The Lake

This Edgar Allan Poe poem sometimes opens with a dedication to an unknown person, depending on the publication. For instance, the Academy of American Poets lists the title and dedication as “The Lake — To —” and the Signet Classics edition of The Complete Poetry of Edgar Allan Poe lists the title and dedication as “The Lake: To —.” The dash replaces a person’s name. While the addressee is anonymous, the speaker is considered to be Poe himself. In the initial publication of the poem, and in some modern reprintings, the dedication is not included.

In the first stanza, the speaker remembers a place he used to visit when he was young, and sets a nostalgic tone. His descriptions pair the lake’s beauty with its haunting qualities. In the opening lines, it is the speaker’s “lot / To haunt of the wide earth a spot” (Lines 1-2). Initially, he is the one who does the haunting. The diction (word choice) of haunting being the speaker’s “lot,” (Line 1) or role, indicates it is something he was assigned to do, rather than a conscious choice. This can be compared to how ghosts don’t choose the locations that they haunt—something compels them. He loves the lake because of its haunting beauty: “So lovely was the loneliness” (Line 4). The diction of “loneliness” emphasizes solitude which, again, can be connected with hauntings and ghosts. The collection of ideas surrounding hauntings is called hauntology, which is the thematic center of the poem.

This idea of being alone, away from the urban environment, is further developed in the diction of “wild lake” (Line 5). Wildness, or wilderness, can be contrasted with civilization. This is part of the theme of The Beauty of Nature—the untamed quality of the lake adds to its beauty. The lake is outside the realm of human cities but is contained by rocks and trees: “with black rock bound, / And the tall pines that tower’d around” (Lines 5-6). The color black and the diction of “bound” (Line 5) develop the Gothic tone and the theme of Hauntology and the Supernatural. Ghosts are aligned with the lake here, as both are bound within a specific area.

The second stanza further develops the theme of Hauntology and the Supernatural. When the speaker states, “when Night had thrown her pall / Upon that spot” (Lines 7-8), the capitalization emphasizes darkness. Making “Night” a proper noun with female pronouns gives it human characteristics, a literary device that is called personification. A “mystic wind” (Line 9) comes in with the night and adds more supernatural imagery. These elements combined cause the speaker to recognize the “terror of the lone lake” (Line 12). Here, the adjective “lone” (Line 12) is an echo of “loneliness” from Line 4. This repetition highlights how the lake is far away from other humans. Furthermore, “terror” is often associated with Hauntology and the Supernatural. Poe includes a stanza break before clarifying the nature of the “terror” of the lake, which adds suspense, another characteristic of the Gothic genre.

In the third stanza, the speaker defines this terror. It is “not fright, / But a tremulous delight” (Lines 13-14). This juxtaposition of pleasure and fear is inspired by natural beauty and shifts the tone of the poem to be more reverent. The following lines develop this idea, arguing that the experience of seeing the lake on a windy night far surpasses pillaging the earth for economic purposes. The speaker reflects, “A feeling not the jewelled mine / Could teach or bribe me to define” (Lines 15-16). The mined jewels can be contrasted with the rocks that surround the lake. Humans take jewels out of the earth in order to sell them, while the “black rock” (Line 5) borders the lake without human intervention. No number of jewels can inspire the pleasurable terror that untouched nature can. This develops the theme of The Beauty of Nature.

The final line of the third stanza compares the pleasurable terror with love. Neither of these feelings can be elicited or paid for with precious stones. Love is also aligned with night, as both are capitalized, making them proper nouns. While night is personified with pronoun usage, love remains an emotion—one that can be given or possessed. The speaker says that the “Love were thine” (Line 17). Thine means yours, and here it refers to the anonymous addressee in the poem’s title. The identity of the person who possesses the speaker’s love is obscured not only in the title but also in the general possessive pronoun used in Line 17.

In the fourth stanza, the theme of Hauntology and the Supernatural is further developed with imagery that combines water and death. The lake has the capacity to kill with its “poisonous wave” (Line 18). As the crest of the wave represents “Death” (Line 18), the gulf of the wave is a “fitting grave” (Line 19). First, this develops the idea of the speaker as the one who haunts the lake from the first stanza. Second, this imagery demonstrates the awe-inspiring power of nature, which is part of its beauty, developing the theme of The Beauty of Nature.

However, the lake does not kill indiscriminately but will target people like the speaker. He finds “solace” (Line 20) while alone at the lake. Being alone is highlighted through the synonyms of “lone” (Line 21) and “solitary” (Line 22) in the final stanza. This comes from his appreciation of The Beauty of Nature. The speaker views the “dim lake” (Line 23) as “an Eden” (Line 23), aligning the lake with the idea of a paradise. The use of dim here can also be compared with the “black rock” (Line 5) that appears in the first stanza; as can the “fitting grave” (Line 19) described in the final stanza be compared with “haunt” (Line 2) from the first stanza. The dark beauty of nature and supernatural death are thus emphasized at the beginning and end of the poem, tying together both of the poem’s main themes.