Edgar Allan Poe

(To Isaac Lea)

Summary


"To Isaac Lea" is a short poem by Edgar Allan Poe in which the speaker reflects on a fateful decision — whether born of choice or chance — to commit entirely to a singular cause. With his worldly goods, wit, soul, and body pledged in full, the speaker frames devotion itself as a kind of fate. The poem is spare and intense, capturing in just four lines the weight of an all-consuming dedication that cannot easily be undone.

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It was my choice or chance or curse
To adopt the cause for better or worse
And with my worldly goods & wit
And soul & body worship it —-

Credits

Edgar Allan Poe was an American writer of the 19th century, celebrated for his poetry, gothic short stories, and pioneering contributions to detective fiction. "To Isaac Lea" was addressed to the Philadelphia naturalist and publisher Isaac Lea, likely written during Poe's efforts to find a publisher for his early work, giving this intimate verse a fascinating biographical dimension.

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