The Bells
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The Bells is a poem by Edgar Allan Poe. It was written in 1849. It has 4 parts to it and as they progress, they become darker and darker. From “…the jingling and the tinkling” of the bells in part 1, to the “…moaning and the groaning” of the bells in part 4.
This poem has various interpretations, the most simple of which is simply a reflection of the sounds that bells can make, and the emotions evoked. For example, "From the bells bells bells bells/Bells bells bells!" brings to mind the clamoring of myriad church bells. Several deeper interpretation exist. One is that the poem is a representation of life, from the nimbleness of youth to the pain of age. Another is the passing of the seasons, from spring to winter. (Note that the passing of the seasons is often used as a metaphor to life itself.) A somewhat less used (and more bizarre) interpretation is that it represents the story of two people who fall in love, marry each other, get caught in a fire, and finally die.
The bells of which he writes are thought to be those he heard from Fordham University's bell tower, as he resided in the same Bronx neighborhood. He also frequently strolled about Fordham's campus conversing with both the students and the Jesuits.
Sergei Rachmaninoff composed a choral symphony, his opus 35, based on a Russian adaptation of the poem by Konstantin Balmont. The symphony, which follows classical form with a sonata-form first movement, slow movement, scherzo, and finale, is also in four sections.
Phil Ochs composed a tune to the poem for his album All the News That's Fit to Sing.
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