Last Update: Dec. 14, 1997         Navigation:   Main Menu     Poe Canon Menu     Poe's Poems

Accepted Poems

The canon of Poe's poems has been established with some certainty, primarily through the work of Killis Campbell, Floyd Stoval and especially T. O. Mabbott. The accepted poems are here listed in alphabetically order by title. Variant names, sometimes assigned by editors other than Poe, are also listed. The first line of each poem is provided to assist in the identification of the poem. To avoid unnecessary duplication, the following abbreviations will be used TOP (Tamerlane and Other Poems, 1827), ATMP (Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane and Minor Poems, 1829), Poems (Poems, 1831) and ROP (The Raven and Other Poems, 1845). Although it is written in verse, Poe's play Politian has not been included here because it is not, strictly speaking, a poem. (Poe did include scenes from Politian in ROP). Words noted in brackets denote titles not given by Poe or other information added for clarification.

• Title: "Acrostic, An" (@1829)

First Line: "Elizabeth, it is in vain you say . . ."
Status: Accepted
Argument: The source for this poem is an undated manuscript, assumed to be about 1829, signed "E. A. P." from an album owned by Poe's cousin Elizabeth Herring. It was first printed in a collection by J. H. Whitty (Poems, 1911, p. 141).

• Title: "Al Aaraaf" (1829)

First Line: "O! nothing earthly save the ray . . ." (1829)
Alternate: "Mysterious star! Thou wert my dream (1831)
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: Included by Poe, with numerous revisions, in all of his own poetry collections beginning with ATMP. Included in ROP under the section "Poems Written in Youth.." Since Poe's death, the new introductory stanzas of the 1831 version have been published as a separate poem, usually titled "Mysterious Star."

• Title: "Al Araaf" (1829)

First Line: "O! nothing earthly save the ray . . ."
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: Typographical error of title as published in ATMP. The table of contents and the page headings give the title correctly as "Al Aaraaf."

• Title: [Alone] (@1829)

First Line: "From childhood's hour I have not been . . ."
Status: Accepted
Argument: The source for this poem in an untitled, undated manuscript, signed "E. A. Poe" from the album of Lucy Holmes Balderston. The title was assigned by Eugene L. Didier in a somewhat modified reproduction of the manuscript printed in Scribner's Monthly (September, 1875). Didier's retouching brought early charges of forgery, although stylistic and handwriting analysis have since given the poem unopposed acceptance as by Poe. The manuscript is now in the collection of the Maryland Historical Society. (Another poem in this album, also in Edgar's hand, is apparently by Poe's brother, William Henry Poe.)

• Title: "Alone" (@1828)

First Line: "O! I care not that my earthly lot . . ."
Status: Accepted
Argument: Original title of "To M--" (No relation to the better known [Alone] of @1829.)

• Title: "Annabel Lee" (1849)

First Line: "It was many and many a year ago . . ."
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: This poem was first printed in several periodicals in late 1849 and early 1850, including the New-York Tribune, the Southern Literary Messenger and Sartain's Union Magazine. Five manuscripts, all authentic, also exist. These manuscripts are currently at Harvard, the Gimble Collection in the Philadelphia Free Library, the Huntington Library, the Pierpont Morgan Library and Columbia University. Poe himself mentions the poem in a letter to Annie Richmond from May of 1849.

• Title: "Ballad" (1837)

First Line: "The ring is on my hand . . ."
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: This poem was first published by Poe in the Southern Literary Messenger for January 1837. It was reprinted several times, including Poe's own Broadway Journal and The Raven and Other Poems (1845).

• Title: "Bells, The"

First Line: "The bells!--hear the bells . . ." (1848)
Alternate: "Hear the sledges with the bells . . ." (1849)
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: This poem was first printed in Sartain's Union Magazine for November of 1849. A copy of the 1848 version of the manuscript, in Poe's own hand, in now in the Koester Collection of the University of Texas. The manuscript of the 1849 version is now in the Pierpont Morgan Library.

• Title: "Bridal Ballad" (1845)

First Line: "The ring is on my hand . . ."
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: Variant of "Ballad." As "Bridal Ballad," it was included in ROP.

• Title: "Catholic Hymn" (1835, written @1833)

First Line: "At morn--at noon--at twilight dim . . ."
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: Included in ROP. In Poe's own copy, with his handwritten annotations and corrections, Poe struck out the word "Catholic."

• Title: "City in the Sea, The" (1831)

First Line: "Lo! Death hath rear'd himself a throne . . ."
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: Variant of "The Doomed City." As "The City in the Sea," it was included in ROP.

• Title: "City of Sin, The" (1845 [1831])

First Line: "Lo! Death hath rear'd himself a throne . . ."
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: Alternate title of "The Doomed City"

• Title: "Coliseum, The" (1833 [1831])

First Line: "Type of the antique Rome! Rich, reliquary . . ."
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: This poem was first published in the Baltimore Saturday Visiter for October, 26, 1833. Poe had submitted it for the newspaper's literary contest. It was reprinted several times in various magazines, including the Southern Literary Messenger, the Saturday Evening Post and Poe's own Broadway Journal. It was also included in ROP. A manuscript of the poem from the album of Mary Estelle Herring (1841?) is now in the Koester Collection of the University of Texas.

• Title: "Conqueror Worm, The" (1843)

First Line: "Lo! 'tis a gala night . . . "
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: This poem was first published in Graham's Magazine for January of 1843. It was later incorporated in Poe's short story "Ligeia." The poem was reprinted several times in various magazines, including the Philadelphia Saturday Museum and Poe's own Broadway Journal. It was also reprinted in The Raven and Other Poems (1845).

• Title: "Dirge" (1848 [1843])

First Line: "Ah, broken is the golden bowl! . . ."
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: Alternate title of "Lenore"

• Title: "Divine Right of Kings, The" (1845)

First Line: "The only king by right divine . . ."
Status: Accepted, with minor reservations
Argument: This poem was published as by "P" in Graham's Magazine for December of 1845. J. H. Whitty attributed it to Poe in his 1917 edition of Poe's Poems, although Killis Campbell and other scholars called for more evidence. (Whitty's claim was based on a copy of Graham's Magazine owned by Poe's friend Mrs. Frances S. Osgood, with Poe's name written under the poem in her hand.) T. O. Mabbott notes that the Boston Public Library owns a copy of the volume of Graham's Magazine containing the poem with a manuscript note, by an unknown person but apparently before 1890, attributing the poem to Poe. Mabbott accepts the poem with substantial explanation in his 1969 edition of Poe's Poems, pp. 382 - 384.

• Title: "Doomed City, The" (1831)

First line: "Lo! Death hath rear'd himself a throne . . ."
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: Included in Poems.

• Title: "Dream within a Dream, A" (1849)

First Line: "Take this kiss upon the brow! . . ."
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: Substantial variant of "Imitation," under which title it is included in TOP.

• Title: "Dream, A" (1827)

First Line: "In visions of the dark night" (1829)
Alternate: "A wilder'd being from my birth . . ." (1827)
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: Included in TOP, where it appears without title. The 1829 version from ATMP simply omits the first stanza. Not included in Poems. Included in ROP under the section "Poems Written in Youth."

• Title: "Dream-Land" (1844)

First Line: "By a route obscure and lonely . . ."
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: Included in ROP.

• Title: "Dreams" (1827)

First Line: "Oh! that my young life were a lasting . . ."
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: Included in TOP.

• Title: "Eldorado" (1849)

First Line: "Gaily bedight . . ."
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument:

• Title: "Elizabeth" (@1829)

First Line: "Elizabeth -- it surely is most fit . . ."
Status:
Argument:

• Title: "Enigma [on Shakespeare]" (1833)

First Line: "The noblest name in Allegory's page . . ."
Status:
Argument:

• Title: "Enigma, An [Sarah Anna Lewis]" (1847)

First Line: "'Seldom we find,' says Solomon Don . . ."
Status:
Argument:

• Title: "Eulalie -- A Song" (1844)

First Line: "I dwelt alone . . ."
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: Included in ROP.

• Title: "Evening Star" (1827)

First Line: "'Twas noontide of summer . . ."
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: Included in TOP.

• Title: "Fairy land"

First Line: "Sit down beside me, Isabel . . ." (1831)
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: Alternate title for "Fairyland." By the title of "Fairy Land," it was Included in Poems.

• Title: "Fairy-land"

First Line: "Dim vales--and shadowy floods . . ." (1829)
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: Alternate title for "Fairyland." By the title of "Fairy-Land," it was included in ROP under the section "Poems Written in Youth."

• Title: "Fairyland"

First Line: "Dim vales--and shadowy floods . . ." (1829)
Alternate: "Sit down beside me, Isabel . . ." (1831)
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: Included in ATMP.

• Title: "Fanny" (1833)

First Line: "The dying swan by northern lakes . . ."
Status:
Argument: xxx

• Title: "For Annie" (1849)

First Line: "Thank Heavens! the crisis . . ."
Status:
Argument: xxx

• Title: "For Annie"

First Line: "Take this kiss upon the brow! . . ."
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: Alternate title of "Dream Within a Dream"

• Title: [Happiest Day, The] (1827)

First Line: "The happiest day--the happiest hour . . ."
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: Included in TOP, where it appears without title..

• Title: "Haunted Palace, The" (1839)

First Line: "In the greenest of our valleys . . ."
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: Included in ROP.

• Title: "Heaven" (1829)

First Line: "Dim vales -- and shoadowy floods -- . . . "
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: Early title of "Fairy-Land"

• Title: "Hymn" (1835, written @1833)

First Line: "At morn--at noon--at twilight dim . . ."
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: Alternate title for "Catholic Hymn." Included in ROP as "Catholic Hymn." In Poe's own copy of ROP, with his handwritten annotations and corrections, Poe struck out the word "Catholic."

• Title: "Imitation" (1827)

First Line: "A dark unfathom'd tide . . ."
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: Later revised as "A Dream Within a Dream"

• Title: "In an Album. To --" (1827)

First Line: "I saw thee on thy bridal day -- . . ."
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: Early title of "Song"

• Title: "Introduction [to Poems, 1831]" (1831)

First Line: "Romance, who loves to nod and sing . . ."
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: A substantial variant of "Preface [to Al Aaraaf, etc.]"

• Title: "Irene" (1831 and 1837)

First Line: "'T is now (so sings the soaring moon) . . ."
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: Included in Poems.

• Title: "Irene, the Dead"

First Line: "'T is now (so sings the soaring moon) . . ."
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: Variant title of "Irene"

• Title: "Israfel" (1831)

First Line: "In Heaven a spirit doth dwell . . ."
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: Included in Poems and in ROP.

• Title: "Lake, The" (1827)

First Line: "In youth's spring, it was my lot . . ."
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: Included in TOP.

• Title: "Lake--To --, The"

First Line: "In youth's spring, it was my lot . . ." (1829)
Alternate: "In spring of youth it was my lot . . ." (1845)
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: Revised version of "The Lake," under which title it was included in TOP. As "The Lake -- To --," it was included in ATMP. Not included in Poems. Also included in ROP, under the section "Poems Written in Youth."

• Title: "Lenore" (1843)

First Line: "Ah, broken is the golden bowl! the spirit flown forever! . . ."
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: Substantial variant of "A Paean." As "Lenore," it was included in ROP.

• Title: "Lines Written in an Album" (1835 [1833 ?])

First Line: "Ah, broken is the golden bowl . . ."
Status:
Argument: Alternate title of "To Elizabeth"

• Title: "Mysterious Star!" (1831)

First Line: "Mysterious Star! . . ."
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: Used as an alternate beginning of "Al Aaraaf" in Poems and, since his death, occasionally published as a separate poem. This is the poem Poe read at the Boston Lyceum in 1845, falsely claiming it later as a work published before he was 20.

• Title: "Oh, Tempora! Oh, Mores!" (@1825?)

First Line: "Oh Times! Oh Manners! It is my . . ."
Status:
Argument: xxx

• Title: "Original" (@1829)

First Line: "From childhood's hour I have not been . . . "
Status:
Argument: Token title of "[Alone]"

• Title: "Paean, A" (1831, 1842)

First Line: "How shall the burial rite be read . . ."
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: Early and substantially different version of "Lenore." As "A Paean" it was included in Poems.

• Title: "Preface [to Al Aaraaf, etc.]" (1829)

First Line: "Romance, who loves to nod and sing . . ."
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: Early title of "Romance." Ironically, in ATMP, Preface appears at the beginning of the section titled "Miscellaneous Poems," well into the middle of the book.

• Title: "Raven, The" (1845)

First Line: "Once upon a midnight dreary . . ."
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: Included in ROP. Without question, this is the most secure item in Poe's canon.

• Title: "Romance" (1845)

First Line: "Romance who loves to nod and sing . . ."
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: Variant of "Preface [Al Aaraaf, etc. 1829]" As  "Introduction," this poem was included in Poems. As "Romance," it is included in ROP under the section "Poems Written in Youth.".

• Title: "Serenade" (1833)

First Line: "So sweet the hour--so calm the time . . ."
Status:
Argument: xxx

• Title: "Silence"

First Line: "There are some qualities -- some incorporate things . . . "
Status:
Argument: Variant title of "Sonnet--Silence"

• Title: "Silence--a Sonnet"

First Line: "There are some qualities -- some incorporate things . . . "
Status:
Argument: Variant title of "Sonnet--Silence"

• Title: "Sleeper, The" (1841)

First Line: "At midnight, in the month of June . . "
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: Variant of "Irene." As "The Sleeper," it was included in ROP.

• Title: "Song" (1827)

First Line: "I saw thee on thy Bridal day . . ."
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: Included in TOP as "To -- --.". Included in ROP, under the section "Poems Written in Youth."

• Title: "Sonnet" (1829)

First Line: "Science! true daughter of Old Time . . ."
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: Variant title of "Sonnet--To Silence"

• Title: "Sonnet"

First Line: "Seldom we find, says Solomon Don Dunce . . . "
Status:
Argument: Variant title of "An Enigma [Sarah Anne Lewis]"

• Title: "Sonnet--Silence" (1839)

First Line: "There are some qualities--some incorporate things . . ."
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: Included in ROP.

• Title: "Sonnet to My Mother" (1849)

First Line: "Because the angels in the Heavens above . . ."
Status:
Argument: Variant of "To My Mother"

• Title: "Sonnet--To Science" (1829)

First Line: "Science! true daughter of Old Time thou art. . ."
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: Included, without title, in ATMP. Included as "Sonnet--To Science" in ROP under the section "Poems Written in Youth.".

• Title: "Sonnet--To Zante" (1837)

First Line: "Fair isle, that from the fairest of all . . ."
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: Alternate title of "To Zante." As "Sonnet--To Zante," it was included in ROP.

• Title: "Spirits of the Dead" (1829)

First Line: "Thy soul shall find itself alone . . . "
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: Variant of "Visit of the Dead." Under the new title, the poem was included in ATMP.

• Title: [Stanzas] (1827)

First Line: "In youth have I known one with whom . . ."
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: Included in TOP, where it appeared without title.

• Title: "Stanzas [to F.S.O]" (1845)

First Line: "Lady! I would that verse of mine . . ."
Status:
Argument: xxx

• Title: "Tamerlane" (1827)

First Line: "I have sent for thee, holy friar . . ." (1827)
Alternate: "Kind solace in a dying hour! . . . " (1829)
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: Included as the title poem in TOP and included all of Poe's subsequent collections of poems, ATMP, Poems and ROP. In ROP, it is included under the section "Poems Written in Youth."

• Title: "To Elizabeth" (@1833)

First Line: "Would'st thou be loved . . ."
Status:
Argument: xxx

• Title: "To --"

First line: "Take this kiss upon thy brow . . . "
Status:
Argument: Alternate title of "A Dream Within a Dream"

• Title: "To -- --" (1829)

First Line: "Should my early life seem . . ."
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: Substantial variant of "Imitation." This revised version appeared in ATMP.

• Title: "To -- [Elmira]" (1829)

First Line: "The bowers whereat, in dreams, I see . . ."
Status: Accepted absolutely
Argument: Included in ATMP. Also included in ROP, under the section "Poems Written in Youth."

• Title: "To -- --" (1833)

First Line: "Sleep on, sleep on, another hour . . ."
Status:
Argument: xxx

• Title: "To -- -- --"

First Line: "I saw the once -- once only -- years ago . . . "
Status:
Argument: Variant title for "To Helen [Whitman]"

• Title: "To -- [Violet Vane]" (1845)

First Line: "I would not lord it o'er thy heart . . ."
Status:
Argument: xxx

• Title: "To -- -- --"

First Line: "Not long ago, the writer of these lines . . . "
Status:
Argument: Variant of "To Marie Louise"

• Title: "To -- --" (1846? [1833 ?])

First Line: "Thou wouldst be loved . . ."
Status:
Argument: Variant of "To Elizabeth"

• Title: "To -- -- --"

First Line: "Not language . . ."
Status:
Argument: Variant of "To Marie Louise"

• Title: "To -- -- --" (1848)

First Line: "Not Long ago . . ."
Status:
Argument: Variant of "To Marie Louise"

• Title: "To -- --" (1827)

First Line: " I saw thee on the bridal day -- . . ." (1827)
Alternate: " I saw thee on thy bridal day -- . . ." (1829)
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: Early title of "Song." Under the title of "To -- --," this poem appeared in TOP and ATMP.

• Title: "To --" (@1845-1849)

First Line: "I heed not that my earthly lot . . ."
Status:
Argument: Variant of "To M--"

• Title: "To F-- [Frances S. Osgood]" (1835)

First Line: "Beloved! amid the earnest woes . . ."
Status:
Argument: Included in ROP.

• Title: "To F--s S. O--d [Frances S. Osgood]" (1845 [1833 ?])

First Line: "Thou wouldst be loved?--then let thy heart . . ."
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: Variant of "To Elizabeth." As "To F--s S. O--d," it was included in ROP.

• Title: "To Helen" (1831)

First Line: "Helen, thy beauty is to me . . ."
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: Included in Poems. Also included in ROP, under the section "Poems Written in Youth."

• Title: "To Helen [Whitman]" (1848)

First Line: "I saw thee once . . ."
Status:
Argument: xxx

• Title: "To Iante in Heaven" (1839 [@1833])

First Line: "Thou wast that all to me, love . . ."
Status:
Argument: Alternate title of "To One in Paradise"

• Title: "To M. L. S-- [Marie Louise Shew]" (1847)

First Line: "Of all who hail thy presence as . . ."
Status:
Argument: xxx

• Title: "To M--" (1828)

First Line: "O! I care not that my earthly lot . . ."
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: Included in ATMP.

• Title: "To Mary"

First Line: "Mary, amid the cares and woes . . . "
Status:
Argument: Original title of "To F-- [Frances Sargent Osgood]"

• Title: "To Marie Louise" (@1848)

First Line: "Not long ago, the writer . . ."
Status:
Argument: xxx

• Title: "To Miss Louise Olivia Hunter" (1847)

First Line: "Though I turn, I fly not . . ."
Status:
Argument: xxx

• Title: "To My Mother" (1849)

First Line: "Because I feel that, in the Heavens . . ."
Status:
Argument: xxx

• Title: [To Octavia] (May 1, 1827)

First Line: "When wit, and wine, and friends . . ."
Status:
Argument: xxx

• Title: "To One Beloved"

First Line: "Thou wast that all to me, love . . ."
Status:
Argument: A variant title of "To One in Paradise"

• Title: "To One Departed"

First Line: "Thou wast that all to me, love . . ."
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: A variant title for "To One in Paradise"

• Title: "To One in Paradise" (@1833)

First Line: "Thou wast all that to me, love . . ." (1845)
Alternate: "Thou wast that all to me, love . . ." (revised by Poe, probably in 1849)
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: Included in ROP. Poe's corrections to the text, made in his personal copy of ROP, were not published until after his death.

• Title: "To the River -- [Po]" (1828)

First Line: "Fair river! in thy bright, clear flow . . ."
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: Included in ATMP. Also included in ROP, under the section "Poems Written in Youth."

• Title:"To Zante"

First Line: "Fair isle, that from the fairest of all flowers . . ."
Status: Accepted, positively
Argument: xxx

• Title: "Ulalume--A Ballad" (1847)

First Line: "The skies they were ashen and sober . . ."
Status:
Argument: xxx

• Title: "Valentine, A [Frances S. Osgood]" (1849)

First Line: "For her this rhyme is penned, whose luminous eyes . . ."
Status:
Argument: xxx

• Title: "[Valentine's Eve, 1846]"

First Line: "For her this rhyme is penned, whose luminous eyes . . ."
Status:
Argument: Variant of "A Valentine"

• Title: "Valley Nis, The" (1831)

First Line: "Far away--far away . . ."
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: Included in Poems.

• Title: "Valley of Unrest, The" (1845)

First Line: "Once it smiled a silent dell . . ."
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: Substantial variant of "The Valley of Nis." As "The Valley of Unrest," it was included in ROP.

• Title: "Visit of the Dead" (1827)

First Line: "Thy soul shall find itself alone . . ."
Status: Accepted, absolutely
Argument: Included in TOP.