Use Of Figurative Language In Poe's 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.

The poem tells of a narrator who is reading an old book in his parlor when he is interrupted by a knock at the door. The protagonist is in a period of grieving over the loss of his love, Lenore. At first, he wonders who the visitor might be and resolves to inform him or her that he is indisposed at the moment. The narrator finally opens the door only to find no one there. He returns to the chair (which Lenore will no longer occupy), only to hear the rapping again. He decides that the sound may be coming from the window, so he opens it. A raven enters through the window and lights upon a bust of a mythological figure that the narrator has in his room. The narrator questions the raven concerning its name, the bird answers “nevermore”. This startles the speaker, and he wonders aloud if the bird will leave him just as all of his friends seem to do. Again, he is answered by the raven “nevermore”. As the protagonist progressively

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 Raven can be considered a gothic poem because it has many elements that distinguish it as such. It begins "Once upon a midnight dreary..." , hence evoking the feature of darkness and night. The narrator is roused from his sleepy state by a rapping on the door, which begins to terrify him because he is wishing for Lenore, but finds nothing instead ( or rather the raven). This scene then contains the typical gothic elements of mystery, ghosts and the supernatural in the references to "silence unbroken" and "no mortals ever dared to dream before" , and terror as he refers to his beating heart.

Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “The Raven” happens to be his most popular poem. There are two characters in this poem: a Raven and the narrator. The narrator is telling the story of when he had just lost the love of his life, Lenore. Right away the reader finds out it is a dark, cold night. He comes off as a lonely grieve-stricken man. He is reading a book of folklore in the middle of the night until he is able to sleep, and “surcease the sorrow” (st 2, l 4) as he hopes that his pain will end. In stanza 2 line 1 we find out that it is the month of

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.

Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" employs a raven itself as a symbol of the torture, mainly the self-inflicted torture, of the narrator over his lost love, Lenore.

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.

Lenore’s absence also furthers to another absence that mimics the human’s incapability to know and understand what is happening (Freedman). Along with darkness, Poe uses a vivid language to achieve his single effect. Poe arranges time, place, and other details rapidly and clearly. He chooses each word carefully and requires that its meaning relates to the poem as a whole. Stanza 2 enhances and distinguishes the vivid effect Poe has already made (“Edgar Allan Poe” 52). “The Raven” is narrated from a first person tone which has a tone in the language of sorrow, weariness, and self-destructive thinking (Edwards). The contradictions of the poem and also the reflections that haunt the speaker are mostly unavoidable circumstances of the language that Poe chooses. Poe uses phrases such as “dying embers,” “Midnight dreary,” and “in bleak December” to agonize and satiate the reader’s view of the setting. These carefully chosen words assume intriguing and fascinating shapes and forms in the poem. These opening pictures help draw the readers into the speaker’s deteriorating mind. The tone of the poem is appropriate and well chosen for the subject, and the rhythm is also exquisite. Poe, with this tone and rhythm, uses wild but also tender melancholy in his lines. Mr. Willis claims “It is the most effective single example of fugitive poetry ever published in this country, and unsurpassed in English poetry for subtle conception, masterly ingenuity of versification,

The literary analysis poem “ The Raven” is by Edgar Allen Poe. The poem was written in 1845. The theme of "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe is undying devotion, loss and lingering grief. The main characters in the story is Lonore , the narrator, and the bird. The narrator uses Personification , conflict the speaker struggles through, and symbolism of the raven to connect to his reader/audience .

The poem I picked is The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe. I found many forms of figurative language in this poem but I will be talking about three different types. I will be talking about rhyme, personification, as well as metaphors. The theme of this poem is death. About the sorrow, pain, worry,and just everything that goes along with the death of someone you love. The tone of this poem is melancholic which means great sadness or even depression.

A word that follows another word with the same consonant sounds is alliteration. Alliteration is used quite often in poetry as it helps create a certain tone or mood for a poem. Words that use alliteration are effective as it uses sound to bring focus to specific parts of a poem that are vital in making an idea or an emotion known. The use of alliteration is very clever as it is a simple trick authors use to grab a reader’s attention and help readers understand what they are trying to say. Edgar Allen Poe uses alliteration quite often in his poem “The Raven” to create a somber and ominous mood. Poe uses phrases like “weak and weary” and “doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before” to emphasize the darkness of the poem. The alliteration used also gives readers a sense that nothing good will come at the end of “The Raven” as the phrases that use alliteration are dreary and unwelcoming.

     The opening stanza of "The Raven" introduces the reader to an isolated man in his study on a "dreary" night reading old books and trying to stay awake.  The silent solitude

“The Raven” symbolizes to Poe, why this poem is so deeply credited for this author, and what made him decide to write the poem. People wonder what truly went on in the mind of Poe as he was writing one of his many great works. His dynamic use of figurative language, color symbols, and illusions truly bring out a state of mind that he has not expressed in any of his other

The dictionary states that a symbol is to be defined as “something that represents something else by association, resemblance, or convention, especially a material object used to represent something invisible” (Morris). Symbolism increases the meaning of the story, as well as captivates the reader’s attention to a deeper degree. It encourages the reader to think and attempt to find the hidden meaning within the narrative itself. As a poet Edgar Allen Poe occupied his narratives with literary elements. Symbols become one of the most predominant elements in his works of literature. Consequently, in his concise poem “The Raven,” the literary element most noted by the reader is symbolism. Characters, places, and objects all have a deeper meaning within this poem. In “The Raven” the most noted of the symbols are the bust, Lenore, the time, and the raven.