The Hidden Meaning Of Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven

Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 19, 1809, in Boston, Massachusetts. His parents David and Elizabeth Poe were professional actors. They had three children: Henry, Edgar, and Rosalie. When in 1817, Mrs. Poe died, Henry was taken to be raised with his grandmother, Edgar was adopted by the wealthy couple, Frances and John Allan, and Rosalie was taken by another couple. The luckiest one became Edgar because his new parents were very wealthy people, so he was able to go to different schools. When he was seventeen, he entered the University of Virginia, but because of his gambling and drinking problems he was dismissed from there.

In today’s world, the news is constantly shrouded in controversy. Stories of violence and crime are everywhere. Hidden amongst the plethora of articles, there’s bound to be a report without a shred of truth in it. As smart as people like to think they are, mistakes in judgement do occur from time to time. A mere glimpse of a shocking headline is enough to throw someone off. Given enough intimidating and persuasive words, it can be quite easy to mislead someone. When a person is overcome with emotion, it can be even more difficult to distinguish what is real or not. Edgar Allan Poe’s most prominent poem, “The Raven,” gives an example. In “The Raven,” the Raven is not actually real, but rather, it is a manifestation of the speaker’s built up vexation; this is relevant to 2017, since people are easily deceived when they are frustrated.

The nineteenth century poet Edgar Allen Poe makes use of several literary devices in order to create a gloomy atmosphere in his poem “The Raven”. Alliteration, rhyme, onomatopoeia, assonance, and repetition are used to contribute to the melodic nature of the work and provide an almost “visual” representation of his gothic setting. Poe is a master of using these writing techniques. “The Raven” is one of his most popular works. This is certainly due, in part to his use of these literary devices in this piece.

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 entire poem including the first stanza, as scanned here, is octametre with mostly trochaic feet and some iams. The use of a longer line enables the poem to be more of a narration of the evening's events. Also, it enables Poe to use internal rhymes as shown in bold. The internal rhyme occurs in the first and third lines of each stanza. As one reads the poem you begin to expect the next rhyme pushing you along. The external rhyme of the "or" sound in Lenore and nevermore at then end of each stanza imitates the haunting nature of the narrator's thoughts. The internal rhyme along with the same external rhyme repeated at the end of each stanza and other literary devices such as alliteration and assonance and

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.

Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven,” though parodied, republished, and altered countless times, has withstood the test of time as one of the most recognizable and famous works of poetry in the English language. Carefully measured stanzas with a fascinating rhyme scheme embedded throughout, together with the unique and completely individualistic style of its author, are but a few of the elements that combine to elevate this poem in the public eye. It reaches an as-yet-unparalleled plane of poetic excellence. It is imperative, then, for the reader to understand that the conflict presented in “The Raven” is not the commonly-assumed “Man vs. Animal,” as though to embody the plight of the man as he pits

In the popular television show, “One Tree Hill”, Lucas Scott once stated, “Some people believe that ravens guide travelers to their destinations. Others believe that the sight of a solitary raven is considered good luck or more than one raven together predicts trouble ahead.” People have many different opinions about what ravens signify. In Poe’s “The Raven” it becomes clear that the raven symbolizes emotional suffering and also portrays a vivid understanding of reality.

I first learned of Edgar Allan Poe through his poem “The Raven”. I did not actually read the poem, but found out that it was the inspiration for the football team, the Baltimore Ravens. I found it interesting at a young age how a mere poem could influence an entire city. Poe’s literature crossed boundaries and was admired by many.

Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most well-known gothic writers around. He has written many form of writing from poems to short stories. One of his most famous narrative poems is “The Raven.” There are many reasons to read the “The Raven.” One reason to read the poem is because it is a classic. Secondly, reading “The Raven” can give sight to Poe’s thoughts and feelings towards his life. Thirdly, the poem is a good example of the mind set of someone who has faced a loss. Another reason would be that the poem can represent trochaic octameter form. It can also represent narrative poem form. Of these reasons, the most important one is that it is a poetic classic.

In his essay, Edgar Allan Poe describes the ideal poem or short story as having three main characteristics. Poetry and short stories should be written using three fundamental ideas length, method, and unity of effect. Poe uses his own work of poetry “The Raven” as an example of these three fundamental ideas.

A lonely man tries to ease his "sorrow for the lost Lenore," by distracting his mind with old books of "forgotten lore." He is interrupted while he is "nearly napping," by a "tapping on [his] chamber door." As he opens up the door, he finds "darkness there and nothing more." Into the darkness he whispers, "Lenore," hoping his lost love had come back, but all that could be heard was "an echo [that] murmured back the word 'Lenore!'"

In the 19th century, writers began to veer away from the dull writing style of the Age of Reason, which lacked imagination and individuality. These characteristics then became an important factor for the Romanticism movement. The movement gave writers the opportunity to explore the inner world of their imagination, creating fictional stories filled with the beauty of nature. With the popularity of this genre spreading, a different flavor of it eventually surfaced: Dark Romanticism. Dark Romantics such as Edgar Allan Poe focused on the mysterious and frightening aspects of the world. In Poe’s works, it is not uncommon to come across objects or living creatures that have a greater significance than most will notice at first glance. In “The Raven” and “The Masque of the Red Death” that were composed by Poe, there are often symbols of death and madness

In his youth, Edgar Allan Poe was a very creative man; he was the first writer to create a detective storyline. He originally wrote a short story titled The Murders in the Rue Morgue which he would later follow with two other stories similar in theme. These stories would be studied for years to come, unbeknownst to Poe himself. He often incorporated the human psyche, another one of his original ideas he incorporated into his work. None of these works, however, would see Poe famous. What would bring him fame would be The Raven, arguably his best and most famous work of all. Eventually, The Raven would become his nickname and people by the masses would gather to see Poe perform renditions of this piece. However, Poe’s life was not full of fame