To Helen

“To Helen (earlier version)” by Edgar Allan Poe (1831)

This is the first publication of “To Helen.” Poe changed Lines 9 and 13 considerably between this version and the last version published in his lifetime. Originally, Poe wrote “To the beauty of fair Greece,” but changed it to “To the glory that was Greece” (Line 9). This adds the idea of glory to the poem instead of reiterating beauty. Poe also changed “The folded scroll” to “The agate lamp” (Line 13). Helen, instead of holding a scroll, is holding a lamp. This aligns her more with the mythological figure of Psyche and emphasizes her brightness as well as the overall imagery of light in the third stanza.

“To Helen (Sarah Helen Whitman)” by Edgar Allan Poe (1850)

This poem was written about a different woman Poe knew much later in life. It is good context to know he wrote two poems with the same title. This later and longer poem seems to be less frequently republished/anthologized than the earlier and shorter “To Helen” from 1831. Both poems are about beauty, a favorite poetic theme of Poe’s.

“Wild nights — Wild nights!’” by Emily Dickinson