Edgar Allan Poe The Bells Essay

“The Bells”, written by Edgar Allan Poe, shows the overall theme the life stages of a person, and it also shows the moods of happiness and despair. However, each of the four sections of the poem has their own theme. The first section of the poem has the theme childhood is a happy time, as shown by the poem saying, “Silver bells-- What a world of merriment their melody foretells (2-3)!” This is relevant because these silver bells represent childhood. Throughout the poem, different bells are used to symbolize a different part of life, and this first section shows childhood. By saying that his childhood time foretells happiness, he is implying that children think that all of adulthood will be just like this happiness during childhood. The second …show more content…
This means that the poem means that young adulthood gives us the idea that the future will be good. We get that hope that these bells signal a brighter future that is full of happiness. The third section of the poem has the theme a person’s middle age brings new terror and danger, as shown when the poem says, “Oh, the bells, bells, bells! What a tale their terror tells of despair (52-54)!” This shows that the bells in this section, which symbolize middle adulthood, bring terror and despair to those who hear. This part of your life is when you realize that you are getting closer to the end of your life, and this is a scary thing to know. The final section of the poem shows the theme death causes fright in people, as shown when the poem says, “How we shiver with affright at the melancholy menace of their tone (75-76)!” This part of the poem shows that these bells cause fright within the people who hear them. Hearing and knowing that death is coming closer is very scary and causes fear within people. While it does have four separate themes, the poem also has an overarching theme to describe all of it, which is the life stages of a