¶ … Bells' by Edgar Allen Poe. The poem revolves around different phases of human life and connects them to chiming of bells. 'The Bells' is considered a near-perfect example of a poetic device called onomatopoeia. THE BELLS

The Bells' on first reading would appear to be a happy song, which talks about various stages of man's life and the significance of different sounds. But in-depth analysis reveals that this poem is actually more autobiographical in nature and though it does mention the four stages that man goes through, it is by no means a happy song. This brings us to the central idea of the poem. The poem chronicles four stages of man's life with first being the happiest yet shortest and last two being saddest yet longer. Man's childhood is the sunniest time of his life but it lasts for a brief period whereas maturity and near-death moments are saddest and highly undesirable yet they appear to last a very long time. It is important...

He did not specifically complain about the shortness of childhood or youth, yet he wants to convey this idea through the number of lines that these stanzas contain. The sudden leap from short to long stanzas surprises the readers and make them think about the obvious and deliberately created difference.
It is critical to bear in mind that there are no specific messages being given to readers through these lines. The poet is more concerned about the why he felt about the different phases of life and thus seeks to present his views on the subject with little or no hidden meanings. The poet has made intelligent use of various poetic devices including onomatopoeia and forceful repetition. This poem has often been referred to as the most perfect example of experimental onomatopoeia. This device seeks to highlight meaning of a…