Edgar Allan Poe – A Valentine

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“For her these lines are penned, whose luminous eyes,
Brightly expressive as the twins of Læda,
Shall find her own sweet name that, nestling, lies
Upon the page, enwrapped from every reader“
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“A Valentine” is a poem written by Edgar Allan Poe. It was first published on February 21, 1846 in the Evening Mirror as “To Her Whose Name is To Be Written Below”.

“A Valentine” includes a puzzle challenge to discover a name hidden in the poem. The solution is given below.

This article features a complete, embedded, mobile-friendly version of “A Valentine“ by Edgar Allan Poe as well as a text version below.

A Valentine – PDF

A PDF copy of “A Valentine” can be downloaded using the menu in the app below.

A Valentine – Mobile Friendly

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A Valentine
by
Edgar Allan Poe

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At a ‘Valentine Soiree,’ in New York, the following enigmatical lines were received, among others, and read aloud to the company. The verses were enclosed in an envelope, addressed ‘To her whose name is written within.’ As no lady present could so read the riddle as to find her name written in it, the Valentine remained, and still remains, unclaimed. Can any of the readers of the FLAG discover for whom it is intended?

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For her these lines are penned, whose luminous eyes,
Brightly expressive as the twins of Læda,
Shall find her own sweet name that, nestling, lies
Upon the page, enwrapped from every reader.
Search narrowly this rhyme, which holds a treasure
Divine — a talisman — an amulet
That must be worn at heart. Search well the measure;
The words — the letters themselves. Do not forget
The trivialest point, or you may lose your labor.
And yet there is in this no Gordian knot
Which one might not undo without a sabre
If one could merely understand the plot.
Enwritten upon this page whereon are peering
Such eager eyes, there lies, I say, perdu,
A well-known name, oft uttered in the hearing
Of poets, by poets; as the name is a poet’s, too.
Its letters, although naturally lying —
Like the knight Pinto (Mendez Ferdinando) —
Still form a synonym for truth. Cease trying!
You will not read the riddle though you do the best you can do.

*  Should there be no solution furnished of the above, we will give the key next week.

Solution To “A Valentine”

The solution can be find by taking the first letter of the first row, second letter of the second letter, and so forth; incrementing the count of the letter with each subsequent line.

The result is the object of the valentine, Frances Sargen Osgood.