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Edgar Allan PoeThe Haunted Palace
Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1839A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
The Palace as a Human Soul
The poem is a narrative allegory for human suffering and the way suffering destroys well-being, and both inwardly and outwardly causes destruction for a person. An allegory is a piece of writing that expresses a deeper meaning beneath its surface by using symbolism. Through symbolism, Poe effectively shows how a person’s pain manifests through a lack of order and a loss of being grounded in reality. By using the palace as a symbol for a human, Poe narrates a story of developing mental illness and experiencing various aspects of illness after tragic events befall them.
The poem contrasts the previous state of peace when the mind was in control, and describes how the loss of reason produces decay and disruption to the functioning of the person’s body and mind. The title, “The Haunted Palace,” foreshadows the ending of the poem and the transformation from joy and peace to fear and confusion. The concept of “psychological disruption” is captured in the symbolism of hysterical laughter without smiles: A person who no longer feels happiness as their mind has become haunted, controlled by dark thoughts. Poe’s symbolism of mental illness is achieved through the image of “maniacal” but soulless laughter, creating an atmosphere of dread and fear.
The Heavenly and the Fantastical
Poe uses angels and demonic spirits to imply that the palace is not a real place, but rather an invention of his imagination. The use of mystical and magical references creates an otherworldly atmosphere throughout the poem; however, this otherworldly feeling shifts from an ethereal, heavenly mood to a demonic and hellish one. The angelic spirits and evil spirits are symbols of varying state of the human mind and the influence of life experiences on a person’s inner psyche.
In the first stanza, the initial state of peace is reflected in the references to angels in Lines 2 and Lines 7-8. Angelic imagery shows that this palace is a heavenly paradise for whomever resides there: This represents stability and well-being in the human mind. The disorder that ensues is caused by the attack on thought by malevolent spirits that represent sorrow.
In the final stanza, the beautiful Echoes that sang songs ringing with loveliness have transformed into demonic beings. Poe uses diction such as “ghastly” (Line 45) and “hideous throng” (Line 47) to symbolize the person’s fall from a state of happiness and peace to a state of being haunted by terrifying thoughts.
Music
Poe uses music to emphasize the changing state of the palace. Because music is so closely associated with emotion as well as the laws of melody and harmony, it is the ideal symbol for the shifting psychological state of a person from happiness into sadness and psychosis. When the palace was glorious, the music that the lute plays is described as “well-tuned” (Line 20), emphasizing a sense of harmony. Everything is still in order inside the palace. Poe alludes to Echo in Line 29—a Greek mythological nymph who was cursed after she fell in love with Narcissus, a beautiful being who fell in love with his own reflection in a pool of water. Echo’s curse was that she could only echo what other people said and never express her own thoughts. Poe uses this allusion to emphasize that the beautiful singing from the “troop of Echoes” (Line 29) is not from the spirits themselves, but a reflection of king Thought’s cleverness and reason. However, once the palace has become infested with evil and sad thoughts, the music that was once in harmony is now out of harmony. The travelers walking through the valley no longer feel at peace when they hear the music coming from the palace. The symbolism of the “discordant melody” (Line 44) highlights the theme of the transformation of the palace into complete disarray, as the music no longer conforms to the laws of harmony and melody.
Related Titles
By Edgar Allan Poe
