Please help me! For english i have to analyze Poe's "An Enigma" and it is really conusing! if someone could give me a detailed analysis i would be so greatful! !!!

-- Anonymous, December 02, 2002

Answers

It is only so because it is a private teaser containing the name of the lady it was addressed to- Sarah Anna Lewis, a name spelled out in each line of the poem by the simple formula: 1st line-first letter, second line-second letter, and so forth. Within this poem other teasing clues and satires on the sonnet are contained, such as the tuckermanites allusion to the boring Tuckerman, expert on Shakespeare and writer of tedious sonnets. In the published version of course Poe substituted petrarchanites(he didn't like Petrarch either)since Tuckerman was also a friend. "Naples bonnet" you might look up in a book of fashion of the times.

-- Anonymous, December 03, 2002