Eldorado by Edgar Allan

Poe
ldorado’ is thought to be one of Edgar Allan Poe’s final poems. It was
published in 1849 in Flag of Our Union in Boston, around the time of the
gold rush. This context might’ve informed Poe in his construction of the
wealth/paradise seeking “gallant knight.” Scholars have often drawn
parallel’s between the knight’s quest in ‘Eldorado’ and Poe’s quest to find
happiness in his life. Poe died six months after he wrote the piece. Since it
was written, ‘Eldorado’ has been set to music by several composers and
even used in the lyrics of popular songs.

Eldorado

Summary
‘Eldorado’ by Edgar Allan Poe uses the metaphor of a knight seeking the
lost city to speak on the futility of dreams and lifelong pursuits.

The poem begins with the speaker stating that there was a knight who had
spent his whole life journeying through “sunshine and …shadow.” He was
seeking out the lost paradise city of Eldorado, rumored to contain endless
amounts of gold. Although he searched for years and years, the knight
never found the city.

In the middle of the poem, the speaker describes how the knight’s strength
was starting to fail him. He was becoming quite old and was about to die.
This is when he encounters a shade along the road. This person, or perhaps
a ghost of the afterlife, told him that one can only reach Eldorado through
death. It requires walking in lands such as the “valley of the shadow of
death” from the Bible.
Themes
Poe engages with some interesting themes in ‘Eldorado’. These include
dreams, journeys, and death. The latter is something that even the knight,
in all his bravery and determination is unable to avoid. It sits at the end of
his life just as it does for everyone reading this piece and the poet who
wrote it. His journey is one that stretched on for far longer than he
would’ve liked, but still, he sought Eldorado and the wealth that he’d find
there. His dreams were unattainable, something that many people,
including the poet, would likely be able to relate to.

Literary Devices
Edgar Allan Poe makes use of several literary devices in ‘Eldorado’. These
include but are not limited to enjambment, repetition, and imagery. The
latter is one of the most important literary devices in ‘Eldorado’. There are
several interesting examples, including the first lines of stanza four. They
read: “Over the Mountains / Of the Moon, / Down the Valley of the
Shadow”. Enjambment is a common formal device that is used in poetry in
order to end lines and begin new lines in surprising places. It also helps
control the speed at which a reader moves through the poem. For example,
the transitions between lines four, five, and six in the second stanza.

Lastly, there are a few examples of repetition in the poem. The most
obvious is the use of the word “Eldorado” at the end of the last line of each
stanza

Analysis of Eldorado
Stanza One
Gaily bedight,
A gallant knight,
In sunshine and in shadow,
Had journeyed long,
Singing a song,
In search of Eldorado.
In the first stanza, ‘Eldorado,’ the speaker introduces a “gallant knight.” The
knight is said to be “Gaily bedight.” This strange word is not in everyday use
and refers simply to “being dressed.” He is dressed gaily or in colorful
clothing. He is also stereotypically knightly in his bravery.

The man is going on a trip. Through “sunshine and shadow,” aka, through
dark places and bright, cheerful places. Already, he has been journeying for
a long time. But, he is still in high spirits. This is seen through
Poe’s assertion that the man is “Singing a song.” The knight’s goal is very
simply stated in the sixth line. He is looking for the lost city of Eldorado.

Eldorado is commonly thought to have been a city located in South

America. Explorers have been seeking it out for over 500 years to no avail.
The main allure of the place was that it was meant to be entirely made of or
containing vast riches of gold. There are also some legends that speak of
the city as a social paradise.

With this information, it is easy to see why the knight has been traveling for
a long time. It is likely that he will be traveling for a lot longer and will never
get where he is going.

Stanza Two
But he grew old—
This knight so bold—
And o’er his heart a shadow—
Fell as he found
 No spot of ground
That looked like Eldorado.
This seems to be coming true as in the second stanza; the speaker starts
that the knight “grew old.” His journey did not come to an end as he had
hoped. Instead, he is still traveling and now is near death. He had, at one
point, been “so bold” as to set out on this adventure. But now, things are
not looking so hopeful.

Darkness, which is a constant image in this text, falls over the knight’s heart.
It blocks out any light and hope that might’ve remained there. It is caused
entirely by the fact that there is “No spot of ground / That looked like
Eldorado.”

Stanza Three
And, as his strength
Failed him at length,
He met a pilgrim shadow—
‘Shadow,’ said he,
‘Where can it be—
This land of Eldorado?’
Finally, in the third stanza, the knight reaches the threshold of the end of
his journey. His strength, which has taken him so far, is on the verge of
failing him. But then, something changes. He meets a “pilgrim shadow.”

There are no details about who this person is or where they are making
their pilgrimage. The poem’s tone is so haunting that it is very likely this
person is not alive. Perhaps, they are a ghost the knight has encounter on
his new journey, into the afterlife.

The knight does not address the mysterious nature of this person and
instead asks him his most pressing question, “‘Where can it be— / This land
of Eldorado?’”

Stanza Four
‘Over the Mountains
Of the Moon,
Down the Valley of the Shadow,
Ride, boldly ride,’
The shade replied,—
‘If you seek for Eldorado!’
The reply the “shade” gives him is less than helpful, but it does allude to the
knight’s current state of being. It also speaks to the larger theme of the
poem, the futility of pursuing one’s dreams.
AD

At first, the directions seem like they might lead somewhere. The being tells
him that he has to go “Over the Mountains,” But then, it takes another turn.
The mountains are on the moon. He must then ride “Down the Valley of the
Shadow.” This line is a very clear reference to Psalm 23:4, which refers to
walking through the valley of the shadow of death. In regards to the
mountains, they, too, are connected to something outside the poem’s
immediate purview. The place, “Mountains of the Moon” was thought to be
the source of the Nile River. The “moon” aspect came from their snow-
covered peaks.

From these lines, a reader can interpret the knight’s search to be one that is
entirely futile. Eldorado is a place one can only reach through death or one
that will bring death down upon the explorer.