Gothic BJD Tales: Edgar Allan Poe's "The Bridal Ballad"

The ring is on my hand, 
   

And the wreath is on my brow; 


Satin and jewels grand 


Are all at my command, 
   

And I am happy now

And my lord he loves me well; 
   

But, when first he breathed his vow, 


I felt my bosom swell— 


For the words rang as a knell, 
   

And the voice seemed his who fell 


In the battle down the dell, 
   

And who is happy now

But he spoke to re-assure me, 
    

And he kissed my pallid brow, 


While a reverie came o'er me, 


And to the church-yard bore me, 


And I sighed to him before me, 


Thinking him dead D'Elormie, 


"Oh, I am happy now!"

And thus the words were spoken, 
    

And this the plighted vow, 


And, though my faith be broken, 


And, though my heart be broken, 


Here is a ring, as token 
    

That I am happy now

Would God I could awaken! 


For I dream I know not how! 


And my soul is sorely shaken 


Lest an evil step be taken,— 


Lest the dead who is forsaken 
    

May not be happy now

* * *

Notes:  This is my interpretation of theme IV of the Edgar Allan Poe photography challenge that I mentioned in my last entry.  I hadn't planned to illustrate the whole poem, but once I uploaded my pictures, a photostory seemed the best way to show the movement from superficial safety to real or imagined danger.   

* * *

The Edgar Allan Poe BJD Photography Challenge

Hello dear and lovely readers, since my collaborative adaptation of "The Raven" has proven so troublesome, my partner (and author of this guest entry) created a smaller-scale challenge.  I'm sharing it here because I doubt I'm the only one who finds the subject matter inspiring.  The themes are as follows:

I. "It was night in the lonesome October of my most immemorial year"

II. "Spirits moving musically to a lute's well-tuned law"

III. "my life and my bride, in the sepulchre there by the sea, in her tomb by the sounding sea"

IV. "And I sighed to him before me, thinking him dead D'Elormie"

V. "A dirge for her the doubly dead in that she died so young"

VI. "I am dying, yet I shall live."

VII. "And he was a passionate, and wild, and moody man, who became lost in reveries so that he would not see that the light which fell so ghastly in that lone turret withered the health and the spirits of his bride, who pined visibly to all but him."

* * *

 I've been given leave to interpret the Poe quotes as I see fit, so we'll see how this new project goes.  Some things might lend themselves better to a contextual BJD illustration than others.  If any one happens to read this and decides to take on the photo challenge too, I'd love to see the results.  Thanks for reading, as always! :0)

 

 

* * *