Saint Edmond's Eve by Percy Bysshe Shelley
The Black Canon comes to St. Edmond's Abbey to quiet a haunting spirit and insists on performing the rite that night. After he enters the chancel, the doors close, a yell and dying groan sound, and the monks see an inscription declaring him dead and his wife buried there. The account reveals that he murdered his wife, a nun; after thunder and lightning, the inscription disappears, and neither Canon nor ghost is seen there again.
By Percy Bysshe Shelley · Genre: Gothic Poetry, Narrative Poetry, Romantic Poetry · 1,248 words
First lines
Oh! did you observe the Black Canon pass, / And did you observe his frown? / He goeth to say the midnight mass, / In holy St. Edmond's town.
He goeth to sing the burial chaunt, / And to lay the wandering sprite, / Whose shadowy, restless form doth haunt, / The Abbey's drear aisle this night.
Genres
- Gothic Poetry — The poem employs classic Gothic tropes including a haunted abbey, a spectral figure demanding justice, and a dark, atmospheric setting with thunder and lightning to create a sense of dread and supernatural horror.
- Narrative Poetry — The work tells a complete story with a beginning, middle, and end through verse, featuring a protagonist (the Black Canon), a plot involving a quest to lay a spirit to rest, and a resolution where the characters vanish.
- Romantic Poetry — The text utilizes intense emotion, supernatural elements, and a focus on individual guilt and redemption within a dramatic, nature-infused setting, characteristic of Romantic literary traditions.
Tags
ghost story · supernatural · abbey · murder · penance · narrative verse · gothic horror
What this Textopian page supports
Saint Edmond's Eve is listed on Textopian as a poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley, dated Date unknown.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Poem
- Author: Percy Bysshe Shelley
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Gothic Poetry, Narrative Poetry, Romantic Poetry
- Length: 1,248 words
- Structure: 1 section, 30 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for Saint Edmond's Eve by Percy Bysshe Shelley
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- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
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