Diction The Raven

Humans are incredibly complex creatures with a plethora of aspects and qualities. During the rise of Dark Romanticism, writers examined one such characteristic: a human’s capacity for evil. Edgar Allan Poe, a Dark Romanticist writer, attempted to explore the dark side of human nature in his literature. In his poem “The Raven,” a Raven flies into a man’s chamber as he is grieving for his dead lover, Lenore. The Raven refuses to leave and aggravates the man through its constant repetition of the word ‘nevermore’, triggering his spiral into madness. Poe’s excellent word choice, figurative language, and use of rhyme and diction in the second stanza contribute to the dark, melancholy tone of the poem and express the grief of the narrator.
Poe’s

word choice and figurative language are used to express sorrow and darkness. In the second stanza, he uses words with dark connotations to contribute to the dark mood of the poem. For instance, two adjectives Poe uses are ‘bleak’ (7) and ‘vainly’(9). The word ‘bleak’ is often used to describe one’s future as desolate and hopeless, while ‘vainly’ depicts an action that offers no relief to bad situation. These words are associated with grief and futility, expressing the narrator’s despondency over his dead lover and creating a depressing atmosphere. Poe also uses personification in the second stanza to set the mood. He describes the fire by saying, “and each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor” (Poe 8). By using the word ‘dying’ to describe the embers of the fire, Poe creates the impression that the embers are weak and hopeless against the force of darkness. In this personification, the separate embers also construct their ‘ghost’ upon the floor. The embers represent things or people who disappear from one’s life. After they disappear, they leave behind their ‘ghost’ or their memory, haunting the lives of those who remember them, as memories of Lenore haunt the narrator in “The Raven.” Therefore, this personification serves as another reminder of the speaker’s pervasive grief and loneliness. Poe’s style and language in the second stanza, along with his figurative language, construct the poem’s dismal, bleak tone.
The rhyme and placement of words to create rhythm throughout the second stanza also contribute to the grim mood of “The Raven.” The narrator’s sadness is emphasized from the repetition of his lover’s name.

“Eagerly I wished the morrow;—vainly I had sought to borrow/from my books surcease of sorrow—sorrow for the lost Lenore/For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels named Lenore” (Poe 9-11). Poe’s strategic placement and repetition of ‘Lenore’ at the end of two lines give importance and priority to the name, expressing the narrator’s grief; the speaker’s thoughts of Lenore are the first priority in his mind and fill him with despair. In addition, Poe uses emphatic meter to emphasize certain words. By placing a pause after ‘morrow’ and ‘sorrow’, he creates internal rhyme and the weight of the words is on every other syllable. As a result, emphasis falls on important nouns and verbs, rather than articles and prepositions. This further serves to build the despondent tone of the essay by stressing the words with negative or dark connotations such as ‘vainly’ and ‘sorrow’. In addition, Poe adds the line “Nameless here for evermore” (12) at the end of the stanza. A variation of this seven syllable line is at the close of each stanza. This particular line in the second stanza is referring to Lenore in that she is no longer on earth, or ‘nameless,’ forever, or ‘for evermore.’ The last word, ‘evermore,’ creates a sense of finality that Lenore is gone for eternity. Therefore,

no matter how much the narrator laments, it is all in vain, conveying a theme of hopelessness. He is also unable to forget her, which leads to an inner struggle that results in his instability and eventually his madness. Thus, the last line serves to express the futile struggle that leads to the narrator’s insanity. Diction, rhyme, and meter serve an important role in setting the mood of the poem.
Diction and word placement are used by Poe to create emphasis on certain words and phrases, contributing to the somber mood because of the speaker’s grief in the second stanza of the Raven. This somber mood is used to establish the themes of loss and insanity. Ultimately, Poe’s masterful use of literary devices enable him to express the complexities of a man’s descent into madness.