Edgar Allan Poe 's The Raven And The Black Cat

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.

Poetry has long been an art form that has entertained readers for many years. Edgar Allen Poe, a poet from the 1900’s, is known for his deep dark poems. He wrote many poems that are now considered classics. One of his greatest works, “The Raven”, was written in 1845; just two years before his wife Virginia Clemm died of Tuberculosis. The entirety of “The Raven” is confined in a man 's chamber. It is a December winter and it is midnight. The narrator, the person who resides in the chamber, is reading a book: glooming over the recent death of his wife Lenore when he hears a sound at his door. After finding no one there, he hears a whisper that says “Lenore.” He returns to what he was doing, but a bird flies in. The bird is a black raven, a bird one would typically find menacing. He is inquisitive and begins to ask the bird questions : “What is your name” to which the bird responds “Nevermore.” Near the end of his questioning he asks, “Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn, It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore - Clasp a rare and radiant maiden, whom the angels name Lenore?” This questioned if he ever get to meet Lenore again and the bird replies “Nevermore.” Finally, the man asks the bird if he will ever leave and once again the bird replies “Nevermore.” Throughout the poem, Poe uses literary elements to produce an aura of wackiness and despair.

Edgar Allan poe is one of the most incredible gothic writers, with a library of many famous works. He is famous for his dark and ominous way of narrating, as well as his brutal and obscure endings to his tales. Arguably his most famous works are the poem entitled “The Raven” published January 29th 1845, and his short story “The Tell-Tale Heart” published a few years earlier on January 1843. Both of these pieces of literature pulled the listener directly into Poe's mysterious world, with suspense and intensity in every line. “The Raven” and “The Tale-Heart’ written by Edgar Allan Poe both develop the gothic theme of madness by using dark imagery, similar symbolism, and torment.

Romanticism is an intellectual, spiritual, and literary movement that begins at the start of the nineteenth century and concludes at the beginning of the twentieth century. Of the many characteristics that are associated with Romanticism, the characteristics that are most evident in literature from this period are the characteristics of individuality and imagination. The author Edgar Allen Poe exhibits these characteristics in his works “The Black Cat”, and the “The Raven”.

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

I decided to pick the work of Edgar Allan Poe “The Raven” because it has always been one of my favorite works of literature. I always find myself enjoying gothic style literature such as the works of Edger Allan Poe. “The Raven” is considered to be a classic of gothic literature. Poe published “The Raven” on January 29, 1845. This poem from Edgar Allan Poe is both a short story and a narrative poem, it holds a tempo and flows like a poem. “The Raven” only has three characters in it the narrator, the raven, and Lenore. The narrator and the raven are both present and Lenore who is only spoken of. The name of the narrator is never gives his name in the poem. Some themes of “The Raven” are the dark side of the human mind, how life goes on after

Edgar Allan Poe was an extraordinary author whose horror and mystery stories leave an impression on readers even today. In some of Poe’s works, the narrator’s thoughts and actions make the reader question the narrator’s sanity. Two good examples are Poe’s poem “The Raven” and his short story “The Black Cat”; there is plenty of evidence to support that both of the narrators are not completely sane. In Poe’s “The Raven” and “The Black Cat,” both narrators exhibit symptoms of mental illness, including hallucinations, illogical thinking, mood swings, and substance abuse.

In Poe’s “The Raven”, Poe’s “The Black Cat”, and Irving’s “The Devil and Tom Walker”, there is a heavy focus on the element of mental decay; this gothic element is used in these stories to accentuate what is happening in these characters’ lives and the toll it takes on them mentally. For example, in “The Raven” the man is dwelling on the past with a constant feeling of “Sorrow for the lost Lenore” (Poe 426). Whom is presumably his lamented wife. These thoughts drove him to insanity, causing him to start hearing a raven constantly mocking him with “croaking (of) ‘Nevermore’” (Poe 439). On the other side of the spectrum, in “The Devil and Tom Walker”, Tom Walker’s wife was not only very alive, but instead of being described as a “rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore” (Poe 436) she is depicted as “tall termagant, fierce of temper, loud of tongue and strong of arm” (Irving 325), additionally, “his face sometimes showed signs that their conflicts were not confined to words” (Irving 325). Tom Walking was described to be just as atrocious as his wife; although he has not always been that way, but over the years, Tom Walker’s home conditions were so terrible “he didn’t even fear the devil” (Irving 325). Coming back to the concept of obsession with a dead entity, there is “Black Cat”, in this gothic masterpiece, the narrator “one morning, in cold blood, slipped a noose about [his cat’s] neck and hung it to the limb of a tree” (Poe 2) and he did this for no other reason than to fulfill his own “Spirit of perverseness” (Poe 2) to commit such a taboo act. In doing so he became obsessed with the cat, when he went back to the ruins of his house once engulfed by flames, he found that on the one standing wall was

Throughout all the short stories and poems written by Edgar Allan Poe, some connections can be made on the content, as in “The Black Cat”, and “The Raven”, are two narratives written by Poe, that unveil the themes and symbols he often uses in his work. Poe is on the mysterious side, but he is also taking the life he is given, and making his narratives raw and realist by some degree. Poe uses techniques that left him express his imagination through writing. There are many different ideas and questions arising from all his work. “The Black Cat” and “The Raven”, are two narratives that use similar themes and symbols that allow readers to receive a small connection of the madness inside of the narrators.

Edgar Allan Poe has a distinctive and dark way of writing (Poe & Kennedy, pp.22). His mysterious style of writing appeals to passion and sentimentality. Poe’s most prominent works of fiction are gothic. His stories tend to have similar recurring theme of either death, lost love or both. Poe’s psychologically thrilling stories examining the depths of the humanoid psyche earned him much fame throughout his lifetime and after his death. And this distinctive style of writing made him possess his own style of wiring (Arbor, pp.71). There is a psychological concentration which is an important characteristic of Poe’s literatures, particularly the tales of horror that encompass his best and well-known works, such as The Black Cat and The Raven which

Throughout all the short stories and poems wrote by Edgar Allan Poe, some connections can be made on the content. The Black Cat, and The Raven, are two narratives wrote by Poe, that unveil the themes and symbols he often uses in his work. Poe is on the mysterious side, but he is also taking the life he is given, and making his narratives raw and realist by some degree. Poe uses techniques that left him express his imagination through writing. There are many different ideas and questions rising from all his work. The Black Cat and The Raven, are two narratives that use similar themes and symbols that allow readers to receive a small connection of the madness inside of the narrators.

In “The Raven,” poet Edgar Allen Poe employs a variety of literary devices such as imagery and symbolism. Poe uses these devices to portray the mood of the poem. Throughout the poem he discusses the problems he is having with the loss of his wife.

Edgar Allan Poe was a brilliant Gothic writer, as he was always able to create a sense of terror throughout his works. If one looked at Poe’s different writings, one would find similarities in the Gothic elements, yet each one is unique. “The Black Cat” and “Berenice” are good examples of that. Although both of Poe’s stories “The Black Cat” and “Berenice” contain the Gothic elements of the supernatural, villains driven by passion, and horrific events, they are different in terms of Gothic setting, omens and shadows, and obsessions.