To Helen

BY EDGAR ALLAN POE

Helen, thy beauty is to me

   Like those Nicéan barks of yore,

That gently, o'er a perfumed sea,

   The weary, way-worn wanderer bore

   To his own native shore.

On desperate seas long wont to roam,

   Thy hyacinth hair, thy classic face,

Thy Naiad airs have brought me home

   To the glory that was Greece,      

   And the grandeur that was Rome.

Lo! in yon brilliant window-niche

   How statue-like I see thee stand,

The agate lamp within thy hand!

   Ah, Psyche, from the regions which

   Are Holy-Land!

Notes

Helen: An allusion to Helen of Troy in Greek mythology. Helen, the wife of King Menelaus of Greece, was the most beautiful woman in the world. After a Trojan prince named Paris abducted her, the Greeks declared war on the Trojans, fighting a 10-year battle that ended in victory and the restoration of Greek honor. Helen returned to Greece with Menelaus. 
Nicean: Of or from Nicea (also spelled Nicaea), a city in ancient Bithynia (now part of present-day Turkey) near the site of the Trojan War. 
barks: small sailing vessels. 

wont:accustomed to                                                                       Naiad: Naiads were minor nature goddesses in Greek and Romanmythology. They inhabited and presided over rivers, lakes, streams, and fountains. 
Naiad airs: Peaceful, gentle breezes or qualities  

agate lamp: burning lamp made of agate. 
Psyche: In Greek and Roman mythology, Psyche was a beautiful princess dear to the god of love, Eros (Cupid), who would visit her in a darkened room in a palace. One night she used an agate lamp to discover his identity. Later, at the urging of Eros, Zeus gave her the gift of immortality. Eros then married her

Figures of Speech

Alliteration:The weary, wayworn wanderer bore (line 5)

Anaphora:Thy hyacinth hair, thy classic face, 
Thy Naiad airs have brought me home (lines 7-8)

Personification:On desperate seas long wont to roam (line 6) (Comparison of the seas to a human.)

Simile:Helen, thy beauty is to me 
Like those Nicéan barks of yore (lines 1-2) (Comparison of Helen's beauty to Nicéan barks)

Theme: The theme of this short poem is the beauty of a woman with whom Poe became acquainted when he was 14 and apparently treated him kindly and may have inspired him to write poetry.