The Bells Themes

This theme doesn't show up at all until the third section of "The Bells." From that point on, though, it really takes over. Poe explores the sounds and the feelings of fear. He uses all kinds of wo...

Like the other dark elements of "The Bells," death doesn't show up until late in the poem. Even then, it's just lurking in the shadows. In so many Poe poems and short stories, death is front and ce...

Even if death and fear have their place in "The Bells," there's also a lot to smile about. After all, for the first 35 lines, things are going really well – which is really weird for a Poe poem....

"The Bells" is full of music. The bells ring out all kinds of tunes, and Poe uses musical language to describe them. In a way, the poem itself is almost a piece of music, since it plays with sound,...

"The Bells" is not an obvious nature poem. It isn't about snowy woods, daffodils /wandered-lonely-cloud-daffodils/, or a nightingale. When you look again, though, you'll see that the poem is full o...