Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesquie contained twenty-five stories, including "The Visionary," with its untitled embedded poem. (Qinn, 289)Published in 1840 by Lea and Blanchard of Philadelphia, the publisher eliminated the appendage "-- A Tale" that the story acquired when published in the July 1835 edition of the Southern Literary Messenger.

Poe warns in his preface that "The epithets 'Grotesque' and 'Arabesque' will ... indicate with sufficient precision the prevanent tenor of the tales here published." Variant D of the lyrical romantic poem is embedded in "The Visionary" that is printed in Tales of the Grotesque... . (Mabbott, 150)