29 pages • 58 minutes read
Edgar Allan PoeA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
The ruler’s diadem is the first hint in the poem’s early stanzas to his true identity: “The fever’d diadem on my brow” (Line 28). A diadem is an ornamental headband made of metal, cloth, or jewels to signify royalty, though more practical and less cumbersome than the iconic crowns of European monarchs. The word “fever’d” (sometimes written as “fevered”) in Line 28 has a double meaning: It refers to the speaker’s encroaching illness as he faces the end of his life, as well as the discord of his leadership and way of life. This suggests that though the speaker has won the right to wear the crown, the road to gain it has not been an easy one.
Later, the speaker alludes to his crown again by calling himself “A diadem’d outlaw” (Line 176). This is a backhanded self-congratulation, as the speaker acknowledges how far he has come, yet is unable to shake the shadow of his pastoral roots. The word “crown” is also used in the poem, though in a slightly different context. The first is a description of a pastoral landscape: “We walk’d together on the crown / Of a high mountain” (Lines 139-49). Here it is used to mean “head” more than “ornament,” although the description given in this context displays the speaker’s view of the world and his aspirations.
By Edgar Allan Poe
A Dream Within a Dream
A Dream Within a Dream
Edgar Allan Poe
Annabel Lee
Annabel Lee
Edgar Allan Poe
Berenice
Berenice
Edgar Allan Poe
Hop-Frog
Hop-Frog
Edgar Allan Poe
Ligeia
Ligeia
Edgar Allan Poe
The Black Cat
The Black Cat
Edgar Allan Poe
The Cask of Amontillado
The Cask of Amontillado
Edgar Allan Poe
The Conqueror Worm
The Conqueror Worm
Edgar Allan Poe
The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar
The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar
Edgar Allan Poe
The Fall of the House of Usher
The Fall of the House of Usher
Edgar Allan Poe
The Gold Bug
The Gold Bug
Edgar Allan Poe
The Haunted Palace
The Haunted Palace
Edgar Allan Poe
The Imp of the Perverse
The Imp of the Perverse
Edgar Allan Poe
The Lake
The Lake
Edgar Allan Poe
The Man of the Crowd
The Man of the Crowd
Edgar Allan Poe
The Masque of the Red Death
The Masque of the Red Death
Edgar Allan Poe
The Murders in the Rue Morgue
The Murders in the Rue Morgue
Edgar Allan Poe
The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket
The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket
Edgar Allan Poe
The Oval Portrait
The Oval Portrait
Edgar Allan Poe
The Philosophy of Composition
The Philosophy of Composition
Edgar Allan Poe
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection