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Analysis Of The Poem ' The Raven '

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Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven” has been hailed by critics to be a defining work in the history of poetry. “Mariana”, a poem by Lord Alfred Tennyson draws from similar feelings and themes. As a result, the two poems are intertwined, similar to a startling degree. However, they set themselves apart from the other in several distinct ways. Even though both main characters long for a lost loved one, their psychological responses and states of mind differ. Additionally, the themes of the poems themselves diverge from their similar starting point. “Mariana” and “The Raven” are similar, but only on the surface. “The Raven” centers on the narrator’s thoughts as he hears a knocking at his door. "T 'is some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door. // Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door:” (16-17) One of the most prominent of these thoughts, mentioned several times during the poem, is the idea of “Lenore”. “Respite—respite and nepenthe from thy memories of Lenore!” (82) We never find out who “Lenore” was in relation to the narrator or any of her background. Rather we are merely told that she is important to the narrator. Her character is not elaborated on nor is it given any background. She is merely an “idea”, not a person. This is in stark contrast to “Mariana” where the narrator is clearly calling out to a person and not an idea. Even though a name is not mentioned, lines such as “He will not come,’ she said; She wept, ‘I am aweary, aweary,
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