Monday, July 2, 2007

Eldorado

Gaily bedight
A gallant knight,
In sunshine and in shadow,
Had journeyed long,
Singing a song,
In search of Eldorado.
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.
And, as his strength
Failed him at length,
He met a pilgrim shadow--
"Shadow," said he,
"Where can it be--
This land of Eldorado?"
"Over the mountains
of the moon,
Down the Valley of the Shadow,
Ride, boldly ride,"
The shade replied--
"If you seek for Eldorado!"

--Edgar Allen Poe

7 comments:

Merry Monteleone said...

Poe is among my favorites... though I like Annabelle Lee and The Raven a bit better than this one.

I'll have to stop back and see who else you post - have you done any Tennyson yet?

astairesteps said...

Merry,

Thanks for visiting my blog! I've read the other Poe poems you mentioned, but I chose "Eldorado" for more sentimental reasons. It's featured in the John Wayne movie "Eldorado" (1967) and I'm a sucker for John Wayne movies. Plus, I'm sort of in search of Eldorado myself...

My blog is quite new (about 10 days), so I haven't posted much of anything yet. I very much enjoy Tennyson, so I'm sure he'll find his way here. Do you have a favorite of his you'd like to share?

Merry Monteleone said...

The Lady of Shallot is my absolute favorite - though that's a rather lenthy one...

Invictus by Willian Henley is another poem I adore. And pretty much anything by... okay, there's quite a list there, so I guess I'll just make it a point to stop by;-)

astairesteps said...

Merry,

Funny you should mention "Lady of Shalott"...when I began to blog, my first choice for a site name was tirra lirra. Unfortunately, it was taken by someone who hasn't used the site in years. I even tried "tirralirrabytheriver." Alas. Thanks for the Henley poem. Good stuff. Visit when you can.

alternatefish said...

whenever I see this poem I hear James Caan reciting it. is it bad that my main reference for this poem is that John Wayne movie?

and I second Lady of Shalott.

astairesteps said...

Alternatefish,

Welcome to my blog. As I said on YOUR blog, there's no shame in hearing Mississippi in your head when you read Poe.

Shalott it is.

Crafty Green Poet said...

I would chose other Poe poems in some circumstances but this is one I remember from childhood so I'd go for this for sentimental reasons too.