4. How do the meanings of the word shadow change from stanza to stanza?
How do these changes reflect a shift
in the poem's tone the attitude the
speaker reveals about the quest?

Explanation:

Stanzas: Summary

''Eldorado'' is a poem about one knight's search for a place called Eldorado. Let's review what happens in each of the four stanzas.

Stanza 1

In the first stanza we see a knight, fresh and ready to go, starting a journey; we could even think of it as a quest. He is full of hope and in good spirits, as evidenced by the line, ''singing a song.''

Stanza 2

The knight has been searching for a long time, many years at least. We know this because the stanza starts by telling us that our knight is now old. He has also lost most of the hope he had at the start of his journey, as indicated by the phrase, ''And o'er his heart a shadow.'' He is no longer in good spirits as he continues his quest to find Eldorado.

Stanza 3

In this stanza, the knight's situation has become more serious. ''His strength failed him at length'' implies that he has died or is very near death, never having attained his goal. A ''shadow'' (possibly Death himself) appears to him and the knight asks him where he can find Eldorado.

Stanza 4

In the last stanza of the poem, the pilgrim's shadow explains that Eldorado is not actually attainable on Earth or to mortals. Instead, it's ''over the mountains of the moon'' and ''down the valley of the shadow.'' The final lines of the poem show this figure encouraging the knight to go boldly into the shadow to find Eldorado.

Analysis & Themes

The first thing to note in this poem is that Eldorado is a mythical land of gold, a magnificent treasure promising notoriety and riches to the person that finds it, but constantly out of reach. Think of it as a land-based Atlantis, a symbol of hope, intrigue, and mystery.

Secondly, it's important to remember that Edgar Allan Poe was in his last year of life when he wrote this poem, a period when he was most likely depressed and sad, as evidenced by letters he wrote to his friend. Setting the scene for this poem in light of Poe's mental state at the time helps us to understand the meaning behind the words, which may serve as a commentary on his own life.

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explanation: