Poem 1: "To Helen" Summary

This is a quintessential love poem. In it, the writer waxes poetic about someone named Helen, evoking Greek and Roman images to form a comparison between the real object of his affection and Helen of Troy, wife of Menelaus whose abduction by Paris started the Trojan War.

Poem 1: "To Helen" Analysis

It is believed that Poe wrote this poem in honor of Jane Stith Stanard, the mother of one of his school friends; she went mad and died not long after Poe met her. His use of Greek imagery, especially his references to Helen of Troy, sets the subject of his poetic affection up on a romantic pedestal, making her untouchable.