Eldorado
Edgar Allan Poe

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!"

Poe’s use of word choice and rhyme work well to portray this metaphorical journey of man. Whether “gallant knight” is searching for “wealth” or “gold” which is the meaning of Eldorado, or if the metaphor runs deeper to insinuate a search for happiness or even God can be interpreted from his vague language. But the knight never finds what he sets out for and learns from his soul that only death can show him where Eldorado is.

The meaning of the word “shadow” follows the knight on his quest. First the shadow is associated with the sun, second as doubt, third as the knight’s soul, and lastly as death. Funny enough this poem is surprisingly lighthearted with its rhyme scheme, yet it’s meaning suggests that death is how we find true happiness/Eldorado.

I think this poem is successful in its message but also because Poe’s language and rhyme scheme catch us off guard and force us to look deeper at the meaning of the poem.

Samantha Audet