Literary Devices 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.

The Raven has eighteen stanzas that each contain six lines. The initial seven stanzas set up the setting and the storyteller's gloomy, naive perspective. Weak and exhausted with misery and heartbreak, the speaker continuously looks for a

The poem The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe shows a man coping with harsh times with the help of the raven. The poem begins with the man alone where he hears something tapping on his door. He continues to hear the tapping until he sees the raven and lets him into his chamber. The speaker begins to talk to the raven and realizes that the bird can only say the word “Nevermore”. In the beginning of the poem the man sees the bird as a burden and wants him gone. However, as the poem goes on the speaker wants the bird there and begins to alter his questions so that the correct answer will be “Nevermore”. As the poem goes on the speaker sees the bird as more of a friend than a burden and does not want him to leave. For example, it states “But the Raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only That one word, as if his soul in that one

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.

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 raven also symbolizes the torture the narrator has inflicted upon himself due to the death of Lenore, a "rare and radiant maiden?nameless here forever more" (731). The raven's refusal to answer any question asked of him with an answer other than "nevermore" only tortures the narrator even more.

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,

Therefore , Symbolism is used in the poem to symbolize the raven. As the raven is tapping at the speaker’s chamber door and the raven has entered, it then holds power over the speaker. The raven's darkness may symbolize death; the line “Here I opened wide the door, Darkness there and nothing more.” the darkness brought from the raven is than just a constant reminder of death for his lost love,

In the classic poem, “The Raven”, Edgar Allan Poe explores the effects of isolation and grief. “The Raven” follows a man who laments his lost love, Lenore. When a raven enters his chamber, and repeatedly says “nevermore,” the narrator’s inner struggle with his state of mind is revealed. Through the use of imagery and diction in stanza five, Poe expresses the narrator’s fear and sorrow after losing his loved one.

Alliteration is another literary device which is used throughout “The Raven”. Alliteration is the repetition of beginning consonant sounds. “The Raven” is full of examples of alliteration. An instance of this device is seen in line 26, in which the “d” sound is repeated: “Doubting, dreaming

In Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven", the use of imagery and symbolism are one of the main characteristics of this poem, which makes the reader continually follow the development of the poem. The most outstanding example of symbolism is the Raven itself, this bird represents death, the darkness that keeps reminding in his life, after the loss of his loved one Lenore, the bird standing there by his side, is a

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.

Noted for its supernatural atmosphere and musically rhythmic tone, “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe was first published in 1845. Once published, “The Raven” made Edgar Allan Poe widely popular, although he did not flourish financially. Poe received a large amount of attention from critics, who not only interpreted, but critiqued his work. He claimed to have structured the poem logically and systematically, so that the poem would appeal to not only critical tastes, but popular as well.

“The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe is a story of a young adult who has lost the woman he was in love with and is struggling cope. The story-teller compulsorily builds self-destructive understanding of his mourning in a raven’s constant 'Nevermore ' reminder to him, until he eventually gives up about being reconnected with Lenore in the new world.