Poe Fridays: Eldorado

This week's Poe Fridays selection was the poem Eldorado. Since it's short, I'll reproduce it here.

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!"

What a sad but sweet poem. I'm not sure if the message is that the only true happiness is after death or if at the end of your life you can look back and see that your life was the true City of Gold. This was one of Poe's last poems and perhaps shows us that he was thinking about death.

For next week let's read The Spectacles. You can read it here if you don't have a Poe anthology. This story is almost twenty pages so be sure and set aside enough time!

Discovering the Eldorado in everyday life,
K