I was wondering if anyone knew why Poe chose to capitalize "Thought's" and "Echoes" in his poem "The Haunted Palace." Does the capitalization have significant meaning or what? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks Woody

-- Anonymous, November 14, 2000

Answers

Woody, I can give you a suggestion here but it's only my personal opinion. I took The Haunted Palace as completely a metaphor describing a person's (possible the author's) state of mind. The kingdom is him, the palace is his mind, the ruler is Thought (I assume he capitalized it as if he were calling someone by name) banners as a reference to hair, and two windows as his eyes. The descriptions suggest he is happy in the beginning but points out that he is speaking of the past. I think the "Echoes" reference refers to good memories but also takes on a human characteristic, hence the capitalization. As it goes on, the "evil things" probably represent some string of tragedies in his life, which destroy the kingdom and eventually lead to madness. I probably went a bit overboard but I hope that helps. Tim

-- Anonymous, November 14, 2000