Diction In The Raven

Written by Edgar Allan Poe, “The Raven” is a famous short poem known for the dark fantasy that it portrays. From the mindset of a first person narrative, one may experience the tale through the eyes of a haunted man who is in mourning for the death of his beloved Lenore. As this man sits in his chamber, within a dark and dreary December night, a “raven of the saintly days of yore” visits him. The raven is no ordinary bird, for it is like a ghost, silent, yet it answers every inquiry the man presents in it’s own personal way. This dark and tragic tale grabs one’s attention through the rhythmic, yet melancholy verses, through the classic references, and through the dark imagery that all play a critical role within this poem.

To begin, in Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven,” a man suffering over the loss of his love, Lenore, is sitting in his chamber reading when a bird keeps tapping at his door. As the bird keeps tapping, he finally decides to go open the door. As he peers out into the darkness, his loneliness engulfs him, evoking his “surcease of sorrow- sorrow for the lost Lenore- for the rare and radiant Maiden named Lenore,” who is “nameless [there] forevermore”(Poe 436). After that, the raven flies in and serves as a constant reminder of his torment. Despair and depression traps him in his own mind. Lenore was

Edgar Allen Poe, although considered an outstanding author and poet, struggled with pain and death which he had endured throughout his lifetime. These experiences are reflected in his writings. For instance, “The Raven” and “The Tell-Tale Heart” which are both independent stories of Poe with distinct storylines shared a few commonalities. This includes the presence of death, the literary use of repetition and a late-night setting. In “The Raven”, the narrator has lost his wife and is desperate to reunite with her. When the raven first appears on top of his door, he hopes that it has come to bring him back his Lenore or to take him to her. The death of his loved one, Lenore, within the short poem leaves the narrator in a desperate and melancholy state. It reaches the point where he begins to grow frustrated when the bird doesn’t answer his questions about his deceased lover. In the text, it says “From my books surcease of sorrow—sorrow for the lost Lenore.” This quote shows the aftermath and effects of death especially when it leaves you without a loved one. Similarly, in “The Tell-Tale Heart”, a life is also taken away. In the short story, the narrator seeks to commit murder to free himself of the old man’s “evil vulture eye.” He describes it as, “the eye of a vulture- a pale blue eye, with a film over it” and while it is not specific whether the man was simply blind or had a fake eye, the narrator was paranoid. His paranoia drove him mad although he claimed not to be and

It is significant to note how certain words like “melancholy,” “dreary,” “oppressively,” and “dull, dark, and soundless” abet the fortification of this tenebrous environment that evokes such terror within the narrator. Likewise, the imagery present in the narrator’s description of “the atmosphere which had no affinity with the air of heaven, but which had reeked up from the decayed trees, and the gray wall, and the silent tarn, a pestilent and mystic vapor, dull, sluggish, faintly discernible, and leaded-hued,” contributes to the ominous mood generated by these systematically chosen words (92). This mood remains throughout the story and offers a throbbing sense of anticipation and lingering fear. Another example of how Poe’s imagery achieves this effect occurs when the narrator briefly spies Madeline in the beginning of the story: “The lady Madeline passed slowly through the remote portion of the apartment and, without having noticed my presence, disappeared. A sensation of stupor oppressed me, and my eyes followed her retreating steps” (96). Images like these contribute to the perception

Through the use of an un-named narrator in his poem entitled “The Raven”, Poe darkly conveys feeling understood by many: hopelessness, lost love, and death. The poem follows the un-named narrator, as he reflects on, as well as struggles with, the realization of his lost love, Lenore. Like many, he tries to detract his overwhelming feelings for Lenore by investing his time in studying books. Despite his greatest efforts, he is unsuccessful. Much to his surprise, his solitude is interrupted by an unanticipated visitor. Throughout the poem, Poe uses imagery, tone, symbolism, and rhyme as a means of conveying his overall themes of undying devotion and lingering grief.

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.

“The Raven” is a magnificent piece by a very well known poet from the 19th century, Edgar Allan Poe. Poe was well known for his dark and haunting poetry. Along with writing poetry, Poe was also recognized for his Gothic-style short stories. “The Raven” is one of Poe’s greatest accomplishments and was even turned into recitals and numerous television appearances. “The Raven” tells a story about an unnamed narrator whose beloved Lenore has left him. A raven comes at different points throughout the poem and tells the narrator that he and his lover are “Nevermore.” Poe presents the downfall of the narrator’s mind through the raven and many chilling events. By thorough review and studying of Edgar Allan Poe’s work, one can fully understand the

Lenore is thought of to be a representation of Poe’s deceased wife Virginia. He did not want to get over the loss of his wife. “Leave my loneliness unbroken! – quit they bust above my door! Take thy beak from out my heart, and take they form from off my door!” (The Raven). In the poem, To My Mother, Poe writes about his own mother taking care of Virginia in heaven and becoming her mother as well. The death and mourning of his wife did, in fact, come out in his writing. Poe is very lonely at this point in his life and misses his wife Virginia. “For ‘mid the earnest cares and woes That crowd around my earthly path, (Sad path, Alas, where grows Not even a lonely rose!)” (To One Departed). Death is a time in life that scares Poe and he thinks of it as being evil, because the two women he loved dearly died. He did not always think of death as being an evil thing. In Tamerlane, Poe knew that death was a part of life and he seemed content with the idea of dying. “Father, I firmly do believe – I know – for Death, who comes for me…. Else how, when in the holy grove” (Tamerlane).

Dark romantic writers explores the evil sides of humanity, such as Edgar Allan Poe, when he exposes readers to the dangers of loss and isolation. One midnight when the narrator was reminiscing over his lost Lenore, a raven flew in his window and confronted him. He loses himself and reality the more he talks with the raven, as he longs to see his lost love, Lenore. In stanza fourteen of “The Raven,” Poe uses several allusions and imagery to show the narrator’s growing mental instability and paranoia due to living in solitude and his never ending love for the missed Lenore.     Poe uses imagery to identify the point when the narrator starts going crazy.

First at the beginning of the story the narrator is very sad and affected that Lenore had died. Adding the fact that the narrator is very angry because someone or something had knocked on the door and was very mad about it. Later he started scream and nagging to leave him alone and to go away. I think that Edgar Allan Poe choose this his setting because he like to do psychological thrillers. If Poe had chosen to do this on a carnival or a circus the I think that the mood would be the opposite what actually is in the story. The reason is simple that generally go to the carnival or to the circus when they are happy. And very rarely some will go to those places when they are sad because there are a lot of sound and people. Most of the people when they are sad stay in their home crying or in a bad mood. Also, that the narrator is very stressed and very fragile to hear child cry, scream, etc.… With that mood, the setting and what happens in the poem will be never be the

Edgar Allen Poe utilizes various literary devices in order to create a dark tone in his poem, “The Raven.” Poe’s use of alliteration and repetition are instrumental to the melodic nature of the work, as well as providing a rather “visual” representation of his gothic setting. He also utilizes pathos to evoke a response from the reader through emotions (fear, desire, etc.) In addition, the point of view plays a key role in this poem, but its reliability may be questioned. All of these aspects of the poem combine to show the human need to torture oneself and to try to do anything to find optimism in a time of grief and denial. In reality, this way of coping isn’t effective and will just hurt the person more.

The Raven tells a story of a man with much grief over this loss of his love, Lenore. As the poem opens, the narrator is trying to find peace through his books. He states, “…while I pondered, weak and weary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,” (862). The setting, a chamber in a house, is described in such a way that creates a very dark, almost melancholy style. The narrator, while trying to find comfort for his loss, hears a tapping at his window. As he opens the window, a raven, a long time symbol of death, flies in, and refuses to leave. Poe uses the symbol of the raven, and his repeating word of “nevermore”, to show that the narrator will never get over the loss of his love, Lenore.

This essay will discuss the themes in Poe’s writing that mirror his personal life and, in addition, the fear and supernatural motivators for his characters. First, I will discuss Poe’s background and explore how he became best known as a poet for his tales of mystery and macabre.

“The Raven”, being Poe’s most eminent poem, features a narrator preoccupied by thoughts of his deceased wife Lenore. Prior to Poe writing this, Virginia became ill and Lenore is furthermore utilized as her indirect symbol. Obviously, there is a formative pattern within Poe’s short stories seeing that Virginia is one recurring feature. When reading Poe’s work, no assumption is necessary, as he makes his love for Virginia exceptionally clear much like the narrator’s love for Lenore.  At the end of the poem, the narrator states, “And the raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting on the pallid bust just

Poe’s poem, “Lenore” extends further and uniquely focuses on a man’s journey to accept the loss of his betrothed using the tone and organization of the text. The poem is organized as a conversation in four stanzas between Guy de Vere and the narrator. The first and third stanzas are the spoken words of the narrator and the second and fourth stanzas are the verbal responses of Guy de Vere. Poe’s decision to compose his poem in this manner provides the reader with a direct look at the raw, bare emotions of the recently widowed man. These four stanzas allow the reader four opportunities to stand in Guy de Vere’s shoes and to hear what he hears. The reader now can identify with the complex array of emotions and stages of grief experienced by Guy de Vere. With each stanza in the poem, the tone changes slightly showing the gradual acceptance of the loss by Guy de Vere. In the second stanza, de Vere’s tone, created by internal sound devices and sentence structure, is hostile, demonstrating the anger felt. The change in de Vere’s tone occurring in the fourth stanza demonstrates a major evolution in his outlook toward the future. He finally understands that although Lenore is gone, she will be accepted in Heaven; and his life will continue without her. By talking out his feelings through conversation, Guy de Vere finally accepts the loss of his bride to be, showing the power that one conversation can have on someone’s life. In Poe’s poem, he uses structure and sound devices to show that after the loss of a loved one, one may attribute the death to others, but with consolation and care from others, he or she will make peace with the