Short Analysis for "The Raven" and “What Troubled Poe’s Raven”

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.

To begin, in Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven,” a man suffering over the loss of his love, Lenore, is sitting in his chamber reading when a bird keeps tapping at his door. As the bird keeps tapping, he finally decides to go open the door. As he peers out into the darkness, his loneliness engulfs him, evoking his “surcease of sorrow- sorrow for the lost Lenore- for the rare and radiant Maiden named Lenore,” who is “nameless [there] forevermore”(Poe 436). After that, the raven flies in and serves as a constant reminder of his torment. Despair and depression traps him in his own mind. Lenore was

Creating the Melancholic Tone in “The Raven” Edgar Allan Poe’s "The Raven," representing Poe’s own introverted crisis of hell, is unusually moving and attractive to the reader. In his essay entitled "The Philosophy of Composition," Poe reveals his purpose in writing “The Raven” and also describes the work of composing the poem as being carefully calculated in all aspects. Of all melancholy topics, Poe wished to use the one that was universally understood, death; specifically death involving a beautiful woman. The apparent tone in Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” seemingly represents a very painful condition of mind, an intellect sensitive to madness and the abyss of melancholy brought upon by the death of a

The poem tells of a narrator who is reading an old book in his parlor when he is interrupted by a knock at the door. The protagonist is in a period of grieving over the loss of his love, Lenore. At first, he wonders who the visitor might be and resolves to inform him or her that he is indisposed at the moment. The narrator finally opens the door only to find no one there. He returns to the chair (which Lenore will no longer occupy), only to hear the rapping again. He decides that the sound may be coming from the window, so he opens it. A raven enters through the window and lights upon a bust of a mythological figure that the narrator has in his room. The narrator questions the raven concerning its name, the bird answers “nevermore”. This startles the speaker, and he wonders aloud if the bird will leave him just as all of his friends seem to do. Again, he is answered by the raven “nevermore”. As the protagonist progressively

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.

The raven also symbolizes the torture the narrator has inflicted upon himself due to the death of Lenore, a "rare and radiant maiden?nameless here forever more" (731). The raven's refusal to answer any question asked of him with an answer other than "nevermore" only tortures the narrator even more.

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.

In some ways, "The Raven" shows Poe at his greatest image-making power, in which part of his life serves as a blueprint. His perfect illustration of the prison-like environment, on top of the inner turmoil of the narrator, creates a detailed, terrifying picture for the reader. At first glance, it is easy to see that Poe wrote this poem in reference to someone he truly loved. The problem is to know exactly who that person, Lenore, is, because without having that information, it would be impossible to understand the four points Poe is trying to make.

“The Raven” is a magnificent piece by a very well known poet from the 19th century, Edgar Allan Poe. Poe was well known for his dark and haunting poetry. Along with writing poetry, Poe was also recognized for his Gothic-style short stories. “The Raven” is one of Poe’s greatest accomplishments and was even turned into recitals and numerous television appearances. “The Raven” tells a story about an unnamed narrator whose beloved Lenore has left him. A raven comes at different points throughout the poem and tells the narrator that he and his lover are “Nevermore.” Poe presents the downfall of the narrator’s mind through the raven and many chilling events. By thorough review and studying of Edgar Allan Poe’s work, one can fully understand the

He is so upset by the loss of Lenore that it leads him to the edge of insanity. The speaker then is seen throughout the poem supposedly struggling with the raven because the raven responds with “Nevermore” which gets the speaker angry as he is struggling within himself. The speaker seems to be trying to achieve "surcease of sorrow for the lost Lenore" by burying himself in books and trying to forget about her. But the Raven seems to be a messenger from the spirit world who has been sent to the speaker’s chamber door to keep reminding him of his loss. Instead of trying to forget about Lenore, he is forced to think about her more emotionally than he had been thinking before.

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.

Edgar Allan Poe tells the story of a bereaved man who is grieving for his lost love in the poem, “The Raven.” During a dark and gloomy night, the man hears a knock at his door. Hoping that it is Lenore, his dead lover, coming back to him, he goes to open the door. Unfortunately, he is only met with emptiness and disappointment. Shortly after, a raven flies into the room through the window and lands on the bust of Pallas. The man begins to converse with this dark and mysterious bird. In response to everything the man says, the raven repeats one dreadful word: “Nevermore.” The symbolism of the raven being connected to death, and the man’s interaction with the dark bird reveals to readers that he is going through the stages of dying.

It is about how a man should be happy that a beautiful young woman is dying. He should exalt the fact that the woman is going to a better place, also known as Paradise or "Aidenn" in this poem. Thus, the echoing of "Lenore" first hints to the reader that this "Lenore" represents Poe's suffering wife, but in this poem, she is characterized as the speaker's already dead wife. The reader knows that the speaker's wife is already dead since later in the poem the speaker says he wants the raven to leave him in "unbroken loneliness." That is, Poe is trying to imagine getting news of the death of his wife through the speaker in his poem so that when his wife does die, he will not be terribly traumatized. Later, the speaker hears more rapping at his door. This time when he opens it, he finds a raven so noble and majestic that it would even dare to perch on Pallas Athena's, the Goddess of Wisdom and War's, bust, or breast. The first question he asks the raven is what its name is since he believes it to be from the "Night's Plutonian shore," which means a messenger of Ares, the God of the Underworld and dead. God Ares. The raven simply replies "Nevermore" and answers every question with this word. The raven's name as "Nevermore" also furthers the statement that it is a symbolization of death. At first the speaker makes himself believe that when the raven says "nevermore," he is muttering the fact that

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 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.