Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “Lenore” was published in 1843, though an earlier version of the poem had appeared in 1831, under the title “A Pæan.” This earlier version was significantly shorter and didn’t feature the name “Lenore” anywhere. Furthermore, the lines were all spoken by a grief-struck lover. By contrast, the version of the poem as we have it today consists of 26 long lines that make up four stanzas of unequal length. Poe structured the poem as a dialogue between two speakers: a chorus of townsfolk, and a bereaved fiancé named Guy de Vere. The chorus speaks first, observing that Guy de Vere has not properly grieved Lenore’s premature death. To ensure that he moves through the necessary stages of grief, the chorus entreats the bereaved man to authorize the traditional funerary rites. Guy de Vere lashes out bitterly at the chorus, blaming them for Lenore’s death and rejecting the solemnity of funerary rites as inappropriate for the occasion. The poem’s dialogic structure yields a tone characterized by ambiguity, since we readers can’t be sure with whom to side or what will happen next. Even so, it seems likely that the chorus is right about Guy de Vere’s unresolved grief.