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The historical context is mixed in with the author biography info which explains the 3 citations.

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Simile: A figure of speech that compares two unlike that are basically unlike yet have something in common with the use of "like" or "as". Example: "For her this rhyme is penned, whose luminous eyes,
Brightly expressive as the twins of L�da," (Stanza 1, Lines 1-2). This quote goes over the gorgeousness almost as the twins of Leda who are the Castor and Pollux and are represented in as the brightest stars in the Gemini constellation.

Metaphor: Is a comparison between two unlike things without using "like" or "as." Example: "Search narrowly the lines! -- they hold a treasure"(Stanza 3, Line 5). This goes over the secret of the name that is hidden throughout the poem which is his secret lover and is also implying that the name is the treasure.

Repetition: Is a technique in which a sound, word, phrase or line is repeated for emphasis or unity. Example:" Of poets, by poets -- as the name is a poet�s, too." (Stanza 8, Line 16). This quote gives off a hint to the reader that this one woman who is the solution to the poem, is also a poet.

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"A Valentine" was written to convey Poe's love for another woman that was already married. The poem is lyrical, and written in an acrostic form, meaning that there was a secret riddle that the reader would have to find. In fact, the riddle is not too difficult to find after all. Upon inspection of the first letter of the first line, the second letter of the first line, etc, the reader will find the woman's name: Frances Sargent Osgood. Frances was another poet that shared a secret love affair with Poe throughout her own poems. Poe expresses his love for her in nearly every line of the poem. Since this was written in 1850, this was probably at a time when Poe was becoming desperate to find love and actually found success in getting involved with Frances. There could also be the chance that France's marriage could have been the thing that made Poe feel guilt since he did not want to steal another man's lover.

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For her this rhyme is penned, whose luminous eyes,
Brightly expressive as the twins of L�da,
Shall find her own sweet name, that, nestling lies
Upon the page, enwrapped from every reader.
Search narrowly the lines! -- they hold a treasure
Divine -- a talisman -- an amulet
That must be worn at heart. Search well the measure --
The words -- the syllables! Do not forget
The trivialest point, or you may lose your labor!
And yet there is in this no Gordian knot
Which one might not undo without a sabre,
If one could merely comprehend the plot.
Enwritten upon the leaf where now are peering
Eyes scintillating soul, there lie perdus
Three eloquent words oft uttered in the hearing
Of poets, by poets -- as the name is a poet�s, too.
Its letters, although naturally lying
Like the knight Pinto -- Mendez Ferdinando --
Still form a synonym for Truth. -- Cease trying!
You will not read the riddle, though you do the best you can do.

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Edgar Allan Poe was brought to write a lot about love and romance in light of the death of Virginia Poe. He was probably searching for a way to let out all of the negative feelings he had in his mind so that he would not completely go insane and attempt something terrible on himself or others. In fact, his many poems (including this one) written in memorial of one of his lovers show how much Poe wished to save the people around him from being hurt and how much he wanted to control his negative feelings so that they would not get the better of him. The general theme of the poem is the questioning of life and how it works. After his permanent parting from Virginia, Poe was brought to consider what he was living for, and whether or not he was simply living in a dream. The sand running through his hand could be a representation of how time is constantly running out and he cannot control or stop it. As for the structure of the poem, it is in the first person and is a hop into his own mind about how he thinks time passes and his perspective on the life he lives and the life of others around him. The very title itself also represents how Poe thought that he was detached from reality so much that it was almost like a "double detachment".

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Repetition: Is a technique in which a sound, word, phrase or line is repeated for emphasis or unity. Example: "While I weep - While I weep!" (Stanza 2, Line 7). The narrator is in deep sadness due to his sight of realization that he is worthless and that nothing matters for him, making everything slip away from him. It also represents Poe's style of writing by intense horror,  sadness, and darkness.

Metaphor: Is a comparison between two unlike things without using "like" or "as". Example: "And I hold within my hand/ Grains of the golden sand/ How few! yet how they creep/ Through my fingers to the deep," (Stanza 2, Lines 3-6). This quote represents the value of personal possessions which is what the word "golden" represents. This seems to go over a broad aspect of not only possessions but his experiences in life as well.

Personification: When a nonhuman object is given human characteristics. Example: "Grains of the golden sand" (Stanza 2, Line 4). This quote symbolizes time and is what the narrator seems to be losing over time as explained with the metaphor example quote when reading on. Over time the narrator loses his experiences in life thus like in the Repetition example he/she would soon deem worthless as he weeps.

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- Academy of American Poets. "Poet: Edgar Allan Poe". https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/edgar-allan-poe. Accessed 4 Apr. 2017.
- Harmon, Justin. "Edgar Allan Poe." American History, ABC-CLIO, 2017, americanhistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/247664. Accessed 4 Apr. 2017.
-Poetry Foundation. "A Dream Within A Dream". https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/52829. Accessed 5 Apr. 2017.

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In 1847, Poe's wife, Virginia, had died from a long battle with tuberculosis. This event had not only been the potential inspiration for poems like "Annabel Lee", but it also made Poe's life take a drastic turn for the worst. He had started to struggle with his already existing depression and alcoholism. In 1849, Poe returned to Richmond and got back together with the person that cheated on him many years before, Elmira Royster. They became engaged and planned to marry in Richmond upon Poe's return from a trip to Philadelphia and New York. However, Poe never made it to Philadelphia, having stopped in Baltimore. He was found in a bar room of a public house being used for election polls, semi-conscious. Poe died four days later of an "acute congestion of the brain" but was analyzed years later to discover that he could have had rabies.

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Take this kiss upon the brow!

And, in parting from you now,

Thus much let me avow —

You are not wrong, who deem

That my days have been a dream;

Yet if hope has flown away

In a night, or in a day,

In a vision, or in none,

Is it therefore the less gone?

All that we see or seem

Is but a dream within a dream.

I stand amid the roar

Of a surf-tormented shore,

And I hold within my hand

Grains of the golden sand —

How few! yet how they creep

Through my fingers to the deep,

While I weep — while I weep!

O God! Can I not grasp

Them with a tighter clasp?

O God! can I not save

One from the pitiless wave?

Is all that we see or seem

But a dream within a dream?

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Poe returned to Boston and enlisted in the United States Army. When he enlisted in 1827, he had began to publish his first wave of poems entitles Tamerlane and Other Poems. In 1829, he published his second collection of poems: Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane, and minor Poems. Neither of the volumes that he wrote had received public attention or acclaim. After his army service, Poe was enlisted into the United States Military Academy, but was forced to leave again since he did not have any financial support. In order to find a bit more support, he moved in with his aunt Maria Clemm and her daughter Virginia in Baltimore, Maryland. While Poe had stayed Baltimore, John Allan died. At the time, Poe was still living in poverty despite living with his aunt. He had begun publishing short stories which eventually led him to gaining an editorial position at the Southern Literary Messenger in Richmond. Within a year of staying with the Southern Literary Messenger, Poe had helped make the magazine the most popular in the south. In 1836, Poe had married Virginia, who was around thirteen years old. Over the next decade, Poe would become an editor of a number of journals including Gentleman's Magazine and Graham's Magazine in Philadelphia. During these years, Poe was actually beginning to become noticed by others and was an established poet and short story writer. Around this time, he published some of his most critically acclaimed works such as "The Fall of the House of Usher", "The Raven" and "The Tell-Tale Heart"

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Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts on January 19, 1809. His mother and father were both professional actors that died before he turned three years hold, leaving him to be fostered into the family of John and Frances Allan. Poe was sent to the best boarding schools and later studied at the University of Virginia. While he excelled in his classes, he found himself accumulating considerable debt. John Allan had given Poe less than a third of what he needed in order to pay off his tuition. Poe was forced to drop out of school and live in a life of poverty, which he hated. Upon his return to Richmond, Poe had found his fiancee at the time, Elmira Royster, had been engaged to another man.

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by: Joseph Domingo and Michael Garcia