"The Bells" is a heavily onomatopoeic poem by Edgar Allan Poe which was not published until after his death in 1849. Onomatopoeia (also spelled onomatopœia, from Greek: ονοματοποιΐα is a Word or a grouping of words that imitates the sound it is describing Edgar Allan Poe (January 19 1809 – October 7 1849 was an American poet, short-story Writer, editor and Literary critic, See also Edgar Allan Poe The death of Edgar Allan Poe on October 7 1849 has remained mysterious the circumstances leading up to it are uncertain and the cause of death Year 1849 ( MDCCCXLIX) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common It is perhaps best known for the diacopic repetition of the word "bells. Diacope is a Rhetorical term meaning uninterrupted repetition of a word or repetition with only one or two words between each repeated phrase " The poem has four parts to it; each part becomes darker and darker as the poem progresses from "the jingling and the tinkling" of the bells in part 1 to the "moaning and the groaning" of the bells in part 4.

Analysis

This poem can be interpreted in many different ways, the most basic of which is simply a reflection of the sounds that bells can make, and the emotions evoked from that sound. A bell is a simple Sound -making device The bell is a Percussion instrument and an Idiophone. An emotion is a mental and physiological state associated with a wide variety of feelings thoughts and behaviours For example, "From the bells bells bells bells/Bells bells bells!" brings to mind the clamoring of myriad church bells. Several deeper interpretations exist as well. One is that the poem is a representation of life from the nimbleness of youth to the pain of age. Life is a state that distinguishes Organisms from non-living objects such as non-life and dead organisms being manifested by growth through Metabolism Youth is the period from infancy or childhood to maturity Usage Around the world the terms "youth" " Adolescent " "teenager" and Growing despair is emphasized alongside the growing frenzy in the tone of the poem. ^[1] Another is the passing of the seasons, from spring to winter. A season is one of the major divisions of the Year, generally based on yearly periodic changes in Weather. Spring is one of the four Temperate Seasons Spring marks the transition from Winter into Summer. Winter is one of the four Seasons of Temperate zones Calculated astronomically, it begins on the Solstice and ends on the Equinox The passing of the seasons is often used as a metaphor for life itself. Metaphor (from the Greek: μεταφορά - metaphora, meaning "transfer" is language that directly compares seemingly unrelated subjects The poem also suggests a Poe theme of mourning over a lost wife, courted in sledge, married and then killed in a fire as the husband looks on. The tolling of the iron bells reflects the final madness of the grief-stricken husband.

The sounds of the verses, specifically the repetitive "bells, bells, bells, bells, bells, bells, bells," lie on a narrow line between sense and nonsense, causing a feeling of instability. ^[2] Poe uses the word "tintinnabulation", which many critics believe is merely an onomatopoeic nonsense term. Poe biographer Hervey Allen suggests the word is based on an ancient bell-based instrument called "tintinabula". Hervey Allen ( December 8, 1889 — December 28, 1949) was an American Author. ^[3] The series of "bells" echo the imagined sounds of the various bells, from the silver bells following the klip-klop of the horses, to the "dong, ding-dong" of the swinging golden and iron bells, to screeching "whee-aaah" of the brazen bells. The series are always four, followed by three, always beginning and ending on a stressed syllable. The meter changes to iambic in the lines with repeated "bells," bringing the reader into their rhythm. Most of the poem is a more hurried anapestic (**/) meter. An anapaest or anapest, also called antidactylus, is a Metrical foot used in formal Poetry.

The bells of which he writes are thought to be those he heard from Fordham University's bell tower, since Poe resided in the same Bronx neighborhood as that university. Fordham University is a private University in the United States, with three campuses located in and around New York City. He also frequently strolled about Fordham's campus conversing with both the students and the Jesuits. The Society of Jesus ( Latin: Societas Iesu, SJ and SI or SJ, SI) is a Catholic religious order

Critical response

"The Bells" is often criticized for being mechanical and forced. ^[4]

Publication history

Title page for publication of "The Bells" circa 1881.

Poe is believed to have written "The Bells" in May of 1848 and submitted it three times to Sartrain's Union Magazine, a magazine run by John Sartain, until it was finally accepted. John Sartain ( 24 October, 1808 in London, England - 25 October 1897 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ^[5] He was paid fifteen dollars for his work, though it was not published until after his death in November 1849.

Inspiration for the poem is often granted to Marie Louise Shew, a woman who had helped care for Poe's wife Virginia as she lay dying. Virginia Eliza Clemm Poe (born Virginia Eliza Clemm) (August 22 1822 &ndash January 30 1847 was the wife of Edgar Allan Poe. ^[6] One day, as Shew was visiting Poe at his cottage in Fordham, New York, Poe needed to write a poem but had no inspiration. Shew allegedly heard ringing bells from afar and playfully suggested to start there, possibly even writing the first line of each stanza. ^[7]

Adaptations

Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873–1943) composed a choral symphony The Bells, his opus 35, based on a Russian adaptation of the poem by Konstantin Balmont. WikipediaWikiProject Composers#Lead section --> Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff (Сергей Васильевич Рахманинов A symphony is a Musical composition, often extended and usually for Orchestra. The Bells (Колокола Kolokola) Op 35 is a Choral symphony by Sergei Rachmaninoff, written in 1913 Konstantin Dmitriyevich Balmont (Константи́н Дми́триевич Ба́льмонт ( — December 23, 1942) was a Russian The symphony follows a classical sonata form: first movement, slow movement, scherzo, and finale, thus honoring the poem's four sections. Sonata form is a Musical form that has been used widely since the early Classical period. ^[8] Scottish composer Hugh S. Roberton (1874–1947) published "Hear the Tolling of the Bells" (1909), "The Sledge Bells" (1909), and "Hear the Sledges with the Bells" (1919) based on Poe's poem. ^[9]

Phil Ochs composed a tune to the poem for his album All the News That's Fit to Sing. Philip David Ochs ( December 19 1940 – April 9 1976) was a U All The News That's Fit to Sing was Phil Ochs ' first album Recorded in 1964 for Elektra Records, it was full of many elements that would come back

References

External links

• Scans from an 1881 edition with engraved illustrations by R. Riodan, Charles P. King, F.O.C. Darley, S. G. McCutcheon, A. Fredericks, and Granville Perkins
• The Bells with audio reading