Examples Of Alliteration In The Raven

The Raven

In the poem “The Raven” he narrator is mourning over a person he loved named Lenore. Being lost in his thoughts, he is suddenly startled when he hears a tapping at his door. When he goes to the door there is no one there. He goes back into his room and then he hears tapping on his window. He opens his window and a Raven steps into his room. The narrator has been on an emotional roller coaster throughout the whole entire poem; talking to this Raven makes him feel even worse. In the poem Edgar Poe uses many literary devices. For example he uses alliteration, internal rhyme, and allusion.
Alliteration is the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words. Poe uses this literary device to describe the in bird in line 71 he says, “What grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt, and ominous bird of yore.” It gives the line a rhythm and tone that is easily understood and read. This use of alliteration tell the reader how dark, and evil the narrator felt around this bird. In line three he uses alliteration again by saying, “While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping...” Gives a flow to the line that is not

easily seen. He does this by using hard n’s and soft n’s to create a subtle use of alliteration. He does uses this subtle affect again in line 26 he states,” Doubting, dreaming, dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before;” In this case he uses soft d’s and hard d’s. In line 10 he says, “From my books surcease of sorrow---sorrow for the Lost Lenore.” In this line he uses alliteration twice by saying “surcease of sorrow---sorrow” and “Lost Lenore”. Poe’s speech has an untraceable tempo that flows through the poem smoothly

Internal rhythm is also used repeatedly throughout the poem, and adds a great aspect to the piece. In every single stanza there is internal rhyming in the first and third line, and at the end of the third, fifth, and sixth line. For example in stanza 12, line 61 he states, “Startled at the stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken. “ In line 63 he also says, “Caught from some unhappy master whom unmerciful Disaster…” Poe’s choice of words adds to the dark, and scary feeling the story is all about. In line 6 he say, “Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December.” In this line he uses internal rhyming to tell the reader the setting of the story. In line 31 he states, “Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning.” In this line he uses internal rhyming to explain the feeling he felt after opening the door and something whispering “Lenore” In the poem he uses internal rhyming multiple times to explain certain things.

Allusion an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference.

Poe’s doe this a few times while telling his story. For example in line 41, he notes that the bird was, “Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door.” In this line he mentions a “bust of Pallas”, which is a statue of the head and shoulders of Pallas Athena, Greek goddess of wisdom. He automatically assumes that the reader already knows what a “bust of Pallas” is, and doesn’t explain what it is. There is also allusion in line 46 he says, “Tell me what lordly name is on the Night’s Plutonian shore!” In this instance he asked what the bird was called on the Plutonian shore, which has something to do with Pluto, the Roman god of the dead and ruler of the

underworld.
Poe’s tells a story about a sad man that mourns for the one he loves most, which is Lenore. In this particular night something strange happened. That night an evil Raven came into his house and caused him more pain his couldn’t even bare. Poe tells this story beautifully, and his literacy devices are undetectable. In his poem he uses internal rhyme to explain the different things in his story. Alliteration gives the poem a rhythm and flow that is perfect for the story He uses allusion to make references and to explain the statue the bird landed on. Poe’s writing is remarkably perfect.