The Haunted Palace “The Haunted Palace” is one of Edgar Allen Poe's mysterious and spooky poems. Written the same year as “The Devil in the Belfry” and included in his short story “The Fall of the House of Usher,” “The Haunted Palace” is another story of innocence and happiness now consumed by grief and madness. It's easy enough to say that "The Haunted Palace" is a metaphor for Poe's ghostly, troubled mind, more than it is for a decaying palace. Indeed, in 1839, we discovered in a book that the main character of “The Fall of the House of Usher” was confronted. In the context of his appearance in “Usher,” it is startlingly clear that this is not a fable of earthly decadence, but one of mental and spiritual ruin. “In the greenest of our valleys,” he begins in the first stanza, “Once a beautiful and majestic palace – the radiant palace – raised its head. The beautiful and lush valley is nothing more than a glimpse into his past, when he was a budding bright youngster. The “Radiant Palace” is a symbol of his once lively and clear mind, filled with “good angels” and pure thoughts. He gives clues to the true nature of the palace later in the stanza, proclaiming "In the dominion of the monarch's mind – there he stood!" » it is clear that the monarch is Poe, and his dominion is his mind. In the second stanza he describes how the smells of the "sweet air" always make their way around the palace. He continues to paint a picture of a wondrous valley, where music was constantly moving and the king of the land sat for the valley to see. Poe's childhood still brings out nostalgia for a time of prosperity and enchantment, and when he could be seen as the king, fully in control of the thoughts that lived in his vale of bra...... middle of paper .... .. never passed through the “pale gate” which was “bright with pearl and ruby”. The Pearl and Ruby appear to be his younger self, a complex white with rosy cheeks, and now his face is pale and gray and "hideous". With the rivers of thoughts now flowing with horrible ideas and contemplations, he can no longer “smile,” but he hears a “laughter.” The laughter of madness slowly creeps into him, dancing through the ruins of the palace, peering into Poe's bloodshot eyes and older gray face. Poe was only thirty years old when he wrote "The Haunted Palace" and included it in "The Fall of the House of Usher." He would live only ten more years and write many more Gothic classics, each struggling with death, madness, and loneliness, but perhaps this poem describes his view of himself better than any other of his works. This is his self-portrait and his self-prophecy.