Dec 18, 2009

The City in the Sea | Summary

Although an earlier version of "The City in the Sea" appeared under the title "The Doomed City" in 1831 (and is, therefore, one of Poe's earlier verses), it was worked into its final form for publications in an 1845 edition of the American Review. It is composed of four stanza, each having a different rhyme scheme. There is no narrative persona per se, but the poem is related by a coherent observing intelligence who directs the reader's attention to the sights that he places before him.

The poem begins with the statement that Death (with a capital D) established a...