Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Poe Fridays: Bridal Ballad


A couple of weeks ago, Kristen over at We Be Reading, posted the weekly Poe Fridays meme, with the chosen selection being Bridal Ballad. Because this one is so short, I decided to just duplicate it here this time around.

Bridal Ballad

The ring is on my hand,
And the wreath is on my brow;
Satins and jewels grand
Are all at my command,
And I am happy now.

And my lord he loves me well;
But, when first he breathed his vow,
I felt my bosom swell--
For the words rang as a knell,
And the voice seemed his who fell
In the battle down the dell,
And who is happy now.

But he spoke to reassure me,
And he kissed my pallid brow,
While a reverie came o'er me,
And to the churchyard bore me,
And I sighed to him before me,
Thinking him dead D'Elormie,
"Oh, I am happy now!"

And thus the words were spoken,
And thus the plighted vow,
And, though my faith be broken,
And, though my heart be broken,
Behold the golden token
That proves me happy now!

Would God I could awaken!
For I dream I know not how,
And my soul is sorely shaken
Lest an evil step be taken,--
Lest the dead who is forsaken
May not be happy now.

The poem, written from a women's perspective, seemed to me to have a bit of a story behind it. I almost felt that the narrator was trying to prove to the reader her happiness, almost as if she was asking permission to experience this emotion. According to Kristen's research, the "woman . . . has married after her first lover died in battle. She feels she has betrayed him and is worried that her infidelity to their eternal love will make his soul unhappy. Yet she wants to be happy with her husband because he is kind and wealthy." Now the poem makes more sense! I guess my feeling was correct in some way!
Next Week: Mesmeric Revelation

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