The End of the Rainbow
The End of the Rainbow
“Eldorado,” is a poem by Edgar Allen Poe in which an intrepid knight embarks on a journey to find Eldorado, the mythical city of gold. The poem begins in a seemingly upbeat manner, describing the initial progress of the daring knight, and introducing the idea of an outwardly insignificant shadow following said knight on his quest. As time passes, the knight grows old and he becomes increasingly frustrated by his failure to find the legendary city. Eventually, his vitality is spent and as he is slowly dying, he meets the shadow, now in human form, and implores it to impart to him the location of Eldorado. In the final stanza of the poem, the shadow only tells him that his long search has been in vain because it is not possible to reach a place that does not exist. Throughout the poem, the meaning of shadow becomes more ominous along with the mood, while throughout, the author’s tone mocks the knight. In the poem, “Eldorado”, Poe ridicules the knight and the futility of his journey as the originally bright and cheerful mood becomes steadily darker and the knight comes to doubt his success until the realization that his query is impossible to reach.
Despite the sanguine mood and imagery present at the beginning of the knight’s voyage, Poe mocks the naiveté of the confident knight. Even in his physical description of the knight, the author shows contempt for the knight. By describing him as, “Gaily bedight” (1), Poe shows that he believes the knight to be unprepared for his journey. This description suggests that the knight is dressed more to be aesthetically pleasing than practical for a long journey, resulting in disbelief that the knight is as capable as he seems to think. He later casts further doubts as to the knights ability when he states that the knight, “Had journeyed long,/Singing a song” (4-5). The image provoked by these lines is now more along the lines of an incompetent knight who despite having traveled for some time is still
“Eldorado,” is a poem by Edgar Allen Poe in which an intrepid knight embarks on a journey to find Eldorado, the mythical city of gold. The poem begins in a seemingly upbeat manner, describing the initial progress of the daring knight, and introducing the idea of an outwardly insignificant shadow following said knight on his quest. As time passes, the knight grows old and he becomes increasingly frustrated by his failure to find the legendary city. Eventually, his vitality is spent and as he is slowly dying, he meets the shadow, now in human form, and implores it to impart to him the location of Eldorado. In the final stanza of the poem, the shadow only tells him that his long search has been in vain because it is not possible to reach a place that does not exist. Throughout the poem, the meaning of shadow becomes more ominous along with the mood, while throughout, the author’s tone mocks the knight. In the poem, “Eldorado”, Poe ridicules the knight and the futility of his journey as the originally bright and cheerful mood becomes steadily darker and the knight comes to doubt his success until the realization that his query is impossible to reach.
Despite the sanguine mood and imagery present at the beginning of the knight’s voyage, Poe mocks the naiveté of the confident knight. Even in his physical description of the knight, the author shows contempt for the knight. By describing him as, “Gaily bedight” (1), Poe shows that he believes the knight to be unprepared for his journey. This description suggests that the knight is dressed more to be aesthetically pleasing than practical for a long journey, resulting in disbelief that the knight is as capable as he seems to think. He later casts further doubts as to the knights ability when he states that the knight, “Had journeyed long,/Singing a song” (4-5). The image provoked by these lines is now more along the lines of an incompetent knight who despite having traveled for some time is still