I had a book with a few of Poe's poems and it has a Different version of "Romance" than the one I've read elsewhere on the web and in other books. Namely it has extra lines after "trembled with a string" it goes: alas my soul has to much room gone are the glories of the gloom the black hath mellowed into grey and all my fires have faded away my drought of passion hath been deep I reveled and now I would sleep and after drunkeness of soul succeeds the glories of the bowl an idle longing night and day to dream my very life away

But those who dream I mean as I aspiringly are damned and die by notes so very shrilly blown to break upon Time's Monotone ............................. ............................. There's more but thats all I can remember...can anyone could clue me in on why this isn't included in "Romance". One other thing the title was different.."To Romance"

-- Anonymous, July 29, 2000

Answers

"Romance" was first published as the "Preface" to "Tamerlane and Other Poems" (1829) and, in considerably expanded form, as "Introduction" to "Poems: Second Edition" (1831). In 1845, when the poem appeared in the "Broadway Journal", Poe returned to the shorter text of 1829, with some slight revisions. Some of Poe's additions to the poem may have seemed to him too personal, but are of interest to the reader for precisely this reason. The additions of 1831 incorporated a number of striking phrases, but the total impact of the poem is more direct in the simplified early version. In 1831 the first stanza concluded:

Succeeding years, too wild for song, Then roll'd like tropic storms along, Where, thro' the garish lights that fly, Dying along the troubled sky Lay bare, thro' vistas thunder-riven, The blackness of the general Heaven, That very blackness yet doth fling Light on the lightning's silver sing [? wing].

Following this was an entirely new stanza:

For, being an idle boy lang syne, Who read Anacreon, and drank wine, I early found Anacreon rhymes Were almost passionate sometimes - And by a strange alchemy of brain His pleasure always turn'd to pain - His naivete to wild desire - His wit to love - his wine to fire - And so, being young and dipt in folly I fell in love with melancholy, And used to throw my earthly rest And quiet all away in jest - I could not loveexcept where Death Was mingling his with Beauty's breath - Or Hymen, Time, and Destiny Were stalking between her and me.

Poe added the following lines to the conclusion of the poem:

But now my soul hath too much room - Gone are the glory and the gloom - The Black hath mellowed into gray, And all the fires are fading away.

My draught of passion hath been deep - I revell'd, and I now would sleep - And after-drunkenness of soul Succeeds the glories of the bowl - An idle longing night and day To dream my very life away.

But dreams - of those who dream as I, Aspiringly, are damned and die: Yet should I swear I mean alone, By notes so very shrilly blown, To break upon Time's monotone, While yet my vapid joy and grief Are tintless of the yellow leaf - Why not an imp the graybeard hath Will shake his shadow in my path - And even the graybeard will o'erlook Connivingly my dreaming-book.

-- Anonymous, July 30, 2000