Literature/Edgar Allan Poe

Eldorado

Edgar Allan Poe, 1849

Poe's short ballad of a knight who spends his life searching for the land of Eldorado.

Gaily bedight,A gallant knight,In sunshine and in shadow,Had journeyed long,Singing a song,In search of Eldorado.

But he grew old—This knight so bold—And o’er his heart a shadowFell as he foundNo spot of groundThat looked like Eldorado.

And, as his strengthFailed him at length,He met a pilgrim shadow—“Shadow,” said he,“Where can it be—This land of Eldorado?”

“Over the MountainsOf the Moon,Down the Valley of the Shadow,Ride, boldly ride,”The shade replied,—“If you seek for Eldorado!”

Famous lines