Spirits of the Dead, Edgar Allan Poe: Summary, Analysis & Themes
"Spirits of the Dead" was first published as "Visits of the Dead" in Edgar Allan Poe's 1827 collection Tamerlane and Other Poems . The title was changed in the 1829 collection Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane, and Minor Poems . The poem features a dialogue between a deceased speaker and a visitor at his grave. The spirit reveals that those known in life continue to surround a person in death, and their influence persists. The poem explores themes of solitude and the presence of the dead.
"Spirits of the Dead" Poem Text by Edgar Allan Poe
Thy soul shall find itself alone
‘Mid dark thoughts of the grey tomb-stone;
Not one, of all the crowd, to pry
Into thine hour of secrecy.
Be silent in that solitude,
Which is not loneliness—for then
The spirits of the dead, who stood
In life before thee, are again
In death around thee, and their will
Shall overshadow thee; be still.
The night, though clear, shall frown,
And the stars shall not look down
From their high thrones in…