POEM REVIEW

TO THE RIVER
About its writer: “To the River” was wrote by Edgar Allan Poe. Edgar Allan
Poe was born in January 19th of 1809, in Boston, U.S.A. After his dad leaving
the family and his mom dying because of tuberculosis, Poe was adopted by
another family. He started writing poetry when he was 13 years old, but his
stepfather didn´t approved that. He published his first book in 1827, and his
genre was about horror and mystery. He died when he was 40 years old, in
October 7th of 1849, in Maryland. His last words were “Lord, help my poor
soul”.
Poem description: “To the River” talks about Edgar Allan Poe, talking about
his love to Alberto´s daughter, a pure and beautiful girl, and comparing her
with the river. He is talking with a heartfelt tone, in a calmed situation, and
may be referring to Biancha, Alberto´s daughter in the play “The Fair Maid of
the Inn”.
Stylistic devices: Poe uses different stylistic devices in his poetry and in this
poem, we can see different devices as in “Fair river! in thy bright, clear flow”.
Here the Fair river represents Alberto´s daughter, and also, he is talking to
the river as if it was a person. Also, in “Thou art an emblem of the glow”, we
can see how Poe put a metaphor, saying that the glow has an emblem and is
the girl´s art. In the second stanza, we can read the word “tremble”, which is
an onomatopoeia and means like shivering or shaking.
Personal opinion: I like from the poem how Poe is talking to Alberto´s
daughter, as if she was the river who he is talking to. Also, how the poem is
redacted to be calmed and slow, and how Poe is expressing his love. I would
recommend to the poem to be a little bit more specific with Alberto´s
daughter, but the other parts are fine. What I like of Edgar Allan Poe is that
with so few words, he can express all what he wants, with or without a
horror tone.