Analysis of Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven Essay

Edgar Allan Poe uses his literary works to convey the gloom and wickedness hidden within society. Poe’s short stories give his audience an insight to the feeling of losing oneself and committing heinous acts of violence. Poe’s mastery of symbolism with day-to-day objects or animals to express the innermost dark desires or torment people undergo emits a sense of comfort or thrill for the reader. “The Raven” provides the audience with the apprehension of losing someone close and the wage against falling into a deep depression. In “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe, the raven symbolizes the narrator’s struggle to keep sane after losing his wife, Lenore.

Throughout the story, the speaker finds the raven in his house and begins to give the raven respect once they met. In the story "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe , Poe states,"But

so dear, and loneliness can all lead people to be in a some state of insanity. In the poem, “The Raven”, Edgar Allen Poe writes of a man whom is suffering mental instability after the tragic loss of his lover, Lenore. A raven flies into his chamber door and the narrator suspects the bird’s purpose is to evoke him of Lenore and to further his growing insanity. In stanza 14, the use of allusions and the diction Poe utilizes helps demonstrate tremendous calamity may lead to madness.

The man then asks the Raven for his name. Surprisingly the Raven answers, and croaks “Nevermore.” The man knows that the bird cannot speak from wisdom. He assumes that the bird was taught by “some unhappy master.” The man is so lonely that he decides to welcome the raven in, although, he is sad that the friend he just made will be gone in the morning (1174). He says out loud, “Other friends have flown before- On the morrow he will leave me, as my Hopes have flown before.” Then the bird replies, “Nevermore.” Surprised the man smiled and pulled up a chair, interested in knowing what the raven meant when he croaked, “Nevermore.” The chair he sat in brought back painful memories of his love, Lenore and how she used to sit in that chair. Knowing that the raven’s speech is irrational he still asks the raven questions. Since the narrator already knows that the raven can only speak one word, he assumes the bird’s responses. The man asks, “Is there balm in Gilead?" The bird replies, "Nevermore." Can Lenore be found in paradise? - "Nevermore." The man becomes angered and yells, “Take thy form from off my door!" Of course the bird replies, "Nevermore."(1175) Lastly the man surrenders, realizing that continuing the conversation with the raven would be pointless. And his "soul from out that shadow" that the raven throws on the floor, "Shall be lifted -- Nevermore!" (1175)

In the popular television show, “One Tree Hill”, Lucas Scott once stated, “Some people believe that ravens guide travelers to their destinations. Others believe that the sight of a solitary raven is considered good luck or more than one raven together predicts trouble ahead.” People have many different opinions about what ravens signify. In Poe’s “The Raven” it becomes clear that the raven symbolizes emotional suffering and also portrays a vivid understanding of reality.

Alarmed, the narrator says that the raven must have learned this word from its previous owner who taught the bird to continuously repeat the word. The narrator begins to smile and stare at the bird, thinking about the meaning of the word; the raven stares back. He gets a sudden feeling that angels are in his presence, and angrily calls the raven an evil prophet. The narrator asks the raven if he will see Lenore in heaven. Again, the raven replies, “Nevermore”.

Literary Analysis Edgar Allen Poe’s poem “The Raven” demonstrates the loneliness and depression the narrator is feeling after losing his love, Lenore. This is represented by the constant distractions he thinks he is hearing, only to realize that no one, nor nothing, is there. He then tries to distract himself from his misery, by entertaining a Raven that perched on his door who only iterates one word, nevermore.

The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe is one of his most famous poems. Set in the narrator’s den Poe is giving us a look at a grieving man. He has lost a woman named Lenore. According to literary critic Dhahir “Like Poe’s other works, “The Raven is directly influenced by his personal life, his sorrows, his loneliness, his bouts of depression, and his private battles with mental demons”(Dhahir 1). Edgar Allan Poe’s use of imagery and symbolism in The Raven help set the melancholy tone of the narrator.

           One of the genius factors of Poe’s writing is his way of working his way into the human psyche, with nothing more than a few words and a perfect setting.  You can not really relate to some one, who is being chased by a monster, because even though it is scary, somewhere in the back of your brain you know this isn’t real.  However, everyone can relate to the being psychologically tormented by your past.  Poe seeks to not exactly scare his readers with this poem, but give them a since of the narrators self-torment.   Using a raven that only answers in the negative over and over again to whatever question is asked, slowly driving the narrator insane.  One wonders if Poe himself wrote this poem late at night, under the flickering of candlelight, not having enough sleep or enough to eat, yet under influences such as alcohol, etc.  With the narrators mention of the angel-named Lenore, “Nameless here for evermore,” Poe is possibly reaching out for his lost love long dead to him.

Although all did not necessarily praise Poe’s writing, he has certainly remained one of the most notorious writers in history. In reference to Poe’s poetry, most recall “The Raven”, however

"The Raven" is a narrative poem by Edgar Allan Poe.It tells the raven of talking about a mysterious visit to an irritable lover, tracking the slow descent of people into the madness.Is lamenting the loss of his love, Lenore.The Raven seems to further incite his pain, repeating the word ".nevermore”Poe made careful choices in the structure and language of his writing in order to create a mood of sorrowful and to establish his theme of explore grief and depression.

Just as his sorrow won't leave, neither will the raven. It has come to haunt him. The bird is a physical representation of the character's sorrow that just won't disappear. Throughout the poem the character also talks to the bird. The death of a loved one brings great sorrow which can lead to depression.

Edgar Allen Poe, forever known for his disturbing use of literary devices, does not fail to raise his bar with The Raven. One of his most well-known pieces for good reason, The Raven uses repetition and point of view to create an engaging piece that indulges the reader in to a world of suspense. The limited perspective lets us feel the same confusion and anxiety as the narrator. The repetition aides this by creating a faux sense of urgency of something that isn’t quite there. The structure of the stanzas all pair perfectly to make the end product of The Raven chilling.

The poem, “The Raven,” written by Edgar Allen Poe shows the deep depression and confusion that the narrator is experiencing since the death of his beloved wife. The gloomy setting of the poem predicts the visit of the Raven, whom is a sign of misfortune, darkness, and death. Throughout the poem, the narrator is continually mourning his wife, Lenore. He secretly hopes that the Raven will bring good news regarding his wife and his future; however, the Raven informs him that he will forever remain depressed. Furthermore, Poe uses setting, strong word choice, and symbolism to illustrate the Raven as the messenger of darkness and explain the narrator’s emotional state.

Poe’s famous poem “The Raven” became very popular from the day of its publishing not only because of it doesn’t have any dates or references to historical events in it, but also because of the way he expresses his view of death and sadness. Even though it looks like the narrator has a very free and comfortable life of a wealthy person, his expression doesn’t make a clear political points. Furthermore, Poe tries to unleash the anarchy of slavery. He never waited for somebody who would destroy his life comfort and his work, he was just writing things he felt and expressed himself via his excellent poems. He became a poet who didn’t care about the references and historical dates when he was writing this poem and because of it, it is hard to find