Edgar Allan Poe was always one of my favorite poets, so i naturally wanted to make a favorites post about him, after Charles Bukowski. After this i’ll stop making this kind of posts about Americans and start choosing writers from all around the world, i promise haha
(I actually wanted one Serbian writer instead of Poe for today but i couldn’t find
any of his quotes in English which means i’ll have to translate them myself, which will take a lot of time)
Anyway, enjoy!

“I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity”.

“And all I loved, I loved alone”.

“Never to suffer would never to have been blessed.”

“ It was many and many a year ago,
         In a kingdom by the sea,
   That a maiden there lived whom you may know
         By the name of Annabell Lee;
   And this maiden she lived with no other thought
         Than to love and be loved by me.

   I was a child and she was a child,
         In this kingdom by the sea;
   But we loved with a love that was more than love-
         I and my Annabel Lee;
   With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven
         Coveted her and me.

   And this was the reason that, long ago,
         In this kingdom by the sea,
   A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling
         My beautiful Annabel Lee;
   So that her highborn kinsman came
         And bore her away from me,
   To shut her up in a sepulchre
         In this kingdom by the sea.

   The angels, not half so happy in heaven,
         Went envying her and me-
   Yes! - that was the reason (as all men know,
         In this kingdom by the sea)
   That the wind came out of the cloud by night,
         Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.

   But our love it was stronger by far than the love
         Of those who were older than we-
         Of many far wiser than we-
   And neither the angels in heaven above,
         Nor the demons down under the sea,
   Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
         Of the beautiful Annabel Lee.

   For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams
         Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
   And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes
         Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
   And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
   Of my darling- my darling- my life and my bride,
         In the sepulchre there by the sea,
         In her tomb by the sounding sea.”

“There is no beauty without some strangeness”.

“ I have no faith in human perfectability. I think that human exertion will have no appreciable effect upon humanity. Man is now only more active - not more happy - nor more wise, than he was 6000 years ago”.

“Invisible things are the only realities.”  
                   
“‘Twas noontide of summer,
And mid-time of night;
And stars, in their orbits,
Shone pale, thro’ the light
Of the brighter, cold moon,
‘Mid planets her slaves,
Herself in the Heavens,
Her beam on the waves.
 I gazed awhile
On her cold smile;
Too cold- too cold for me-
There pass’d, as a shroud,
A fleecy cloud,
 And I turned away to thee,
Proud Evening Star,
In thy glory afar,
And dearer thy beam shall be;
For joy to my heart
Is the proud part
Thou bearest in Heaven at night,
And more I admire
Thy distant fire,
Than that colder, lowly light.”

“All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream.”

“We loved with a love that was more than love.”  

“Words have no power to impress the mind without the exquisite horror of their reality.”

And for the end.. Raven, of course.

“Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
 Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
   While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
  As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
 ’'Tis some visitor,’ I muttered, 'tapping at my chamber door-
               Only this, and nothing more.’

   Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December,
 And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
   Eagerly I wished the morrow;- vainly I had sought to borrow
   From my books surcease of sorrow- sorrow for the lost Lenore-
 For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore-
               Nameless here for evermore.

   And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain
 Thrilled me- filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;
   So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating,
   ’'Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door-
 Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door;-
               This it is, and nothing more.’

   Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,
 'Sir,’ said I, 'or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;
   But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping,
   And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door,
 That I scarce was sure I heard you’- here I opened wide the door;-
               Darkness there, and nothing more.

   Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering,
       fearing,
 Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortals ever dared to dream before;
   But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token,
   And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, 'Lenore!’
 This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, 'Lenore!’-
               Merely this, and nothing more.

   Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning,
  Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before.
   'Surely,’ said I, 'surely that is something at my window lattice:
   Let me see, then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore-
 Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore;-
               'Tis the wind and nothing more.’

   Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and
       flutter,
 In there stepped a stately raven of the saintly days of yore;
   Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed
       he;
   But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door-
 Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door-
               Perched, and sat, and nothing more.

  Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,
 By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore.
  'Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou,’ I said, 'art sure no
       craven,
  Ghastly grim and ancient raven wandering from the Nightly shore-
 Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night’s Plutonian shore!’
               Quoth the Raven, 'Nevermore.’

   Much I marvelled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly,
 Though its answer little meaning- little relevancy bore;
   For we cannot help agreeing that no living human being
   Ever yet was blest with seeing bird above his chamber door-
 Bird or beast upon the sculptured bust above his chamber door,
               With such name as 'Nevermore.’

   But the raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only
 That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.
   Nothing further then he uttered- not a feather then he fluttered-
   Till I scarcely more than muttered, 'other friends have flown
       before-
 On the morrow he will leave me, as my hopes have flown before.’
               Then the bird said, 'Nevermore.’

    Startled at the stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken,
 'Doubtless,’ said I, 'what it utters is its only stock and store,
    Caught from some unhappy master whom unmerciful Disaster
    Followed fast and followed faster till his songs one burden bore-
 Till the dirges of his Hope that melancholy burden bore
               Of 'Never- nevermore’.’

   But the Raven still beguiling all my fancy into smiling,
 Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird, and bust and
       door;
   Then upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking
   Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore-
 What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt and ominous bird of yore
               Meant in croaking 'Nevermore.’

   This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing
 To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosom’s core;
   This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining
   On the cushion’s velvet lining that the lamplight gloated o'er,
 But whose velvet violet lining with the lamplight gloating o'er,
               She shall press, ah, nevermore!

   Then methought the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer
 Swung by Seraphim whose footfalls tinkled on the tufted floor.
   'Wretch,’ I cried, 'thy God hath lent thee- by these angels he
       hath sent thee
   Respite- respite and nepenthe, from thy memories of Lenore!
 Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore!’
               Quoth the Raven, 'Nevermore.’

   'Prophet!’ said I, 'thing of evil!- prophet still, if bird or
       devil!-
 Whether Tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,
   Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted-
   On this home by horror haunted- tell me truly, I implore-
 Is there- is there balm in Gilead?- tell me- tell me, I implore!’
               Quoth the Raven, 'Nevermore.’

   'Prophet!’ said I, 'thing of evil- prophet still, if bird or
       devil!
 By that Heaven that bends above us- by that God we both adore-
   Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn,
   It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore-
 Clasp a rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore.’
               Quoth the Raven, 'Nevermore.’

   'Be that word our sign in parting, bird or fiend,’ I shrieked,
       upstarting-
 'Get thee back into the tempest and the Night’s Plutonian shore!
   Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!
   Leave my loneliness unbroken!- quit the bust above my door!
 Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my
       door!’
              Quoth the Raven, 'Nevermore.’

   And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
 On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
   And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon’s that is dreaming,
   And the lamplight o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the
       floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
               Shall be lifted- nevermore!”


For more of my favorite quotes: click here and here
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