(1)
Hear the sledges with the bells —
Silver bells!
What a world of merriment their melody foretells!
How they tinkle, tinkle, tinkle,
In their icy air of night!
While the stars, that oversprinkle
All the heavens, seem to twinkle
With a crystalline delight;
Keeping time, time, time,
In a sort of Runic rhyme,
To the tintinnabulation that so musically wells
From the bells, bells, bells, bells,
Bells, bells, bells —
From the jingling and the tinkling of the bells.
(2)
Hear the mellow wedding bells,
Golden bells!
What a world of happiness their harmony foretells!
Through the balmy air of night
How they ring out their delight!
From the molten golden-notes,
And all in tune,
What a liquid ditty floats
To the turtle-dove that listens, while she gloats
On the moon!
Oh, from out the sounding cells,
What a gush of euphony voluminously wells!
How it swells!
How it dwells
On the future! how it tells
Of the rapture that impels
To the swinging and the ringing
Of the bells, bells, bells,
Of the bells, bells, bells, bells,
Bells, bells, bells —
To the rhyming and the chiming of the bells!
(3)
Hear the loud alarum bells —
Brazen bells!
What a tale of terror now their turbulency tells!
In the startled ear of night
How they scream out their affright!
Too much horrified to speak,
They can only shriek, shriek,
Out of tune,
In a clamorous appealing to the mercy of the fire,
In a mad expostulation with the deaf and frantic fire
Leaping higher, higher, higher,
With a desperate desire,
And a resolute endeavor
Now — now to sit or never,
By the side of the pale-faced moon.
Oh, the bells, bells, bells!
What a tale their terror tells
Of Despair!
How they clang, and clash, and roar!
What a horror they outpour
On the bosom of the palpitating air!
Yet the ear it fully knows,
By the twanging,
And the clanging,
How the danger ebbs and flows;
Yet the ear distinctly tells,
In the jangling,
And the wrangling,
How the danger sinks and swells,
By the sinking or the swelling in the anger of the bells —
Of the bells —
Of the bells, bells, bells, bells,
Bells, bells, bells —
In the clamor and the clangor of the bells!
(4)
Hear the tolling of the bells —
Iron bells!
What a world of solemn thought their monody compels!
In the silence of the night,
How we shiver with affright
At the melancholy menace of their tone!
For every sound that floats
From the rust within their throats
Is a groan.
And the people — ah, the people —
They that dwell up in the steeple.
All alone,
And who tolling, tolling, tolling,
In that muffled monotone,
Feel a glory in so rolling
On the human heart a stone —
They are neither man nor woman —
They are neither brute nor human —
They are Ghouls:
And their king it is who tolls;
And he rolls, rolls, rolls,
Rolls
A pæan from the bells!
And his merry bosom swells
With the pæan of the bells!
And he dances, and he yells;
Keeping time, time, time,
In a sort of Runic rhyme,
To the pæan of the bells —
Of the bells:
Keeping time, time, time,
In a sort of Runic rhyme,
To the throbbing of the bells —
Of the bells, bells, bells —
To the sobbing of the bells;
Keeping time, time, time,
As he knells, knells, knells,
In a happy Runic rhyme,
To the rolling of the bells —
Of the bells, bells, bells-
To the tolling of the bells,
Of the bells, bells, bells, bells,
Bells, bells, bells —
To the moaning and the groaning of the bells.
Published, 1849
Note:
The bibliographical history of "The Bells" is curious. The subject, and some lines of the original version, having been suggested by the poet's friend, Mrs. Shew, Poe, when he wrote out the first draft of the poem, headed it, "The Bells. By Mrs. M. A. Shew." This draft, now the editor's property, consists of only seventeen lines, and reads thus:
(1)
The bells! — ah the bells!
The little silver bells!
How fairy-like a melody there floats
From their throats —
From their merry little throats —
From the silver, tinkling throats
Of the bells, bells, bells —
Of the bells!
(2)
The bells! — ah, the bells!
The heavy iron bells!
How horrible a monody there floats
From their throats —
From their deep-toned throats —
From their melancholy throats
How I shudder at the notes
Of the bells, bells, bells —
Of the bells!
In the autumn of 1848 Poe added another line to this poem, and sent it to the editor of the Union Magazine. It was not published. So, in the following February, the poet forwarded to the same periodical a much enlarged and altered transcript. Three months having elapsed without publication, another revision of the poem, similar to the current version, was sent, and in the following October was published in the Union Magazine.
Poem Analysis:
Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Bells,” published in 1849, is a remarkable poem that explores the emotional and symbolic power of sound. Rather than simply describing bells, Poe uses their changing tones to represent different stages and experiences of human life. The poem moves from youthful happiness to marriage, then to fear and finally to death. Through repetition, onomatopoeia, rhythm, and vivid imagery, Poe makes the reader almost hear the bells while reading the poem.
The poem is divided into four sections, each associated with a different type of bell. The first section presents silver bells, whose light and musical sounds suggest youth, excitement, and innocent pleasure. Words such as “tinkle,” “jingling,” and “tinkling” create a bright and delicate sound. The repeated phrase “bells, bells, bells” reinforces the cheerful rhythm. The bells seem to exist in harmony with the stars and the night sky, creating an atmosphere of wonder and merriment.
The second section introduces golden wedding bells. Their sound is deeper and richer than that of the silver bells. Here, the bells symbolize love, marriage, and anticipated happiness. Poe uses expressions such as “harmony,” “euphony,” “rhyming,” and “chiming” to create a sense of musical unity. The bells appear to celebrate the future, suggesting the emotional excitement associated with marriage and the beginning of a new stage of life.
The mood changes dramatically in the third section, where brazen alarm bells announce danger and fire. The pleasant music of the earlier sections is replaced by violent sounds: “scream,” “shriek,” “clang,” “clash,” and “roar.” Poe’s choice of harsh consonants and repeated words imitates the disorder and panic of an emergency. The bells no longer symbolize happiness; instead, they become instruments of fear. Their changing volume reflects the changing intensity of the danger.
The final section presents iron bells, whose tolling represents death and mourning. The sound is described as a “monody,” a mournful song performed by a single voice. The bells produce “a groan,” “a sobbing,” and “a moaning,” creating an atmosphere of darkness and despair. The supernatural figures who toll the bells are described as “Ghouls,” making the final scene almost Gothic in character. Unlike the lively bells of the opening sections, these bells seem to weigh heavily upon the human heart.
One of the poem’s most important techniques is onomatopoeia, or the use of words that imitate sound. Poe repeatedly employs words such as “tinkle,” “chime,” “clang,” “clash,” “roar,” and “toll.” The repeated “bells, bells, bells” functions almost like the ringing itself. Consequently, the poem is not merely about sound; it is constructed to produce a powerful auditory experience.
Repetition is equally important. The repeated words and phrases create musical patterns while also intensifying the emotional movement of the poem. The phrase “Keeping time, time, time” appears in different contexts, suggesting that the bells are marking the passage of time itself. The four sections can therefore be understood not only as different kinds of bells but also as symbolic stages of human existence: youth, love and marriage, crisis, and death.
The poem’s bibliographical history is also significant. The surviving early draft was only seventeen lines long and was associated with Mrs. M. A. Shew, whose suggestion apparently helped inspire the poem. Poe subsequently expanded and substantially revised the work before its publication in Union Magazine in October 1849. This history demonstrates how Poe transformed a relatively simple idea about contrasting bells into an elaborate poem about sound, emotion, time, and mortality.
“The Bells” is a poem in which sound becomes meaning. The changing bells create a symbolic journey from the lightness of silver to the richness of gold, the violence of brass, and finally the darkness of iron. Poe’s extraordinary use of repetition, rhythm, onomatopoeia, and imagery allows the reader to experience the emotional progression rather than merely observe it. Behind the musical surface lies a darker meditation on the passage of time and the movement of human life toward death.
