An Enigma
“Seldom we find,” says Solomon Don Dunce, “Half an idea in the profoundest sonnet. Through all the flimsy things we see at once As easily as through a Naples bonnet - Trash of all trash!- how can a lady don it? Yet heavier far than your Petrarchan stuff - Owl-downy nonsense that the faintest puff Twirls into trunk-paper the while you con it.” And, veritably, Sol is right enough. The general tuckermanities are arrant Bubbles- ephemeral and so transparent - But this is, now- you may depend upon it - Stable, opaque, immortal- all by dint Of the dear names that he concealed within ‘t.
An Enigma - form Summary
Playful Sonnet About Secrecy
Poe’s "An Enigma" is a compact sonnet that satirizes Petrarchan sentiment and popular sonnet conventions. A speaker, Solomon Don Dunce, derides most sonnets as flimsy, bubble-like and transparent. Yet the poem claims its own permanence by revealing that its worth lies in concealing "dear names" within. The final turn reframes the piece as a playful riddle: its lasting value depends on hidden personal references rather than grand ideas.
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