Term Paper on "Bells' by Edgar Allen Poe"

Term Paper 2 pages (653 words) Sources: 0

[EXCERPT] . . . .

For example the word tintinnabulation automatically makes one thing about jubilation and merriment.

The poem also gives different meanings to the chiming of bells according to the stage in which they appear. In the first stage, which is the happiest period of man's life, certain degree of innocence and spontaneity is connected with ringing of bells. What a world of merriment their melody foretells! In the second stage, bells indicate a rather rapturous time because of love that man has just found. What a world of happiness their harmony foretells! In the third stage, which is that of maturity, fear is evident from the sounds of bells (What a tale of terror, now, their turbulency tells!) while in the last stage, chiming highlights coldness of death (What a world of solemn thought their monody compels!)

The four stages have been carefully discussed and many believe that they have a lot to do with Poe's own life. Thus we can safely assume that Poe did not exactly live a very happy contented life. Instead of thinking about the positive side of maturity and wedding, he is focusing on the grimness of the situation. We must give Poe credit for using sound of bells effectively to highlight various states of mind. Bells have been used not only to accentuate emotions; their chiming also mocks man for harboring hopes for his future. In other words, bells do not always indicate the truth; their sound may often deceive people as it did in the early two stages. It is very important to see that the poet has not used the word foretell in the last two stanzas. This indicates that bells predicted something false in the first two stages while they only presented the reality in the last two.
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