line
7 in Stanza 2.
expostulation:
a pleading in protest; a remonstration.
deaf:
The fire is unfeeling and indifferent. It does not hear the pleading of
the bells.
Comment: The
mood shifts abruptly in this Stanza to terror and despair as fire consumes
the joy and exultation of the previous stanzas. Hope remains that the danger
will pass for it ebbs as well as flows and sinks as well as swells. Also,
the euphony of sounds in the second stanza (Line 12) becomes a cacophony
of clamor and clangor in this stanza.
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| IV
Hear the tolling of the bells–
Iron
Bells!
What a world of solemn thought
their monody compels!
In the silence of the night,
How we shiver with affright
At the melancholy menace
of their tone!
For every sound that floats
From
the rust within their throats
Is a groan.
And the people- ah, the
people-
They that dwell up in the
steeple,
All Alone
And who, tolling, tolling,
tolling,
In that muffled monotone,
Feel a glory in so rolling
On the human heart a stone–
They are neither man nor
woman-
They are neither brute nor
human-
They are Ghouls:
And their king it is who
tolls;
And he rolls, rolls, rolls,
Rolls
A paean from the bells!
And his merry bosom swells
With the paean of the bells!
And he dances, and he yells;
Keeping time, time, time,
In a sort of Runic
rhyme,
To the paean of the bells–
Of the bells:
Keeping time, time, time,
In a sort of Runic
rhyme,
To the throbbing of the
bells–
Of the bells, bells, bells–
To the sobbing of the bells;
Keeping time, time, time,
As he knells, knells, knells,
In a happy Runic
rhyme,
To the rolling of the bells–
Of the bells, bells, bells:
To the tolling of the bells,
Of the bells, bells, bells,
bells–
Bells, bells, bells–
To the moaning and the groaning
of the bells. |
IV
paean:
hymn of joy, praise, or thanksgiving. Here the word is used mockingly to
signify the glee of the king of the ghouls.
iron:
This metal is noted for its strength and indomitability. In this respect,
it is like death: It cannot be conquered.
monody:
monotonous sound; lament, funeral hymn
From
the rust: Iron tends to rust.
monotone:
sound that repeats itself again and again remains; repetition of the same
tone
Ghouls:
demons that open graves and feed on the dead.
Comment: The final
stanza is funereal as the bells toll solemnly and monotonously. The bell
ringer in the steeple–the king of the Ghouls–takes sadistic delight in
ringing the death knell, which rolls a stone upon the human heart. To him,
the sound of the bell is cheerful and joyful.
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