The Haunting Truth Behind The Lake by Edgar Allan Poe

Poe first published â€Å"The Lake† in his 1827 collection Tamerlane and Other Poems, but it appeared again two years later in the collection Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane, and Minor Poems with a mysterious dedication added to the title: â€Å"The Lake. To–.† The subject of Poes dedication remains unidentified to this day. Historians have suggested  Poe wrote the poem about Lake Drummond—and that he might have visited Lake Drummond with his foster mother, but the poem was published after her death. The lake outside Norfolk, Virginia, also known as the Great Dismal Swamp, was said to have been haunted by two past lovers. The supposed ghosts were not thought of as malicious or evil, but tragic—the boy had gone mad in the belief the girl had died. A Haunted Lake Lake Drummond was said to be haunted by the spirits of a young Native American couple who lost their lives on the lake. The young woman reportedly died on their wedding day, and the young man, driven mad by visions of her paddling on the lake, drowned in his attempts to reach her. According to one report, local legend says that if you go into the Great Dismal Swamp late at night youll see the image of a woman paddling a white canoe on a lake with a lamp. This woman became known locally as the Lady of the Lake, which has given inspiration to a slew of famous writers over the years. Robert Frost was said to have visited the central Lake Drummond in 1894 after suffering a heartbreak from splitting up with a longtime lover, and he later told a biographer that he had hoped to get lost in the wilderness of the swamp, never to return. Although the haunting stories may be fictional, the beautiful scenery and lush wildlife of this Virginia lake and surrounding swamp draw many visitors every year. Poes Use of Contrast One of the things that stands out in the poem is the way Poe contrasts the dark imagery and danger of the lake with a feeling of contentment and even pleasure in the thrill of his surroundings. He refers to the loneliness as lovely, and later describes his delight at waking to the terror on the lone lake. Poe draws on the legend of the lake to tap into its inherent dangers, but at the same time he revels in the beauty of the nature surrounding him. The poem closes with Poes exploration of the circle of life. Though he refers to death in a poisonous wave, he describes its location as Eden, an obvious symbol for the emergence of life. Full Text of The Lake. To In spring of youth, it was my lotTo haunt of the wide world a spotThe which I could not love the less–So lovely was the lonelinessOf a wild lake, with black rock bound,And the tall pines that towered around.But when the Night had thrown her pallUpon that spot, as upon all,And the mystic wind went byMurmuring in melody–Then–ah then I would awakeTo the terror of the lone lake.Yet that terror was not fright,But a tremulous delight–A feeling not the jewelled mineCould teach or bribe me to define–Nor Love—although the Love were thine.Death was in that poisonous wave,And in its gulf a fitting graveFor him who thence could solace bringTo his lone imagining–Whose solitary soul could makeAn Eden of that dim lake.