Q.

III) Read the poem “Fairy –Land” by Edgar Allan Poe given below and arrive at an
interpretation of it based on an analysis of its imagery, syntax, diction and rhythm.

(1000 words)

Introduction:

Poetry is an intricate literary form that incorporates rhyme, figurative language, sound

devices, and meter in order to evoke a wide array of meanings. The language of poetry is not
always straightforward. It guides readers to reach a conclusion but never gives out any details
explicitly. Such is the beauty of a poetry text that demands readers’ attentive and creative
participation. With the knowledge of the important poetry elements, we can understand a
poem’s message and appreciate the text more effectively.

Poetry analysis is examining the independent elements of a poem to understand the literary
work in its entirety. Poetry involves different elements like language, rhythm, and
structure. Together, they tell a story and create a complexity that is unique to poetic verse.
When studying poems in-depth, look at these individual elements:

1. Theme: Poetry often conveys a message through figurative language. The central idea
and the subject matter can reveal the underlying theme of a poem.
2. Language: From word choice to imagery, language creates the mood and tone of a
poem. The way language is arranged also impacts the rhythm of a poem.
3. Sound and rhythm: The syllabic patterns and stresses create the metrical pattern of a
poem.
4. Structure: The framework of a poem’s structure affects how it is meant to be read.
A poet sculpts their story around stanzas, line breaks, rhyme patterns, punctuation,
and pauses.
5. Context: The who, what, where, when, and why of a poem can help explain its
purpose. Look at these elements to discover the context of a poem.

Tools for poem analysis and interpretation

 Imagery
 Syntax
 Diction
 Rhythm
Imagery:
Elements of a poem that invoke any of the five senses to create a set of mental images.
Specifically, using vivid or figurative language to represent ideas, objects, or actions. Poems
that use rich imagery include T.S. Eliot’s “Preludes,” Percy Bysshe Shelley’s “Ode to the
West Wind,” Sylvia Plath’s “Daddy,” and Mary Oliver’s “At Black River.”

Syntax

The general word order of an English sentence is “Subject+Verb+Object”. In poetry,

however, the word order may be shifted to achieve certain artistic effects such as producing
rhythm or melody in the lines, achieving emphasis, heightening connection between two
words etc. The unique syntax used in poetry makes it different from prose. Syntax is the
ordering of words into meaningful verbal patterns such as phrases, clauses, and sentences.
Poets often manipulate syntax, changing conventional word order, to place certain emphasis
on particular words.

Diction

Poetic diction refers to the operating language of poetry, language employed in a manner that
sets poetry apart from other kinds of speech or writing. It involves the vocabulary, the
phrasing, and the grammar considered appropriate and inappropriate to poetry at different
times. Poetic diction describes the language of poetry. It is differentiated from everyday
language and that which is commonly used in novels, by its style, vocabulary, and use of
figurative language.

Rhythm

Rhythm is the beat and pace of a poem and is created by the pattern of stressed and
unstressed syllables. It helps in strengthening the meaning and ideas of the poem. It lies
between a certain range of regularity, of specific language features of sound. It is readily
discriminated by the ear and the mind, having as it works on a physiological basis. It directly
affects the temporal structure of the poem. Rhythm is important for the highly organized
sense of poetry. The presence of rhythmic patterns heightens emotional response and affords
the reader a sense of balance. Meter often equated with the rhythm, is perhaps more
accurately described as a method of organizing a poem’s rhythm.
 FAIRY –LAND
................by Edgar Allan Poe
About the Author

Edgar Allan Poe (1809 –1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic best
known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He
is widely regarded as a central figure of Romanticism in the United States, and of American
literature. He was one of the country's earliest practitioners of the short story, and considered
the inventor of the detective fiction genre, as well as a significant contributor to the emerging
genre of science fiction. He is the first well-known American writer to earn a living through
writing alone, resulting in a financially difficult life and career.

“Fairy Land” is one of the famous poems of Edgar Allan Poe that describes the views of the
poet. The poem is mysterious has deep pathos. It was published sometime between 1845 to
1848. When the poem got published, readers took it positively though later critics quote many
things in the poem. 

Context of the poem

In 1829 when the poem Fairy-Land was published Edgars foster mother died on Febuary
28th. They honored her and reconciled her. Poe enlisted in the West Point Military Academy
but was dismissed a year later because of his emotional instability caused by his foster father
who remarried after the death of his foster mother cutting Poe out of the family inheritance .

Poem Organization

It is organized into one long stanza with 46 lines. These lines aren't separated because Poe is
talking about how there is one night with everything revolving around and changing. The
poem represents the ever changing night.

Interpretation of Language

The poem is about Edgar Allan Poe and his hardships in his life currently. It was written in a
time while Poe had a gambling and drinking problem at the military academy in the United
States. This poem is about the better life he wishes he could have away from his life issues
and current problems. It was originally titled Heaven, so the theme of this poem is life after
death. It was originally titled Heaven, so the theme of this poem is life after death.
Summary
The poem Fairy-Land by Edgar Allan Poe has a very supernatural feel once read. After much
reading the poem reveals a fantasy land Edgar has created that is inhabited by little winged
creatures known to be "Fairies". It really represents an escape from a hardship. Poe uses this
land to show the mystical forest. It explains his hardships and how strange he feels in his own
life. The setting is mystery like feel, using descriptions: “Shadowy floods"

I believe the speaker is a traveller, an explorer, who either is recounting or is in a dream, or

has found the home of fairies and other fantastical creatures. The speaker tells his experience
with a strong setting: describing the setting as an uncanny gothic, goth feel with elements of
uncertainty and mystery to impact the reader strongly.

The language is very symbolic in Fairy-Land and the use of his advanced diction helps create
the setting of being gloom and mysterious. Wax and Wane is a symbolic figure representing
the moon sizes. The use of vocabulary is very high, using these words such as specimen. It
helps bring out the setting

Rhythm

The rhyme scheme alternates between couplets and an A-B-A-B pattern. There isn't an exact
scheme, but the rhyme scheme that was present triggers a quicker idea in the mind. Overall
their strongly accented beat conveys intense feeling. It captivates the reader and lifts the
story. It keeps the poem in harmony bringing it to life. The rhythm gives the poem a distinct
shape and gives it shape

From the very first lines, Edgar Allan Poe describes nature. There are dim vales and shadowy
floods, there are cloud-shaped woods that takes a huge shape but it cannot be judged. Tears
have dripped all over and the poet is thinking about that. The moon is looking wax and wane.
So, this is an image of the night the moon is waxed and wane. Then the poet says, in every
moment of the night, the world is changing again and again.

“And they put out the star-light

With the breath from their pale faces.”

In these two lines, the poet talks about the star lights that are breathing, and their faces that
are getting pale. These are the imageries where the poet’s motto is to explain nature.
Literary Devices: imagery

‘Fairy Land’ is a poem that consists of forty-six lines and the whole is poem is written in a
single stanza. The scheme of the poem is ‘aabbccded’. Enjambment is another relevant
rhetorical device that means a continuation of thoughts even to the next stanza like,

“And their moony covering

Is soaring in the skies,”

Then comes Alliteration that means the repetition of the same words in a single line like,

“Again-again-again”

Several imageries also play a big role.

“And cloudy-looking woods,”

Syncope is also a very relevant literary device that means the use of a word using apostrophe
like,

“O’er the strange woods—o’er the sea—”

Then comes Anaphora that means the repetition of the same words at the beginning of lines
just like,

“Over spirits on the wing—

Over every drowsy thing”

These are all relevant poetic devices. The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a
significant image; again, down are repeated. The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of
some neighboring lines. The same words over, of are repeated.
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