16 pages • 32 minutes read
Edgar Allan PoeTo My Mother
Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1849A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Literary Devices
Form and Meter
The form of the poem is a Shakespearean sonnet, with a strict rhyme scheme of ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. The poem has two four-line stanzas, which are called quatrains, and then a final stanza that is six-lines long, called a sestet. The final two rhyming lines are called a couplet. Poe also uses slant rhymes, or words that employ similar sounds but do not exactly rhyme.
Shakespearean sonnets employ iambic pentameter, and the meter of this poem is loosely iambic pentameter. Pentameter means that each line has five pairs of syllables, for a total of 10 syllables. In each pair of syllables, the first beat is unstressed and the second beat is stressed, as demonstrated here: “Can find, | among | their burn- | ing terms | of love” (Line 3). Poe also uses irregular meter to avoid a sense of monotony or overt predictability in the poem’s rhythm; for example, this is one of the many lines in the poem that contains an extra syllable: “The ang- | els, whis- | pering | to one | anoth- | er” (Line 2). Poe breaks the metrical pattern to highlight key moments within the poem. This rhythm drives the motion of the poem forward and urges the reader to continue to the next line with anticipation.
Assonance and Consonance
Poe uses assonance (the repetition of vowel sounds) and consonance (the repetition of consonant sounds) to emphasize certain words and create a sense of musicality and lyricism in his language. Assonance and consonance differ from alliteration in that alliteration refers solely to the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words, whereas assonance and consonance refer to repetitions of sounds in any part of a word. For instance, Poe uses consonance with the repetition of the “n” and “m” sounds here: “Can find, among their burning terms” (Line 3). The repetition of these sounds emphasizes the imagery of a love that is intense and tenderhearted. Poe repeats the long “oo” sound, employing assonance in the beginning and end of this line: “You who are more than mother unto me” (Line 6). The “oo” sound lends a sense of awe and adoration, which reflects the overwhelming love and appreciation that Poe is expressing for his mother-in-law.
Repetition
Poe uses repetition to increase the dramatic intensity of the poem at moments of great emotional significance. These repetitions decrease the poem’s rhythm, calling the reader’s attention to moments that are meaningful for the devotional purpose of the poem. Repetition is especially evident in Lines 9-12, where the word “mother” is repeated five times. This repetition emphasizes the speaker’s desire to clarify his audience and meaning in using the term “mother.” In these lines, the speaker references his biological mother who died when he was young, but then states that he is not speaking of her but rather of the mother of his wife. The repetition of the term allows Poe to unfold the term “mother” to signify something spiritual that transcends blood or family relation. Poe unfolds the logic of his reasoning by arguing that his mother-in-law is more important to him than his biological mother because his wife’s life was more precious to him than his own life.
Related Titles
By Edgar Allan Poe
