Classic Poems Called "Irene"

Poems by two different, prominent 19th century Romantic authors are entitled "Irene." They are both very long poems of several stanzas each. The first Irene is by Edgar Allan Poe (dark romanticism) and the second is by James Russell Lowell.

Aside from these two classic poems, several less known examples include in their titles a few more words than simply "Irene." One is Irene Wilde by Ian Hunter and comprises a set of song lyrics. Another is My Love Irene by Paul Laurence Dunbar and also qualifies as a classic poem. Dunbar wrote in the Romantic style, but also wrote politically.

Good Night Irene is an Old American Standard tune that has accumulated three or four different sets of lyrics since it first appeared in the early 20th century, around 1930. Leadbelly made it famous in the 30s and Pete Seegar revived it in 1950 for additional recognition and success. Later recorded by the famous popular singer Jo Stafford, the song Good Night Irene was also often featured on The Lawrence Welk Show.

The poem IRENE began as un unpublished manuscript entitled Lady Irene sometime in 1830. In the year 1831, Edgar Allan Poe published the version he called IRENE. In various publications from 1841 - 1850, he published a variant of the poem to create THE SLEEPER.

In late October 2008, it was reported on American news services that the earliest manuscript of the famous Poe poem was found in rural Virginia in a "friendship album" a book similar to high school yearbooks and autograph books used by teens today. The original poem had been kept private by the family for whom Poe had written the piece, which he felt superior to The Raven.

Poe wrote Lady Irene for a female friend at the time of his life in which he was bordering on his dishonorable dischagre from West Point military academy. In addition, he had just suffered the death of his foster mother and was not on good terms with his foster father.

The newly discovered, original poem was placed on auction in December 2008 by Bloomsbury Auctions: Important Books, Manuscripts, Literature, and Americana in an expected price range between $100,000 - $200,000. It is unknown whether the original poem, Lady Irene, will ever be shared with the general public.

It is unclear about whom this poem was written. However, it seems to be the first in a long line of poems written by the author to mourn the passing of beautiful women in his life, i.e. Anabelle Lee.

IRENE (1831)

[First and last stanzas]

'T is now (so sings the soaring moon)

Midnight in the sweet month of June,

When winged visions love to lie

Lazily upon beauty's eye,

Or worse — upon her brow to dance

In panoply of old romance,

Till thoughts and locks are left, alas!

A ne'er-to-be untangled mass.

♥

♥

♥

♥

♥

Far in the forest, dim and old,

For her may some tall vault unfold,

Against whose sounding door she hath thrown,

In childhood, many an idle stone —

Some tomb, which oft hath flung its black

And vampyre-winged pannels back,

Flutt'ring triumphant o'er the palls

Of her old family funerals.

Complete poem online: IRENE (1831).

The Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore - Poe Society.

This version of the poem is a beautiful, though dark, lament to a lost love. It is compelling in its imagery and emotional tone. It would be magnificent to see the original version in the friendship album of the as yet unpublicized young lady friend of the author. One hopes that a museum would have purchased it in order to place it on display.

Irene

[First stanza]

Hers is a spirit deep, and crystal-clear;

Calmly beneath her earnest face it lies,

Free without boldness, meek without a fear,

Quicker to look than speak its sympathies;

Far down into her large and patient eyes

I gaze, deep-drinking of the infinite,

As, in the mid-watch of a clear, still night,

I look into the fathomless blue skies.

Dunbar was the first well known African American writer from Ohio in the 19th century. Born in Dayton OH in 1872, Dunbar was a classmate of Orville Wright. In the short 33 years that he lived, he wrote in every available genre, using both standard English and the African American dialect of the era. Of dozens of poems he authored, there is one about a woman named "Irene."

My Love Irene

Farewell, farewell, my love Irene;

The pangs of sadness stir my breast;

Though many miles may intervene,

My soul's with thine, in East or West.

Go where thou wilt, to wealth or fame;

Win for thyself or praise or blame,

My love shall ever be the same,

My love Irene.

Farewell, farewell, my love Irene;

Oh, sad decree, that we must part!

The wound is deep, the pain is keen

That agitates mine aching heart.

My feverish eyes burn up their tears;

I cannot still my doubts and fears;

And this one sigh the night wind hears,

My love Irene.

Farewell, farewell, my love Irene;

The morning's gray now floods the sky;

The sun peeps from his misty screen;

Mine only love, good-bye, good-bye.

All love must fade, all life must die,

The smile must turn into the sigh.

Alas! how hard to say good-bye,

My love Irene.

The works of the three American Romantic Period poets discussed above is powerful and as such, they are classics that are as definitively drawing today as they were when originally written in the 1800s. Readers that can dispense with the lure of 21st century blood, gore, drugs, hypersex, and hypo-language that one often finds in the media can engage with the poetry of these authors in order to find a different world of meaning from that to which they may be accustomed. Biographies and insites are listed at the following links:

Poe's Life - Sponsored by PoeMuseum.org - One of the many sites devotes to the famous romance and horror writer. See the link to the Edgar Allan Poe Society above.

Biography of James Russell Lowell - A complete, informative biography of a Romantic poet that is not as well known as some others.

PAL: Paul Laurence Dunbar - Comprehensive site that furnishes a biography, discussion, works of poetry, student essays, and other materials.