The Lake

“The Lake” is an example of Edgar Allan Poe’s Romantic poetry, meaning it furthers the ideas of the British Romantic poets, such as William Blake, William Wordsworth, S. T. Coleridge, and Lord Byron. John Keats’s idea of Negative Capability, which includes being in a state of uncertainty—or not knowing—as part of the pursuit of beauty, can be directly connected to “The Lake.” Poe’s imagery includes the unknown realm of water in the dark night and the unknown realm of death. Poe is also influenced by American Romantic writers, whose work often celebrates the vastness of American nature. While the lake Poe writes about is enclosed by natural elements, like the trees, it is outside of human civilization, and therefore is part of this “vastness.”

Another important element of Romantic poetry is the role of the imagination. In his essay “A Defence of Poetry,” Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley argues, “Poetry enlarges the circumference of the imagination by replenishing it with thoughts of ever new delight” (Shelley, Percy Bysshe. “A Defence of Poetry.” 1840. Poetry Foundation). In “The Lake,” Poe discusses “him who thence could solace bring / To his lone imagining” (Line 21). The imagination bridges comfort and danger. Someone who imagines the lake as comforting faces the possibility of death in its waves.

In addition to being inspired by other British and American Romantic poets, Poe has a distinctive style. It comes from his essay “The Philosophy of Composition,” in which he argues that “[m]elancholy is thus the most legitimate of all the poetical tones” and that death is the most melancholic topic (Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Philosophy of Composition.” 1846. Poetry Foundation). In “The Lake,” melancholy can be seen in its “terror” (Line 12) or “tremulous delight” (Line 14), as well as how it offers “Death” (18) to those who find it beautiful. Melancholy is also part of the Gothic, which includes elements of the supernatural and hauntings. Both the Gothic and Romantic investigate what is outside of the realm of science.