To My Mother

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1849

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Related Poems

“the thirty eighth year” by Lucille Clifton (1974)

Lucille Clifton was twice a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and was the Poet Laureate of Maryland from 1979 to 1985. This free verse poem discusses the complex relationships between mothers and daughters. The speaker contemplates the death of her mother at the age of 44 and the speaker's own life as she approaches the same age. Dealing with feelings of disappointment and worry, the poem alternates between memories of the past with the mother and the speaker’s uncertain feelings about the future as the speaker reaches middle age.

“Silence” by Edgar Allan Poe (1837)

“Silence,” one of Poe’s most mysterious poems, is a variation of the Italian sonnet. Poe explores concepts that are familiar to his poetry, including loneliness, spirituality, and death, but he discusses silence in an ambiguous manner as both freeing and isolating.

“To My Mother” by Robert Louis Stevenson (1885)

Robert Louis Stevenson was a 19th-century Scottish novelist and poet who was well-known for his books Treasure Island and Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. He also wrote children’s poetry. This short children’s poem reminiscences about childhood and the child’s sweet relationship with the mother. The poet uses a simple AABB rhyme scheme to express a sense of innocence in capturing this tender memory.

Further Literary Resources

“The Poetic Principle” by Edgar Allan Poe from the Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore (1850)

In this essay, Poe explores the principles behind his own poetic practice. Poe was famous for being a “conscious artist,” meaning that every choice he made in his poems was done so for a particular effect. Some of the principles he delineates in the essay are evident in “To My Mother,” in particular, his emphasis on concision as the heart of the poetic impulse and his thoughts on the relationship between a poem’s structure and its meaning.

“A Sonnet for Mother’s Day” from the Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore

The link provides images of the plaques that quoted the first quatrain of “To My Mother.” The link gives additional historical information on the popularity of the poem as a Mother’s Day gift.

“Edgar Allan Poe” by the Poetry Foundation

This article discusses Poe’s biography and writings in great depth and gives more insight into his reception following his death. Poe’s popularity has waxed and waned over the generations, and this piece provides some additional context for the reasons why, including information on R. W. Griswold, Poe’s literary executor who libeled Poe following his death, which resulted in further injury to Poe’s reputation.

“Lord Byron, Poe, and Poetry” by PBS Media

This clip from PBS explores Lord Byron’s influence on Poe. Byron, an early Romantic, was a key figure in Poe’s evolution as a writer as well as Poe’s adoption of the ideal of the individualistic artist-genius. The clip also explores the biographical inspirations for “Alone” and “To Helen,” some of Poe’s most famous poems discussing the themes of love, death, and loneliness.

“Edgar Allan Poe” by AmericanLiterature.com

This website includes more biographical information on Poe as well as links to many of his short stories and poems. In addition, the website includes photos and artworks inspired by his writings, which offer visual assistance with imagining his fantastical visions.