The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1875-10-22
EDGAR A. POE.
How the craven +" was Written.

| In discussion Of the mental condition
of Edgar A. Poe, in Scri6ner for October,
under the title of GA Mad Man of Let
ters," Mr.. F. G. FAIRFIELD gives the follow
ing conflicting accounts Of the composition
of the " Raven:''
Another fact that seems to witness to his
epileptic condition is constituted by the
habitual lying that marked the latter and
best known part of his career. One in
stance must illustrate the many. I shall
take it for granted that the general reader
! is familiar with that remarkable analytic
paper in which he describes the compost
tion of "The Raven, and the plan upon
| which it was constructed. American liter
ature contains nothing cleverer in it's way,
and its cleverness is greatly enhanced when
it is understood that it is simply and une-
quivecally fiction, as the actual circum-
stances under which the poem were written
conclusively show.
Poe then occupied cottage at Fordham
"a kind of poets nook, just out of hearing
of the busy hum of the city. He had
walked all the way from New York that af-
ternoon, and, having taken cup Of tea,
went out in the evening and wandered
about for an hour or more. His beloved
Virginia was sick almost unto death; he
was without money to procure the neces-
sary medicines. He was out until about
ten o'clock. When he went in he sat down
at his writing table and dashed off "The
Raven" He submitted it to Mrs. Clemm
for her consideration the same night, and
it was printed substantially as it was writ
ten.
This account of the version of the poem
was communicated to me in the fall of 1865
by gentleman who professed to be in
debted to Mrs. Clemm for the facts as lie
stated them; and in the course of saunter
in the South, in the summer of 1867, took
occasion to verify his story by an interview
with that aged lady. Let me now drop
Mrs. Clemms' version for a paragraph to
consider another, resting upon the testi-
mony of Colonel Du Sole, who was init
mate with Poe at this period, and concur
red in by other literary contemporaries who
used to meet him of a midday for budget
Of gossip and glass of ale at Sandy
Welsh's cellar in Ann street.
Du Sole says that the poem was pro-
duced stanza by stanza at small intervals,
and submitted by Poe piecemeal to the criti-
cism and emendation of his intimates, who
suggested various alteratio ons and substitu-
tions. Poe adopted many of them. Du
Sole quotes particular instances of phrases
that were incorporated at his suggestion,
and thus "The Raven was kind of
ioint-stock affair in which minds held small
shares of intellectual capital. At length,
when the last stone had been placed in po-
sition and passed upon, the structure was
voted complete.
The reconciliation of these conflicting
versions lies, possibly, IN the hypothesis
that he wrote the poem substantially, as
stated by Mrs. Clemm, and afterward, with
the shrewd idea of stimulating expectation
little, or by way of subtle and delicate
flattery, submitted it to his friends stanza
by stanza, adopting such emendations and
substitutions of phrase as tickled his ear
or suited his fancy. Such alterations would
scarcely affect the general tenor of the text,
as Mrs. Clemm first heard it. and, consid-
ering the length of the poem, appears to
have been very few and of small import
anee, granting all that Colonel Du Sole
claims. Besides, it was like him to amuse
himself in this way, hoaxing his friends,
and then laughing in his sleeve at them.