The Divine Right Of Kings - Edgar Allan Poe

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The Divine Right Of Kings by Edgar Allan Poe

Graham's Magazine, October 1845
The Divine Right Of Kings
by Edgar Allen Poe

The only king by right divine
Is Ellen King, and were she mine
I'd strive for liberty no more,
But hug the glorious chains I wore.

Her bosom is an ivory throne,
Where tyrant virtue reigns alone ;
No subject vice dare interfere,
To check the power that governs here.

O! would she deign to rule my fate,
I'd worship Kings and kingly state,
And hold this maxim all life long,
The King — my King — can do no wrong. P

-The End-

[This poem was first attributed to Poe by James H. Whitty, based on a pencilled note in a copy of Graham's Magazine owned by Frances S. Osgood. The identity of Ellen King has been disputed, but seems most likely to refer to Frances S. Osgood. Poe was writing poems addressed to her about this time, and she appears to have used "Ellen" as a pen-name.]

[It has been noted that this is a great rarity in Poe's works, for the speaker is a woman. Readers of this poem should also refer to Poe's earlier "Song."]