To Helen

The central theme of “To Helen” is the power that beauty has over the speaker. According to the Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics, Poe “famously remark[ed] that the proper object of a poem is beauty” (545). Poe references Helen both in the title and the first word of the first line, and she is a woman whose beauty was powerful enough to cause the Trojan War. This allusion to Greek myth immediately casts the woman he adores as incredibly powerful. The speaker develops Helen of Troy’s ship-launching power, adding a new aspect to the power of his Helen’s beauty. The woman in his life is so beautiful that she can transport him home.

When describing what makes Helen beautiful, the speaker begins with the very top of her body—her hair. Helen’s hair is given the adjective “hyacinth” (Line 7), which is a kind of flower. This can be read to develop the aquatic imagery, as there is a water hyacinth. There are yellow hyacinths, usually grown on land, which points to Helen having blonde hair. This would make her beauty similar to that of other women whose features have been cataloged by poets.