Israfel (Masterplots II: Poetry, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Edgar Allan Poe
- First Published: 1831
- Type of Work: Lyric
- Genres: Poetry, Lyric poetry
- Subjects: Music or musicians, Art or artists, Poetry or poets, Singing or singers, Muslims, Earth, Heaven, Angels, Koran, Heart
The Poem
“Israfel” is a lyrical poem of eight uneven stanzas, each stanza ranging from five to eight lines in length. The title is the name of an angel mentioned in the Koran, the sacred book of the Muslims. Edgar Allan Poe appended a note to this poem to make sure that his readers understood Israfel’s significance; the note read: “And the angel Israfel, whose heartstrings are a lute, and who has the sweetest voice of all God’s creatures—Koran.” Israfel’s importance as a singer or artist is central to the poem, and Poe’s consideration here of...
[The entire page is 1638 words long]
