Sonnet—To Science, Edgar Allan Poe: Summary, Analysis & Themes

"Sonnet—To Science" , also known simply as "To Science" , is a traditional 14-line English sonnet that laments the influence of science on the imaginative and spiritual realms. In this poem, Edgar Allan Poe expresses concern over how the rise of modern science, with its focus on facts and reason, has stripped away the mystery and beauty from the world—elements that poets and dreamers cherish. Science, in Poe's view, leaves little room for the mythological and spiritual interpretations that once filled the world with wonder. "Sonnet—To Science" Poem Text by Edgar Allan Poe Science! true daughter of Old Time thou art! Who alterest all things with thy peering eyes. Why preyest thou thus upon the poet’s heart, Vulture, whose wings are dull realities? How should he love thee? or how deem thee wise, Who wouldst not leave him in his wandering To seek for treasure in the jewelled skies, Albeit he soared with an undaunted wing? Hast thou not dragged Diana from he…