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Ulalume (Masterplots II: Poetry, Revised Edition)

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The Poem

“Ulalume” is a dreamlike ballad of 104 lines. It presents a psychologically divided poet in conflict with his soul over a temptation to escape the memory of his dead lover, Ulalume, by pursuing new love and new hope under the influence of Astarte, the moon goddess. The soul, however, forcibly calling the poet’s attention to lost Ulalume, reunites with the poet in rejecting the temptation to abandon sorrow by remaining faithful to the melancholy memory of the dead beauty.

“Ulalume” first appeared in the American Review in 1847, two years after...

[The entire page is 1713 words long]

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