Tamerlane
The dying speaker, reflecting on his life of pride and ambition, addressing his father.
Song
The speaker who observes the bride with aching sight and unfulfilled love.
Dreams
The speaker who yearns for a lasting dream and contrasts it with cold reality.
Spirits of the Dead
The speaker addresses the soul directly, guiding it through the experience of death and the presence of the dead.
Evening Star
The speaker who gazes upon the moon and turns to the Evening Star.
Imitation
Reflects on his early life as a dark, prideful dream and resolves to protect his visions from others.
Stanzas
The speaker recalls a youth who communed secretly with the Earth and reflects on the power of a sudden awakening.
I
The speaker reflects on a youth known intimately, who communed secretly with the Earth.
II
The speaker whose mind is wrought to a fever by the moonbeam.
III
The speaker reflects on the sudden emotional response to a once-familiar object.
IV
The speaker reflects on divine beauty and spiritual struggle.
A Dream
The speaker who dreams of departed joy and finds guidance in a holy dream.
The Happiest Day
The speaker laments the loss of pride and power, and the pain associated with past happiness.
I
The speaker laments the loss of the happiest day and the fading of pride and power.
II
Reflects on the loss of youthful visions and power.
III
The speaker addresses their own pride and commands their spirit to be still.
IV
Reflects on the happiest day and hour, and the brightest glance of pride and power.
V
Reflects on past pride and pain, rejecting the chance to relive a bright but painful hour.
VI
The soul that knows the dark essence well and is destroyed by it.
The Lake
The speaker reflects on his youthful experience of the lonely lake, describing his complex feelings of love, terror, and solace.
To the River ⸻
The speaker who addresses the river and expresses his adoration for the beloved.
Alone
The speaker describes a lifelong experience of being different from others, unable to share common passions or joys, and loving alone.
Sonnet—To Science
The speaker who laments Science's destruction of poetic imagination and mythological beauty.
An Acrostic
The speaker who addresses Elizabeth, observing the contradiction between her words and her demeanor.
Elizabeth
The speaker who defends placing Elizabeth's name first and critiques insincere poets.
Romance
The speaker recounts his childhood learning from Romance and his current state of being shaken by the passage of time.
To ⸻ “The Bowers Whereat, in Dreams, I See”
The speaker who dreams of the beloved and laments the desolation of waking reality.
To ⸻ “I Heed Not That My Earthly Lot”
The speaker who dismisses earthly attachments and laments causing sorrow to another.
To Marie Louise
The speaker who confesses his broken pride and inability to express his emotions.
Fairyland
The narrator observes and describes the fantastical, shifting landscape of Fairyland.
The City in the Sea
The narrator describes the eerie, desolate city and the dominion of Death, observing the scene from an external perspective.
Israfel
The speaker who reflects on the contrast between Israfel's heavenly music and mortal melody, and imagines trading places with the angel.
A Paean
The speaker who mourns the dead woman and declares her his bride.
I
The speaker poses the opening questions about the burial rite.
III
Observes the paradoxical love and hate directed at the woman.
IV
The speaker who is told their voice is weakening and is advised to stop singing.
V
The speaker who contemplates the mournful tone of their own song.
VI
The speaker who is drunk with love for his dead bride.
VII
The speaker observes the dead woman, focusing on her perfumed presence and the contrast between her dead eyes and living hair.
VIII
Strikes the coffin and sings, with the murmur of the chambers as accompaniment.
IX
The speaker mourns the beloved's death in youth.
Chapter X
The speaker addresses a 'Thy' figure, reflecting on the severance of earthly bonds.
XII
The speaker addresses the departed, choosing a paean over a requiem.
The Sleeper
The speaker who stands beneath the moon and addresses the sleeping Irene, expressing both awe and a morbid prayer for her eternal rest.
To Helen
The speaker who addresses Helen, describing her beauty as a guiding force.
The Valley of Unrest
Describes the transformation of the valley from a silent dell to a place of restless sorrow.
The Coliseum
The speaker who kneels humbly before the Coliseum, drinking in its grandeur, gloom, and glory.
Serenade
The speaker who addresses his beloved Adeline, expressing his love and desire for their souls to mingle.
To One in Paradise
The grieving speaker who laments the loss of his beloved and reflects on the past.
Hymn
The speaker of the hymn, addressing the Virgin Mary.
The Bridal Ballad
The bride who speaks the poem, torn between her present marriage and grief for a lost love.
To Zante
The speaker who mourns the loss of a maiden and the fading beauty of Zante.
The Haunted Palace
Describes the rise and fall of the palace, reflecting on its former glory and current desolation.
Silence
The speaker describes the dual nature of Silence and warns against its shadowy form.
The Conqueror Worm
The narrator describes the gala night and the tragic play, observing the angels and the worm's conquest.
Eulalie
The speaker who dwelled alone in a world of moan until Eulalie became his bride.
Lenore
The speaker who mourns Lenore and rebukes the hypocritical mourners, then declares a joyful paean for her soul's flight.
Dreamland
The traveler who recounts his journey through the obscure and lonely region of Dreamland.
The Raven
The grieving protagonist who mourns the lost Lenore and engages with the raven.
To F⸺
The speaker who finds comfort in dreams of the beloved amid earthly woes.
A Valentine
The speaker who pens the riddle and addresses the woman with luminous eyes.
To Marie Louise (Shew)
The speaker who expresses deep gratitude and devotion to Marie Louise (Shew), describing his own despair and resurrection through her influence.
Ulalume
The grieving speaker who roams with Psyche and discovers the tomb of his lost Ulalume.
The Bells
The observer who hears and interprets the bells' progression from joy to horror.
I
The speaker describes the sound of silver bells and the merriment they foretell.
The Mellow Wedding Bells
The speaker observes and describes the mellow wedding bells.
III
The narrator describes the terrifying sound of the alarm bells.
The Iron Bells
The narrator describes the terrifying experience of hearing the iron bells and the ghouls who ring them.
Eldorado
The narrator describes the knight's quest and encounter with the shadow.
An Enigma
The speaker presents a critical view of shallow poetry and extols the hidden depth of the current verse.
To Helen
The speaker who recounts the past meeting and his enduring devotion to Helen's eyes.
Annabel Lee
The speaker who loved Annabel Lee as a child and continues to mourn her, lying by her tomb.
A Dream Within a Dream
The speaker who mourns the transience of life and questions the nature of reality.
For Annie
The speaker who has survived a life-threatening illness and now rests in a deathlike slumber, comforted by Annie's love.
To My Mother
The speaker expresses deep devotion to a maternal figure, reflecting on love and loss.
To Frances S. Osgood
The speaker who counsels Frances to stay true to herself.
Endnotes
The poetic voice in the opening lines of the endnotes, reflecting on youth, melancholy, and the passage of time.
