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The Bells
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Illustration of "The Lamb" from "Songs of Innocence" by William Blake, 1879. poem; poetry
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4:043 Dickinson, Emily: A Life of Letters, This is my letter to the world/That never wrote to me; I'll tell you how the Sun Rose/A Ribbon at a time; Hope is the thing with feathers/That perches in the soul
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Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) only confirmed photograph of Emily Dickinson. 1978 scan of a Daguerreotype. ca. 1847; in the Amherst College Archives. American poet. See Notes:
Poetry: First Lines
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The Bells

poem by Poe
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Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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History

The Bells, poem by Edgar Allan Poe, published posthumously in the magazine Sartain’s Union (November 1849). Written at the end of Poe’s life, this incantatory poem examines bell sounds as symbols of four milestones of human experience—childhood, youth, maturity, and death.

“The Bells” is composed of four stanzas of increasing length and is a showcase of onomatopoeia, alliteration, repetition, and assonance. The first stanza, a study of merry sleigh bells, is followed by a stanza on joyous wedding bells. The third stanza is a cacophony of roaring alarm bells, while the final stanza dwells upon the sullen, rhythmic tolling of funeral bells.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Kathleen Kuiper.