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Explication Of The Raven By Edgar Allan Poe

Decent Essays

Holly Hecox Perdue English Composition II 28 February 2016 Explication: “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe 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. Around midnight on a “bleak December” night, a “weak and weary” man is reading while “nearly napping”. He reads as a means of nullifying the sorrow he feels “for the lost Lenore”. Suddenly, he is jolted alert by some visitor tapping at his chamber door. The lonely man tells himself “ ‘Tis some visitor” “and nothing more”, but as he widely opens his chamber door, he finds “darkness there and nothing more”. Staring into the darkness, the narrator dreams about the impossibilities of his lost love, and even whispers her name; ‘Lenore’. Upon returning to his chamber, a stronger tapping, at the window, is catching his attention. Courageously exploring the noise, he is amused and relieved when a raven flies in from

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