"Bridal Ballad" (Ea Poe) & "I Am the People, the Mob" (Sandburg) Poem Analysis

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Poem #1: “Bridal Ballad” by Edgar Allan Poe The ring is on my hand, And the wreath is on my brow; Satin and jewels grand Are all at my command, And I am happy now. And my lord he loves me well; But, when first he breathed his vow, I felt my bosom swell- For the words rang as a knell, And the voice seemed his who fell In the battle down the dell, And who is happy now. But he spoke to re-assure me, And he kissed my pallid brow, While a reverie came o'er me, And to the church-yard bore me, And I sighed to him before me, Thinking him dead D'Elormie, "Oh, I am happy now!" And thus the words were spoken, And this the plighted vow, And, though my faith be broken, And, though my heart be broken, Here is a ring, as token That I am happy now! Would God I could awaken! For I dream I know not how! And my soul is sorely shaken Lest an evil step be taken,- Lest the dead who is forsaken May not be happy now . In this poem, a young woman tries to convince herself that she is happy to have married a wealthy man, but soon realizes that she has betrayed the love of a man (D’Elormie) she formerly pledged herself to, even though he died in battle. She tries to believe that she “is happy now” because her marriage has guaranteed her a life of luxury, but she cannot escape the memory of her former lover, even during the ceremony, when she fantasizes she is being joined with the now-dead man she once promised to marry as well. The poet elects to make the speaker the young woman herself, instead of retelling her tale in the third person because of the emotional intensity conveyed by having the bride reveal her own thoughts. She actively describes her pain, while an observer would simply comment that she is lamenting. We are given more insight as to her internal struggle between wanting to be happy with her new husband, and wishing she was instead
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