Eldorado 
Edgar Allen Poe 

Gaily bedight,

A gallant knight,

In sunshine and in shadow,

Had journeyed long,

Singing a song,

In search of Eldorado.

But he grew old-

This knight so bold-

And o'er his heart a shadow

Fell as he found

No spot of ground

That looked like Eldorado.

And, as his strength

Failed him at length,

He met a pilgrim shadow-

"Shadow," said he,

"Where can it be-

This land of Eldorado?"

"Over the Mountains

Of the Moon,

Down the Valley of the Shadow,

Ride, boldly ride,"

The shade replied-

"If you seek for Eldorado!"

Edgar Allen Poe may not be the ideal choice when searching for cheerful sunshine-filled poetry, but he certainly isn’t considered one of the greatest poets of all time for no reason. I was specifically attracted to this poem because of the endless number of interpretations that could be made – and of course, the way it sounds to the ears. Another one of my all-time favorites, “Eldorado” is yet another poem that allows me to think beyond the average piece of literature.

There are definitely many aspects to consider when attempting to interpret and analyze this poem, but personally, the principle question lies in Eldorado itself. What is Eldorado? What does it represent?

Structurally and rhythmically, there was one particular aspect that supported the idea that Eldorado may constitute a fantasy. Edgar Allen Poe wrote this poem in a way that emphasizes the similarity between the sound of the words “shadow” and “Eldorado”.  On a subjective note, this indicated to me that both of these signify a similar meaning. Perhaps this denoted that Eldorado was comparable to a shadow – both were not real objects of the world. Curiosity soon consumed me, and I investigated further upon the matter.

Eldorado, literally, means “the gilded place”, connoting a place of great riches and opportunity. This is quite significant, simply because it enforces my belief that Eldorado wasn’t a real place at all – it was misconceived by many to be a specific place of riches. As evident through history, men are weak and greedy when faced with the prospect of material wealth. This knight, although bold and strong, was like many others of his time; he was so distracted by the prospects of riches that he lost sight of the realities that truly made Eldorado what it was.

Eldorado represented something far more precious that valuable jewels. Eldorado was the knight’s journey itself. Through his journey, the knight was exposed to the beauties and experiences of the vast world. He saw the great miracles that no man could accomplish – yet he was truly blinded the entire time through the all overarching need to find the riches of Eldorado. When the knight asks the “pilgrim shadow” where the land of Eldorado is, the shadow only replies to him telling him he must go on further. This shadow was a manifestation of the consequence of his death, appearing immediately after “his strength failed him at length”. This furthers the impression that Eldorado was never an actual place, and the knight wasted his entire life searching for something that was never there – and missing out on all the opportunity of exploration and beauty that accompanied him throughout his journey. He was only rightly enlightened when it was too late.

This emphasizes an idea that people are guilty of even today. It is a part mankind’s innate nature to search for something they wildly desire; they search so feverishly that they lose sight of reality and forget to live their own lives.

This was simply a personal interpretation of the poem, and I 

have definitely thought of numerous more every time I read this work. Feel free to comment and expand on your own thoughts!