The Ravens Representation: The Raven By Edgar Allan Poe

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” is a fictional poem written by Edgar Allan Poe in which the audience witnesses the narrator’s gradual change from a weary scholar to grieving lover. While falling asleep, he suddenly hears a tap at his chamber door. In alarm, the scholar tries to reason with himself and explain away the soft tapping. Eventually, he gains courage, opens the door, and finds it void of anyone. The narrator immediately wonders if it is perhaps his lost love, Lenore waiting for him, yet the only answer to his inquiry is his echoing voice. However, as he shuts the door, he hears a gentle tapping again, opens a window, and a raven enters. Poe’s use of a raven cannot be a coincidence. According to Gregory McNamee,

Poetry has long been an art form that has entertained readers for many years. Edgar Allen Poe, a poet from the 1900’s, is known for his deep dark poems. He wrote many poems that are now considered classics. One of his greatest works, “The Raven”, was written in 1845; just two years before his wife Virginia Clemm died of Tuberculosis. The entirety of “The Raven” is confined in a man 's chamber. It is a December winter and it is midnight. The narrator, the person who resides in the chamber, is reading a book: glooming over the recent death of his wife Lenore when he hears a sound at his door. After finding no one there, he hears a whisper that says “Lenore.” He returns to what he was doing, but a bird flies in. The bird is a black raven, a bird one would typically find menacing. He is inquisitive and begins to ask the bird questions : “What is your name” to which the bird responds “Nevermore.” Near the end of his questioning he asks, “Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn, It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore - Clasp a rare and radiant maiden, whom the angels name Lenore?” This questioned if he ever get to meet Lenore again and the bird replies “Nevermore.” Finally, the man asks the bird if he will ever leave and once again the bird replies “Nevermore.” Throughout the poem, Poe uses literary elements to produce an aura of wackiness and despair.

The aim of this particular essay is to examine and perform an in-depth analysis relating to the theme of madness within the widely-known poem “The Raven,” by the American poet Edgar Allan Poe. We have found the speaker to have endured a quite difficult life thus far, and in return has approached a bird in order to ease his sorrows. These actions ultimately lead us as readers to ponder whether or not this individual is insane, or if the bird’s existence is legitimate, and if so, is he really conversing with the speaker? Within this dissertation, I intend to bring to your attention the plethora of symbols and figurative language that Poe utilizes in order to portray this theme of madness.

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.

The Poem, “The Raven,” by Edgar Allen Poe, is a timeless, and one of the most read, poems in history. It gives the readers a sense of fear, sadness, and excitement all at the same time. One of the ways that Poe stimulates the readers emotions is how he uses and symbolizes the Raven in the story. Throughout history, birds have symbolized hope, light, and freedom. Birds such as an Eagle, who symbolizes freedom and pride, or a dove that represents peace and love, show how birds bring a sense of good to a story. Although, I think the Raven brings a sense of sorrow, or loneliness to the story.

The raven symbolizes the authors grief and helps him get through the stages of grief so that he can work on accepting his wife's death and realize that she is never coming back. The raven represents grief because whilst the speaker is talking to the raven he goes through the various stages of grief. Like for example in lines 58-60 it shows an example of one of the stages of grief, depression. In lines 81-84 he exhibits bargaining when he begs for all of his memories of his lost love Lenore to be expunged. In line 85 he shows that he is angry at the bird.

Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven” is a poem that is not only characterized as gothic but as the epitome of gothic literature. The arrival of the raven in the story is seemingly a mystery. It starts with a strange tapping at the door, but when the narrator checks, "Darkness there and nothing more" (line 24). He then opens the window, and the bird flies in. The poem then begins to get more mysterious.

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.

The narrator reveals from his descriptions and conversations with the raven reveals that he realizes that ravens are associated with death. According to Abu-Melhim, the raven not only symbolizes death but also “a grim reaper” (par. 21). The narrator jokingly calls it a “ghastly grim and ancient raven” (“The Raven” 46). Many cultures believe that having a black bird in your house is an omen of death, (Abu-Melhim par.

The raven also forces the narrator to accept reality and move on. For example, the narrator questions the raven whether “within the distant Aidenn” will he ever “clasp a rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore” (129). He ponders the thought of ever seeing Lenore in his after life. He is beginning to realize that the raven came to him to bring him a sense of reality. With this knowledge, he is full of sorrow. He longs to see her in heaven, but realizes that in reality this will never really happen. Also, the narrator wonders if his “soul from out that shadow…shall be lifted” while the raven replies, ‘nevermore’” (130). The shadow of the raven signifies the death of his beloved, and he knows that he will never be able to escape this shadow. He will never again find happiness in his life. The reality that the raven brings helps him comprehend the fact that hiding from his troubles will not make them better. Therefore, it forces him to accept reality and move on.

In the Raven Edgar writes a poem about a man that is very sad. The man is sad because he misses his loved one her name was Lenore. The man cannot forget about Lenore and every night the man is visited man the Raven. Short Summary.....The Lady is the main focus for the man she contains his every thought. He brings her up when every chance he can in the poem. The man tries so hard to think about something else but he always finds himself back on Lenore. We don 't even learn a lot about this women. We may not know what Lenore looks like, she is not even a charter in the poem she is just a memory a symbol of love-sadness. The main symbol in the Raven is Lenore. In lines 10-11 Is the 1st time we hear about his lost love Lenore. in the same breathe the narrator tells us that she is gone. " From my books surcease of sorrow- sorrow for the lost Lenore- For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore-"(Allen,2013). In the Raven it is very clear that Lenore is a big symbol she is brought up in almost every stanza. In lines 28-29 Poe tells us that he hears Lenore

Edgar Allen Poe, forever known for his disturbing use of literary devices, does not fail to raise his bar with The Raven. One of his most well-known pieces for good reason, The Raven uses repetition and point of view to create an engaging piece that indulges the reader in to a world of suspense. The limited perspective lets us feel the same confusion and anxiety as the narrator. The repetition aides this by creating a faux sense of urgency of something that isn’t quite there. The structure of the stanzas all pair perfectly to make the end product of The Raven chilling.