Poetry · Chapter
Ulalume explained
The narrator wanders through a ghoul-haunted woodland with his soul, Psyche, on a night in October, unaware of the significance of the date.
What happens
The narrator wanders through a ghoul-haunted woodland with his soul, Psyche, on a night in October, unaware of the significance of the date. They encounter a crescent moon that the narrator sees as a hopeful guide, but Psyche mistrusts it. They proceed to a tomb, which reveals the name of his lost love, Ulalume, and the narrator realizes he has unknowingly returned to her grave on the anniversary of her burial.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Falling action.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
This poem marks the dramatic climax because it captures the speaker’s psychological peak of desperation and su…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Loss and Grief
The narrator's journey to the tomb of his lost love Ulalume on the anniversary of her death embodies profound grief.
- Madness and Terror
The ghoul-haunted setting, Psyche's terror, and the narrator's unwitting return to the grave evoke madness and dread.
Characters to notice
Key passages
“It was night in the lonesome October / Of my most immemorial year;”
It was a lonely October night in a year I will never forget.
Sets the scene of a memorable, sorrowful autumn night.
“And I said—'What is written, sweet sister, / On the door of this legended tomb?' / She replied—'Ulalume—Ulalume— / 'Tis the vault of thy lost Ulalume!'”
I asked Psyche what was inscribed on the tomb, and she answered that it was the resting place of my lost Ulalume.
Climactic revelation that the narrator has unknowingly come to his beloved's grave.
