"Eldorado" by Edgar Allan Poe

Here is a poem by Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) about a knight's search for the legendary place named Eldorado.


ELDORADO

   Gaily bedight,
   A gallant knight,
In sunshine and in shadow,
   Had journeyed long,
   Singing a song,
In search of Eldorado.

   But he grew old --
   This knight so bold --
And o'er his heart a shadow
   Fell as he found
   No spot of ground
That looked like Eldorado.

   And, as his strength
   Failed him at length,
He met a pilgrim shadow --
   "Shadow," said he,
   "Where can it be --
This land of Eldorado?"

   "Over the mountains
   Of the moon,
Down the Valley of the Shadow,
   Ride, boldly ride,"
   The shade replied, --
"If you seek for Eldorado."

Illustration by

William Heath Robinson