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What Does The Bird Symbolize In The Raven

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Edgar Allan Poe was one of the first writers to express the idea of gothic literature. In his poem, “The Raven,” there are many opinions as to what the bird symbolizes. As in all forms of literature, the words can mean many things to each unique individual reader. In this story, there is a man who remains identified as the narrator. It is late at night during December and it is revealed that he has recently lost his love, Lenore. He opens the window when he hears tapping, and the most unexpected thing happened. A raven, as black as night, flew into his room and perched on a statue just above his door. The bird speaks to him but has a limited vocabulary; it is possible that it is just his old age and lack of sleep that has created this alternated …show more content…

Some say that the raven represents the five stages of grief, and while I somewhat agree with this conclusion, I believe that the bird itself means something else entirely, and the whole poem portrays this man's change within himself. The raven itself, is a reminder and everytime he sees it, he is once again filled with those feelings of confusion, and heart ache for the woman who left him in this mortal life. In the poem on line 55 it says, “the Raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust.” Poe could have used any word but he chooses to describe the bird as being lonely. I believe that his intention was to show how the main character is feeling deep inside. The darkness that loomed over him as he went through that excruciatingly painful time in his life was only a small part of what could happen if he decided to lose grasp of the forever enduring desire to progress in life. He looks at the bird as is reminded that he needs to overcome those feelings of loneliness and keep searching for the desire to hold

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