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Selected Poems
Take this kiss upon the brow!
And in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow-
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream...
-- From A Dream Within a Dream
His poem The Raven caused a sensation, and was nevermore forgotten, but Edgar Allan Poe produced many more powerful and haunting verses. The Bells vividly describes the varied meanings and sounds of the chimes, from merry wedding bells to "brazen" alarms to death tolls. Go back to the "kingdom by the sea" where Annabel Lee lived, loved, and died. Forty-eight poems in all will keep readers riveted.
And in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow-
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream...
-- From A Dream Within a Dream
His poem The Raven caused a sensation, and was nevermore forgotten, but Edgar Allan Poe produced many more powerful and haunting verses. The Bells vividly describes the varied meanings and sounds of the chimes, from merry wedding bells to "brazen" alarms to death tolls. Go back to the "kingdom by the sea" where Annabel Lee lived, loved, and died. Forty-eight poems in all will keep readers riveted.
119 pages, Hardcover
First published August 8, 2000
15 people are currently reading
316 people want to read
About the author
Edgar Allan Poe
10.1k books29k followersThe name Poe brings to mind images of murderers and madmen, premature burials, and mysterious women who return from the dead. His works have been in print since 1827 and include such literary classics as The Tell-Tale Heart, The Raven, and The Fall of the House of Usher. This versatile writer’s oeuvre includes short stories, poetry, a novel, a textbook, a book of scientific theory, and hundreds of essays and book reviews. He is widely acknowledged as the inventor of the modern detective story and an innovator in the science fiction genre, but he made his living as America’s first great literary critic and theoretician. Poe’s reputation today rests primarily on his tales of terror as well as on his haunting lyric poetry.
Just as the bizarre characters in Poe’s stories have captured the public imagination so too has Poe himself. He is seen as a morbid, mysterious figure lurking in the shadows of moonlit cemeteries or crumbling castles. This is the Poe of legend. But much of what we know about Poe is wrong, the product of a biography written by one of his enemies in an attempt to defame the author’s name.
The real Poe was born to traveling actors in Boston on January 19, 1809. Edgar was the second of three children. His other brother William Henry Leonard Poe would also become a poet before his early death, and Poe’s sister Rosalie Poe would grow up to teach penmanship at a Richmond girls’ school. Within three years of Poe’s birth both of his parents had died, and he was taken in by the wealthy tobacco merchant John Allan and his wife Frances Valentine Allan in Richmond, Virginia while Poe’s siblings went to live with other families. Mr. Allan would rear Poe to be a businessman and a Virginia gentleman, but Poe had dreams of being a writer in emulation of his childhood hero the British poet Lord Byron. Early poetic verses found written in a young Poe’s handwriting on the backs of Allan’s ledger sheets reveal how little interest Poe had in the tobacco business.
For more information, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_al...
Just as the bizarre characters in Poe’s stories have captured the public imagination so too has Poe himself. He is seen as a morbid, mysterious figure lurking in the shadows of moonlit cemeteries or crumbling castles. This is the Poe of legend. But much of what we know about Poe is wrong, the product of a biography written by one of his enemies in an attempt to defame the author’s name.
The real Poe was born to traveling actors in Boston on January 19, 1809. Edgar was the second of three children. His other brother William Henry Leonard Poe would also become a poet before his early death, and Poe’s sister Rosalie Poe would grow up to teach penmanship at a Richmond girls’ school. Within three years of Poe’s birth both of his parents had died, and he was taken in by the wealthy tobacco merchant John Allan and his wife Frances Valentine Allan in Richmond, Virginia while Poe’s siblings went to live with other families. Mr. Allan would rear Poe to be a businessman and a Virginia gentleman, but Poe had dreams of being a writer in emulation of his childhood hero the British poet Lord Byron. Early poetic verses found written in a young Poe’s handwriting on the backs of Allan’s ledger sheets reveal how little interest Poe had in the tobacco business.
For more information, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_al...
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
October 30, 2022
Actual rating: 4.5 stars
Edgar Allan Poe has held a special place in my heart since I was a child. I have a very distinct memory of Christmas when I was 8 years old. My parents gave me a box of Great Illustrated Classics each year, and that was the year of the spooky books. Frankenstein, Dracula and The Picture of Dorian Gray were all included. And, most notably, so was Edgar Allan Poe’s Tales of Mystery and Terror. In this memory, I’m laying on my bed, listening to the Backstreet Boys CD I had just unwrapped while reading “The Tell-Tale Heart” for the very first time. My earliest experience with poetry outside of Dr. Seuss was my grandfather quoting the entirety of “Annabel Lee” from memory. So to say that I have a soft spot for Poe’s work would be a vast understatement.
While this collection itself is a mixed bag, as most “selected poetry” collections are, I found it overwhelmingly solid. My favorite poems remain “The Raven” and Annabel Lee,” but I encountered some that were new to me that I very much enjoyed. Even on the poems that weren’t my favorites, where Poe seemed to have gotten lost in his own cadence and lovely language to the point that he lost the thread of story he was trying to spin, I was captivated by the rhythm. His cadence is just always so perfect, so easy to hear even in the silence of your own mind. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with it.
Edgar Allan Poe has held a special place in my heart since I was a child. I have a very distinct memory of Christmas when I was 8 years old. My parents gave me a box of Great Illustrated Classics each year, and that was the year of the spooky books. Frankenstein, Dracula and The Picture of Dorian Gray were all included. And, most notably, so was Edgar Allan Poe’s Tales of Mystery and Terror. In this memory, I’m laying on my bed, listening to the Backstreet Boys CD I had just unwrapped while reading “The Tell-Tale Heart” for the very first time. My earliest experience with poetry outside of Dr. Seuss was my grandfather quoting the entirety of “Annabel Lee” from memory. So to say that I have a soft spot for Poe’s work would be a vast understatement.
While this collection itself is a mixed bag, as most “selected poetry” collections are, I found it overwhelmingly solid. My favorite poems remain “The Raven” and Annabel Lee,” but I encountered some that were new to me that I very much enjoyed. Even on the poems that weren’t my favorites, where Poe seemed to have gotten lost in his own cadence and lovely language to the point that he lost the thread of story he was trying to spin, I was captivated by the rhythm. His cadence is just always so perfect, so easy to hear even in the silence of your own mind. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with it.
December 30, 2022
Last book of the year ❤️
December 11, 2015
Două steluţe din pricina faptului că am citit poemele în română, iar eu ştiu un lucru: poezia nu se poate traduce! Eminescu este un mare poet doar pentru români; Eminescu tradus în franceză ar semnifica o idee lirică, dar nu ar transmite aceeaşi stare pe care o transmite autohtonilor.
Desigur, în cazul poeziilor traduse se mai poate vorbi şi de culpa traducătorului, însă aici este vorba de Botta, ceea ce face să mă îndoiesc de asta. Dar nu mă pot îndoi nici de valoarea "poeziei macabrului" a lui Poe, despre care am citit atatea, de aceea caut ca scuză -şi o găsesc, ba chiar foarte logică- specificul de limba al poeziei.
Desigur, în cazul poeziilor traduse se mai poate vorbi şi de culpa traducătorului, însă aici este vorba de Botta, ceea ce face să mă îndoiesc de asta. Dar nu mă pot îndoi nici de valoarea "poeziei macabrului" a lui Poe, despre care am citit atatea, de aceea caut ca scuză -şi o găsesc, ba chiar foarte logică- specificul de limba al poeziei.
January 4, 2018
He was a wonderfull poet and a man with a very deep soul.
July 17, 2014
I was familiar with Poe's tales, but only knew the odd poem, like 'Annabel Lee', which was used in the film, 'Play Misty For Me'. This cheap edition caught my eye and also contains a chronology about Poe and American history. What a revelation! I adore his poetry! His passions, loves and observations are for all to enjoy and see. I realised that some of lines from 'The Raven' are used in 'The Crow'. I love his use of words. Sheer delight! A very good, short, pocket-sized collection of his poems. Darkly fabulous!
February 20, 2018
"For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling- my darling- my life and my bride,
In the sepulchre there by the sea,
In her tomb by the sounding sea."
Any collection that ends with "Annabel Lee" is A-Okay in my book! (Um...Spoiler Alert, I guess.)
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling- my darling- my life and my bride,
In the sepulchre there by the sea,
In her tomb by the sounding sea."
Any collection that ends with "Annabel Lee" is A-Okay in my book! (Um...Spoiler Alert, I guess.)
July 22, 2019
A stellar collection of his classics. Need to buy my own copy.
December 10, 2011
I bought this today from Dymocks (for 3 bucks!!! ) and I got into it as soon as I got home. I had always found Poe interesting, but having only read 'The Raven' and 'Annabel Lee', I had only seen a glimpse at his talent. This book has heightened my love for this POEt (see what I did there), and the selection is brilliant. I thoroughly recommend it! His understanding and passion of life, death and love, serves as a motif in his poetry. I think that poems that are raw and honest are truly worth reading and deserve appreciation.
November 5, 2014
Poe has always been, and always will be, one of my favorite poets of all time. Not only is he my first poet, but has also introduced to others and poetry in general. I would never have discovered my love for poetry without him!
October 25, 2015
A beautiful collection.
August 14, 2021
“Edgar Allan Poe Selected Poems”
(Cover shows a red-eyed raven in a cemetery)
Includes:
“Tamerlane”
I admit that the head-space I was in meant that I retained nothing from reading it. Maybe it is better than that, but I missed it. **
O! craving heart, for the lost flowers
And sunshine of my summer hours!
There comes a sullenness of heart
To him who still would look upon
The glory of the summer sun.
For all we live to know is known,
And all we seek to keep hath flown—
Let life, then, as the day-flower, fall
With the noon-day beauty—which is all.
How was it that Ambition crept,
Unseen, amid the revels there,
Till growing bold, he laughed and leapt
In the tangles of Love’s very hair?
……………..
“Al Aaraaf”
O nothing earthly save the ray..
(hard to get into it) **
……………………….
“Scenes from Politian”
Eye-balls stinging, got through it, but not a memorable experience **
……………………….
The Raven
Unrivalled perfection!! *****
“Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
……..Bird or beast upon the sculptured bust above his chamber door,
With such name as "Nevermore.”
………………………….
(Cover shows a red-eyed raven in a cemetery)
Includes:
“Tamerlane”
I admit that the head-space I was in meant that I retained nothing from reading it. Maybe it is better than that, but I missed it. **
O! craving heart, for the lost flowers
And sunshine of my summer hours!
There comes a sullenness of heart
To him who still would look upon
The glory of the summer sun.
For all we live to know is known,
And all we seek to keep hath flown—
Let life, then, as the day-flower, fall
With the noon-day beauty—which is all.
How was it that Ambition crept,
Unseen, amid the revels there,
Till growing bold, he laughed and leapt
In the tangles of Love’s very hair?
……………..
“Al Aaraaf”
O nothing earthly save the ray..
(hard to get into it) **
……………………….
“Scenes from Politian”
Eye-balls stinging, got through it, but not a memorable experience **
……………………….
The Raven
Unrivalled perfection!! *****
“Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
……..Bird or beast upon the sculptured bust above his chamber door,
With such name as "Nevermore.”
………………………….
April 26, 2020
The majority of this poetry, its imagery was beyond my mental reach. I pretty much had no idea what I was reading!
So my rating is based on my personal reading pleasure. Notwithstanding 'The Raven' will send a shiver down your spine and 'A Dream within a Dreams' second stanza is simplified writing of pure anguish.
So my rating is based on my personal reading pleasure. Notwithstanding 'The Raven' will send a shiver down your spine and 'A Dream within a Dreams' second stanza is simplified writing of pure anguish.
June 23, 2017
It's Poe. What more can I say? It's dark. It's cold. It's beautiful. It's Poe.
September 19, 2018
Think Poe peaked with The Raven.
April 7, 2020
Smukke illustrationer, men læs hans digte på engelsk. De mister for meget, når de bliver oversat
July 26, 2020
5*
"All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream".
"All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream".
June 27, 2021
4.5 out of 5
May 19, 2022
very nice
April 7, 2024
I expected much better. However considering the times his work was actually written in I guess he was unique.
December 5, 2024
Annabel Lee and the famous Raven poem are nice-- these are very basic opinions, but we hae evolved past a point for these sorts of monotony.
March 1, 2025
A supernatural mourning. Love is gone but left beauty—that is the torment. A great collection woven with grief and appreciation.
[READ IN ENGLISH: ORIGINAL]
[READ IN ENGLISH: ORIGINAL]
February 4, 2024
No sé cuántos poemas trae esta edición, pero yo me leí cuanto que venían en un libro con sus mejores obras.
La verdad es que me he quedado un poco igual. Esperaba que encantasen, y una vez más la vida me dice que no tenga tantas expectativas por las cosas.
De los 4 poemas que trae mi edición (el cuervo, a Helena, a y Annabel lee) solo me ha gustado el último de estos. Tal vez es porque yo no leo poesía nunca y no se apreciarla. Pero la conclusión es que no me ha gustado.
Los releeré en inglés algún día porque estoy segura de que la experiencia es totalmente distinta.
La verdad es que me he quedado un poco igual. Esperaba que encantasen, y una vez más la vida me dice que no tenga tantas expectativas por las cosas.
De los 4 poemas que trae mi edición (el cuervo, a Helena, a y Annabel lee) solo me ha gustado el último de estos. Tal vez es porque yo no leo poesía nunca y no se apreciarla. Pero la conclusión es que no me ha gustado.
Los releeré en inglés algún día porque estoy segura de que la experiencia es totalmente distinta.
April 17, 2012
I finished it hoping that it would get better and just to experience Poe's poetry. There were only 3-4 poems that I would even think of reading again. Planning to try his short stories next...
June 15, 2015
For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams
Read
January 27, 2026literature rarely unsettles me. this unsettled me.
beautiful work though.
beautiful work though.
Read
August 23, 2018I’m not going to give this a rating because what can I say? It’s a poetry collection. I loved some and was ambivalent towards others. Some I would give 5* others 1*.
Would I recommend it? I guess, if you like both poetry and Edgar Allan Poe.
Would I recommend it? I guess, if you like both poetry and Edgar Allan Poe.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews