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Symbolism In The Raven

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Raven or Ghost? Would it be relieving to have a reminder of your late loved one(s) for every second of every day? Or would it be rather aggravating; having to commemorate that moment over and over again? “The Raven,” written by Edgar Allan Poe is a very prominent gothic literature piece. Having to deal with his long lost love, the speaker is taunted by this raven who mysteriously appeared one dark and dreary night outside his chamber window. The speaker is forewarned of his long lost love, Lenore, by the raven showing up. A lot of people now-a-days refer back to this piece to help them understand loss, and heartbreak. Many writers use birds as symbols of hope, freedom, and light, but Poe on the other hand, uses the raven as a reminder or …show more content…

The speaker, “eagerly wished the morrow;-vainly [he] had sought to borrow from [his] books surcease of sorrow-sorrow for the lost Lenore-for the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore” (9-11). The speaker was reading and he eagerly wished it to be the next day. He had been thinking and having a feeling of sorrow because of losing Lenore. Knowing that the speaker was already thinking about Lenore, shows that when the raven does appear, it is just a reminder of her. The speaker also remembers that, “it was in the bleak December” (7). This could mean that it was around the holiday season, being cold and having terrible weather. Not only could the speaker be alone, but, Lenore could of been feeling alone also. This is a reason why the raven showed up in the first place. The speaker could of been imagining the raven for the comfortable feeling that it could of been Lenore. In the dead of night, the speaker saw “each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor” (8). The shadows of the objects in the room, would appear as ghosts to the speaker. With shadows and ghosts being totally different, the raven could have been something different as well, but to the speaker, the raven was just a reminder of …show more content…

He opened the door, “deep into that darkness peering, long [he] stood there wondering, fearing...and the only word there spoken was the whispered word, ‘Lenore?’” (25,28). Having a little bit of curiosity, and relief, he presumes to think the tapping was his dear Lenore, although, he only saw darkness. In contrast to that, it’s kind of like when people are scared or they are in the dark and they need comfort, so they think about their happy place to feel safe; the speaker was thinking about his happy place, Lenore. Furthermore, as the speaker was opening the door, the poem refers to him as curious and scared. Sort of a sick gut feeling, it has him thinking, “what if Lenore was really here?” There is a lot of emotion going on in this scene. For example, have you ever had to give a speech or talk in front of a humongous audience? That is what he was feeling at the moment. Before the raven even appears, it already has him thinking about Lenore and if she’s really back. After the speaker hears the tapping once more, he realizes it’s coming from the window. He opens the window and already the, “ebony bird beguiling [his] sad fancy into smiling” (42). The raven appears outside his window, suddenly flying in sitting above his chamber door. The raven turns the speaker’s sadness into happiness. With Lenore already in the speaker’s mind, seeing the raven makes him think of

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