Diction In The Raven

It’s not every day that a large, dark bird enters your chamber window and sits on the bust of the Greek god of Wisdom. It’s even more unusual to have that bird reference your lost love, Lenore. The “Raven” is a rhyming poem about the narrator grieving his dead wife. Throughout the poem the narrator attempts to escape his sorrows, but he is constantly reminded about the death of his wife by the raven. Since the poem is told from the perspective of the grieving narrator, he is not a reliable storyteller. For all we know, the raven could have been a hallucination; a manifestation of the denial of the death of his beloved. This shows the effect of unchecked grief on one’s mind.

To convey the theme, Poe uses symbolism, alliteration, diction and rhythm. The biggest symbol throughout the poem is the raven. “Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door”(786). The raven is a constant reminder of the death of the narrator’s wife, Lenore. We can assume the raven is most likely a hallucination

because the narrator is already mentally unstable and he is intoxicated by some substance. “Respite—respite and nepenthe from thy memories of Lenore; Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore!”(787). Nepenthe is an ancient greek substance that banishes grief and troubles from the mind. Since Poe was an alcoholic and an opium addict, this is probably what he is referring to.
Poe uses alliteration to accentuate certain words or phrases. "Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary"(Poe 785). The repetition of consonants contributes to flow of the poem and helps place the reader in the narrator’s environment. The use of alliteration sets an anxious tone for the poem, “While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door. "'Tis some visiter," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door-- Only this and nothing more"(785). Right off the bat, Poe begins to introduce the reader to the narrator’s paranoia which leads us to question if the narrator is reliable or not.
Poe’s use of diction also adds to the setting of the poem.

He chooses words that have a dark or grim sound to them. Words like plutonian, denser, evil, devil and nevermore add a certain eeriness to an already grim situation. The use of diction allows the reader to easily paint a mental picture of the narrator’s experience."What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt, and ominous bird of yore"(786).

Alliteration and diction both contribute to the flow and rhythm of the poem, but “The Raven” follows a specific rhyme scheme that is very common in literature. “The Raven” follows a ABCBBB rhyme scheme. “On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door; And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadows on the floor; And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor Shall be lifted--nevermore!”(788). The ABCBBB scheme strengthens the flow of the poem and carries it in a lyrical

manner.

“The Raven” is a lyrical poem that mirrors Poe’s personal life. The narrator is mourning his deceased wife just as Poe was consumed by the grief of the death of his wife Virginia. Also just like Poe, the narrator is obviously not mentally stable nor is he insane, which leads the reader to remain curious and perplexed by the narrator.