To Helen facts for kids
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!
"To Helen" is a well-known poem written by the famous American author Edgar Allan Poe. It was first shared with the public in 1831. The poem appeared in a collection called Poems of Edgar A. Poe. Later, in 1836, it was published again in a magazine called the Southern Literary Messenger.
Poe wrote this poem to honor Jane Stith Stanard. She was the mother of one of his childhood friends, Robert Stanard. Jane was a very important person to Poe when he was young.
About the Poem
The poem "To Helen" has a clear structure. It is made up of three sections, called stanzas. Each of these stanzas has five lines.
Rhyme and Rhythm
The way the poem rhymes is not always the same. In the first stanza, the rhyme pattern is ABABB. This means the first, third, and fifth lines rhyme. The second and fourth lines also rhyme with each other.
For the second stanza, the pattern changes to ABABA. Here, the first, third, and fifth lines rhyme. The second and fourth lines also rhyme. The third stanza uses the pattern ABBAB.
Famous Lines
"To Helen" includes some very famous lines that many people remember. These lines are: "... the glory that was Greece / And the grandeur that was Rome".
These lines talk about the great achievements and impressive history of ancient Greece and Rome. They show how much Poe admired the beauty and wisdom of these old civilizations.
