The Haunted Palace

Using carefully crafted tone, figurative language, setting, and theme, Poe weaves a story of the destruction of a beautiful palace and its transformation into a haunted one, all the while presenting an allegory for damage wrought by mental and physical illness.

In the first stanza, Poe evokes a happy, peaceful tone, describing the setting as the “greenest of our valleys” (Line 1). The setting and imagery conjure a mood of serenity and joy. When Poe begins describing who lives in the palace, he uses figurative language and imagery to suggest that the palace is a symbol of something more complex. In Line 4, the palace is personified when the speaker says it “reared its head.” This image connects the palace with the human head. In Line 5, the king of the palace is named “Thought.” These two lines imply that the palace is meant to symbolize a human head: Just as a king controls his kingdom, the mind is responsible for all of the actions a person takes because it is through thought that people have reason and make decisions.

In Stanza 2, the tone becomes increasingly pleasant through Poe’s use of imagery. Poe’s imagery captures the glory of the palace’s former state, describing the fragrant smells the palace emits from the “gentle air” that “dallies” and sends a “winged odor” into the surroundings (Lines 13-16). The palace’s beautiful golden banners flow in the air like hair flows from a person’s head. The outside of the palace is compared to the wings of an angel, described as “plumed” and “pallid” (Line 15). This emphasizes the otherworldly beauty of the palace, highlighting the loveliness of a person in their joyful and pleasant state. The olfactory, or smell-related, language compares the scents that the palace sends into the air to heavenly fragrance.

In Stanza 3, the speaker centers on how the palace’s outside facade impresses passers-by with its radiance. The symbolism of the palace as a person’s head is emphasized in the image of two lighted windows, comparable to human eyes; the beautiful music playing inside the palace is comparable to orderly, logical, and beautiful thoughts. Poe refers back to the idea of the monarch Thought that was introduced in Line 5 through his use of inventive vocabulary. “Porphyrogene!” (Line 22) derives from “porphyrogenite,” which means “born in the purple,” as the color purple has long been associated with royalty. The palace’s king, Thought, still sits upon his throne, and looks regal surrounded by the spirits dancing about him. At this point, the person’s thoughts are still reasoned, and the mind is still in control; thus, the person’s appearance is still bright and happy.

The fourth stanza provides additional imagery emphasizing the connection between the palace and the human mind. Poe uses imagery of ruby and pearl doors, which suggests healthy, rosy lips and white teeth. This imagery suggests vitality and beauty, heightening the contrast when the palace’s current condition is revealed as far less appealing. It is through the mouth that the human voice speaks, and the singing spirits traveling through the door are meant to symbolize the voice. Because the spirits are expressing their king’s “wit and wisdom” (Line 32), they sound beautiful.

The speaker builds suspense by waiting to reveal what happened to the palace until the last two stanzas. Here, the speaker contrasts the former beauty of the palace with its present state, revealing the Decay of Beauty theme. The speaker uses imagery of “the glory / that blushed and bloomed” (Lines 37-38) to suggest the beauty of flowers and nature at its most vibrant. The change in the appearance of a person who has endured hardships is shown through the imagery of “time entombed” (Line 40), suggesting death and burial. By juxtaposing these two images, the speaker depicts how people’s appearance changes as they experience sorrow, tragedy, and misfortune throughout their lives.

In the final stanza, the speaker returns to the wanderers, who are now called “travellers” (Line 41). They see a very different image when they peer at the palace in the valley. The imagery enacts a shift in tone from happiness to sorrow and finally to fear at the horrific vision of what the palace has become: The robed beings have created destruction at every level, both inside and out. The allegory of the “loss of sanity” is shown through the imagery of the palace is its chaotic condition. The person who was once happy and healthy now appears with reddened eyes, possibly alluding to exhaustion, anger, or other negative emotions. Formerly reasonable thoughts have now become illogical and disordered, which the reader sees through an incessant laughter escaping the palace. The altered appearance of the palace symbolizes the way that outward appearance reflects the inner state of a person: When one has become severely troubled, their outward appearance diminishes, showing their tormented inner soul. The most haunting image in the poem is in the final line, which expresses the mental health experience as laughter completely divorced from reality and sans the genuine expression of a smile.