Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December;_x000D_ _x000D_ And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor._x000D_ _x000D_ Eagerly, I wished the morrow; - vainly I had sought to borrow_x000D_ _x000D_ From my books surcease of sorrow - sorrow for the lost Leonore -_x000D_ _x000D_ For the rare and radiant maiden who the angels name Lenore -_x000D_ _x000D_ Nameless here for evermore.
Interpretation
The quote reflects deep sorrow and longing for a lost loved one, illustrating how memories can haunt us.
In this poignant passage from Edgar Allan Poe, the speaker recalls a moment of intense grief and nostalgia during a cold December night, capturing the essence of mourning for a lost love, Lenore. The imagery of dying embers symbolizes the fading warmth of life and happiness, while the mention of seeking solace in books highlights the futility of escaping inner sorrow. Ultimately, the sorrow for Lenore, named only in memory, underscores the enduring pain of loss and the haunting nature of unresolved feelings.
In practice
This quote could be used in a eulogy to express the pain of losing a loved one.
But evil things, in robes of sorrow, Assailed the monarch's high estate; (Ah, let us mourn, for never morrow Shall dawn upon him desolate!) And round about his home the glory That blushed and bloomed, Is but a dim-remembered story Of the old time entombed.
Most writers - poets in especial - prefer having it understood that they compose by a species of fine frenzy - an ecstatic intuition - and would positively shudder at letting the public take a peep behind the scenes.
...the agony of my soul found vent in one loud, long and final scream of despair.
Where the good and the bad and the worst and the best have gone to their eternal rest.
I could have clasped the red walls to my bosom as a garment of eternal peace. "Death," I said, "any death but that of the pit!" Fool! might I have not known that into the pit it was the object of the burning iron to urge me?
In our endeavors to recall to memory something long forgotten, we often find ourselves upon the very verge of remembrance, without being able, in the end, to remember.
Life once conceived, must be protected with the utmost care; abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes.
I loved running, but all of a sudden everything hurt so much. I started cycling when Zelda was born.
You wake up one morning, those years are gone. There's a comfort in this fact perhaps. I want to think that there must be comfort in all facts we can't alter.
I think the hardest thing in life is to forgive. Hate is self destructive. If you hate somebody, you're not hurting the person you hate, you're hurting yourself. It's a healing, actually, it's a real healing...forgiveness.
I have sat with countless patients and families to discuss grim prognoses: It's one of the most important jobs physicians have. It's easier when the patient is 94, in the last stages of dementia, and has a severe brain bleed. For young people like me - I am 36 - given a diagnosis of cancer, there aren't many words.
It is only when a woman is economically empowered that she can negotiate at household level with her husband about the number of children that body of hers can have.
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