Edgar Allan Poe The Bells Literary Devices

“Its pendulum swings to and fro with a dull, heavy, and monotonous clang, causing everyone to stop, including the music”(Poe 374). Although this quote may seem meaningless, it supports the idea that nobody wants to perish or want their life to be interrupted. The quote also supports the theme of “death is inevitable” by making the rings never fade away while the characters gossip about it. The entities from the black apartment, such as the scarlet windows, also give an ominous and dark addition to the story. These objects help develop the theme of the short story.

The nineteenth century poet Edgar Allen Poe makes use of several literary devices in order to create a gloomy atmosphere in his poem “The Raven”. Alliteration, rhyme, onomatopoeia, assonance, and repetition are used to contribute to the melodic nature of the work and provide an almost “visual” representation of his gothic setting. Poe is a master of using these writing techniques. “The Raven” is one of his most popular works. This is certainly due, in part to his use of these literary devices in this piece.

At the end of the first paragraph Poe uses foreshadowing when he writes “And the whole seizure, progress and termination of the disease, were the incidents of half an hour” (1). I see this as foreshadowing the event that ends the party and the lives of all those present. The entire thousand assembled die when the Red Death came. The “last chime had utterly sunk” (3) also foreshadows the end where each individual “died in the despairing posture of his fall” (4). Combining both these instances together shows that the whole situation or incident, from the “presence of a masked figure” (3) to “one by one dropped” (4), ended before the clock chimed the next passing hour. The “seventh apartment” (1) also foreshadow the presence of the Red Death. The entire apartment was “shrouded in black velvet tapestries” and the window “panes here

I chose Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven” for my poem. In the poem there is a gloomy tone set for the entirety of the poem. How does Poe do that? What poetic devices does Poe use? Poe is well known poet that has many poems that are set in this type of mood. I do believe this one is different than the rest. Poe uses the raven as a symbol of weariness. I would argue Poe had a lot of demons at the time of this poem that he was fighting, and the raven itself, Poe speaks about in the “The Philosophy of Composition”, is meant to symbolize Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance. Poe is using the raven to symbolize the loss of many loved ones that Poe had to endure. Poe immediately sets the tone of the poem by writing in the very first line “Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary...” he is describing the night as dull and depressing by the word choice he uses. The narrator of “The Raven” is dealing with the death of his wife, Lenore, and is constantly trying to forget his lost love as Poe shows:

The poem, "The Bells," by Edgar Allan Poe, reveals the theme of changing seasons through word choice, symbolism, and poetic elements, like onomatopoeia, alliteration, and metaphors. Each stanza represents a different season with different meanings. The first stanza represents spring; a jolly, happy season. This stanza includes multiple samples of onomatopoeia and words that indicate mood. Lines that indicate this include lines 1, 3, 8, 11, and 14. These lines say, "Hear the sledges with the bells... what a world of merriment their melody foretells... With a crystalline delight... To the tintinnabulation that so musically wells... From the jingling and the tinkling of the bells." The words, "sledges," "merriment," "crystalline delight," and "melody" all mean happiness. The calm and joyful sound of the bells that are "jingling and tinkling" indicates the joyfulness and calmness of the beginning. Spring is a joyful season, with blossoming flowers and being able to enjoy the sun after winter. Then, the second stanza mostly relates to summer, an also happy and enjoyable season. The second stanza represents an also jolly and harmonizing mood. Lines 15, 17, 19, and 35 show characteristics of onomatopoeia and symbolism. The lines show, "Hear the mellow wedding bells... what a world of happiness their harmony foretells... how they ring out their delight... to the rhyming and the chiming of the bells!" This indicates the "mellow wedding bells," an iconic example of symbolism. The wedding bells show a time of happiness, as it's usually a memorable and joyful event for many. Then, the "world of happiness their harmony foretells" and how they "ring out their delight" shows examples of onomatopoeia, which lets the reader realize that it's a harmonizing and peaceful sound. This stanza resembles the season of summer; a time to relax and have memories and fun. Then, as the poem progresses, it reaches a more dark state. The third stanza represents a sad and somewhat scary mood. Examples of alliteration and onomatopoeia are present throughout this stanza, like on paragraph 38, 40, 45, 58-59, and 69 have numerous examples of this. The lines indicate, "What a tale of terror, now, their turbulency tells... how they scream out

Poe uses word choice that is highly appropriate for his setting and the visit of the Raven within the poem. He mentions the Raven visits in December and that during that time “each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor” (8). The actual meaning of this phrase, means that ashes are falling on the floor from the fire; however, it implies that with each moment within December the narrator experiences a new form of pain and grief. In addition, when the narrator sees the curtains move he says that the movement “filled [him] with fantastic terrors never felt before” (14). This specific phrase shows that the narrator is scared about discovering what is awaiting him. Poe also provides a list of actions the narrator was participating in while frightened by the Raven; the narrator is said to be “wondering, fearing, doubting, [and] dreaming dreams no moral ever dared to dream before” (25-26). This list includes actions that an individual would partake in during an event of extreme discomfort and while in extreme panic. In addition, Poe adds that upon the narrator’s discovery of the bird “the silence was unbroken” (27). This small yet simple phrase increases the disturbing of the Raven’s unannounced arrival because it did not specify its purpose for visiting the narrator. Poe use of word choice continually promotes fear and darkness. For example, the narrator hopes that the bird will give him some

The theme of the poem is hard to find, yet a common theme in literature. In “Alone” Edgar Allan Poe shows that not everyone is the same. He shows this in his fist 8 lines, as he explains how as a child he knew he never fit in. He also shows that everyone lives different lives because on line 8 Poe writes about having to love alone, after the loss of his parents. Poe also shows that everyone is different in their outlook on life. This is clear from line 9 until the end of the poem. Such as when he writes, “(When the rest of Heaven was blue/ Of a demon in my view--” (Poe 21-22). This shows that Poe saw the evil in life, whereas others saw the good, thus further proving how not everyone is the same. Thanks to Poe's use of elements and the theme, I was easily able to evaluate the poem.

The nineteenth century poet Edgar Allen Poe makes use of several literary devices in order to create a gloomy atmosphere in his poem “The Raven”. Alliteration, rhyme, onomatopoeia, assonance, and repetition are used to contribute to the melodic nature of the work and provide an almost “visual” representation of his gothic setting. Poe is a master of using these writing techniques. “The Raven” is one of his most popular works. This is certainly due, in part to his use of these literary devices in this piece.

The refrain, “five bells”, in italics is like a stage direction that reminds us the bells are still in the process of

There are a lot of difference between Poe's "The Bells" to Carrie Underwood's song "Church Bells". The first difference is that “The Bells” poem has a lot of symbolism of bells as silver bells, golden bells, iron bells and breeze bells but “ Church Bells” had only one symbolism of bells which were church wedding bells which they are a clue of gaiety and joyful. “The Bells” poem had a creepy, scary, joyful meanings, that means not only one meaning. The imagery were the same at some points in both of them like the sound. For instance (To the swinging and the ringing” II 17) and ( She could hear those church bells ringing, ringing III 1).

For example, Montresor smiles at him, but Fortunato does not know that his smile was, “at the thought of [his] immolation”. Montresor will do something harmful to Fortunato since he tells the reader he will. He wants the story to be mysterious, but also predicting. In addition, the repetitiveness of the jingling of the bells throughout the story, and at the end, “there came forth in return only a jingling of the bells” which was the last sound he heard. The little clues that Poe uses are revealing to the near future in his writing. The author wants the reader to be thrilled and excited to see the outcome of the story. Dramatic Irony and foreshadowing are important because they have a mysterious and thrilling theme of the story which makes the reader more

He is concerned for Irene, asking her if she is afraid of being in this place. He wonders why she is dreaming in this place, and of what. The speaker says that she must be from a far away land, because even the trees are left to wonder about her. He comments on the peculiarity of how white her skin is, how strangely she is dressed, as well as the length of her hair is off setting to him. He is addressing her as if she will respond to him, which is another use of apostrophe. He is seemingly disoriented by her lack of courteousness; she will not answer his questions. The introduction to Irene being placed in the second stanza is important because it allows for a mood to be created, for the poem to establish an emotional investment for the speaker; we must first get a vivid image of the external surroundings. Poe constructs a mystical setting for his poem which conveys the music in the speaker’s soul. He does this by using alliteration in the first stanza, “And, Softly, dripping, drop by drop. The sensuality of these descriptions conveys how he feels about Irene. Once we are introduced to the slumbering beauty we can see he is concerned for her soul. His probing questions with an expectation of an answer haunt us into the realization that his love transcends through the confines of death. Poe uses iambic tetrameter in this poem, which allows the flow of the poem to captivate the reader into this fantastic setting. The rhyme scheme of

The major literary device that Cummings uses in the poem is the use of tone. Cummings chooses to use a cacophonous tone for this poem unlike the tone in which he used for the poem the sky was. The use of the cacophonous tone allows the reader to further grasp how much the process of change must hurt as it recalls memories of how the reader has undergone change in their life in addition to the harsh sound that emphasizes Cummings' theme.

In the final stanza Poe writes that everything in this natural world reminds him of his beloved and that his heart still longs for his beloved wife. "and so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side of my darling, my darling, my life and my bride, in her sepulcher there by the sea- in her tomb by the sea". In this stanza the true feelings of Edgar Allen Poe are clearly evident. He pours his entire soul into this single stanza. He cries out to the world that his one true love is really gone; but he is only truly crying out to those who are able to view the tragedy of life and death through his eyes. Poe’s belief that fate somehow holds a grudge against him for finding love and happiness with a 13 year old girl is begging to be justified.

The gothic nature of “The Raven” gives the poem a much darker and negative tone, compared to “Annabel Lee,” which expresses the sorrow the narrator feels after his loss. Poe uses words in “The Raven” that makes the narrator appear weak, helpless, and desperate to know if he will see his wife, Lenore, again in the afterlife. In the early stanzas of the poem, the narrator hears a tapping at his bedroom door; he then reveals who he believes is trying to come into his room when he states, “And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, “Lenore?” \ This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, “Lenore!” - \ Merely this and nothing more” (Poe, 28-30). This quote is an example of how Poe sets the tone of the poem when the speaker whispers into the darkness, calling for his wife who he knows is deceased. This reveals to the audience that the man is not yet at peace with the reality that his wife is no longer with him. On the other hand, in “Annabel Lee,” Poe sets a more hopeful tone by exhibiting how the narrator feels about his deceased wife. Near the conclusion of the poem, the narrator