Eldorado

Gaily bedight,
A gallant knight,
In sunshine and in shadow,
Had journeyed long,
Singing a song,
In search of Eldorado.

But he grew old--
This knight so bold--
And o'er his heart a shadow
Fell as he found
No spot of ground
That looked like Eldorado.

And, as his strength
Failed him at length,
He met a pilgrim shadow-
"Shadow," said he,
"Where can it be--
This land of Eldorado?"

"Over the Mountains
Of the Moon,
Down the Valley of the Shadow,
Ride, boldly ride,"
The shade replied--
"If you seek for Eldorado!"

By Edgar Allen Poe

   Edgar Allen Poe is known for all of his dark work and when I read this poem I was somewhat surprised that unlike his other poems, he wasn't outright with his somber details. In Eldorado he "covered" the dark details with an adventure where a man seeks fame and fortune in a mythical place. The poem becomes even lighter in the sense that it can be seen as a cheery song. Poe usually has some sort of rhyming pattern in his poems and I enjoy that however what made this poem more appealing then the others was that it told a tale that anyone could relate to. Eldorado brings out the adventurous and mythical side in all of us. I enjoyed this poem because although Gaily Bedight meets his fate in the end, the poem is still upbeat and happy.