preview

Poe's The Raven Essay

Best Essays

Raven

During a cold, dark evening in December, a man is attempting to find some solace from the remembrance of his lost love, Lenore, by reading volumes of "forgotten lore." As he is nearly overcome by slumber, a knock comes at his door. Having first believed the knock to be only a result of his dreaming, he finally opens the door apologetically, but is greeted only by darkness. A thrill of half-wonder, half-fear overcomes the speaker, and as he peers into the deep darkness, he can only say the word "Lenore." Upon closing the door, another knock is immediately heard from the chamber's window. The narrator throws open the shutter and window, and in steps a large, beautiful raven, which immediately posts itself on the bust of Pallas …show more content…

Again, the word "nevermore" is the only answer. Shouting maniacally now, demanding that the bird take its leave, the narrator attempts to dispatch the bird back to the "Plutonian shore" of Hell from whence it came. The bird, "the emblem of Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance," replies again "nevermore," and sits there on the bust of Pallas to this day, ever a torment to the speaker's soul, and a reminder of his lost love.

Importance of the Work:

"The Raven" is without a doubt the work for which Poe is best known. Through this poem, Poe has taken his favorite theme, that of the untimely death of a beautiful woman, and made that theme universally understandable and fascinating, earning himself literary immortality in the process. There is no doubt that "The Raven" takes direct influence from Poe's life experiences. Poe was a moody bookworm, and Virginia Poe's health had been declining since 1842. Poe's friend, R. H. Horne, wrote of "The Raven," "the poet intends to represent a very painful condition of mind, as of an imagination that was liable to topple over into some delirium or an abyss of melancholy, from the continuity of one unvaried emotion." Poe's life was varied in experience, but, as Horne's letter said of Poe's poetry, static in outlook, and his life's entire tone is perfectly encapsulated in "The Raven." Poe,

Get Access