At first glance, the subject of Edgar Allen Poe's "A Haunted Palace" appear to be a radiant resident (line 4), but all is not as it seems. On the surface, this poem suggest that the palace is a literal place. However, when the text is examined, another meaning is found. Poe is talented at using different styles to present his vision. He paints his literally picture by using settings, symbolism, rhymes, and allegory. He creates an illusions of telling you one thing but it's really something else.
This poem starts out describing a palace "once a fair and stately palace" (line 3). It is described as having banners floating above it. People coming by would look inside see a happy place full of music and the king sitting on his throne. The poem soon takes a turn for the worst. We learn something terrible has happened when the good times described earlier are just a memory. At the end we discover that what we thought was an ideal setting is in fact a place of horror. .
In the first stanza, Poe describes the residence as "Once a fair and stately palace" (line 3). Even Poe says that an angel has never been to some place more beautiful. In the next stanza Poe says that a long time ago beautiful golden banners flew above the roof (line 10). In the following stanza Poe describes what people who came to the palace saw. They would look inside two windows, hearing music and seeing the king on his throne (line 21). The subsequent stanza reveals that there is a palace door "And all with pearl and ruby glowing" (line 25). Up until this point in the poem, Poe wants us to think that the Palace is a splendid scene. The last two stanzas though show that everything is not at all wonderful. "But evil things, in robes of sorrow, Assailed the monarch's high estate" (line 33-34). Something terrible has occurred though what has happened is never specified. The final stanza describes what this palace has become.
