Literary Devices In Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven

“The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe, contains the literary devices of onomatopoeia, internal rhymes, and repetition to create a dark melancholy atmosphere. The diction contributes to visual setting and the rhyme provides a heavy dark connotation when the poem is read aloud. The pronunciation of the words enables the readers to hear the effect of onomatopoeia, which is heard throughout the poem. Internal rhyme creates a flow of rhythm involving a word in the middle of a line and another at the end of the line. The word “nevermore” is repeated throughout the poem which conveys Edgar A. Poe was particularly in choosing words. The diction not only contributes to a visual setting, but reinforce the tone. All the sound devices achieve Edgar A. Poe’s purpose of the portrayal of mourn and sorrow for the narrator’s lost, of Lenore.

Onomatopoeia, the formation of words that sounds associated with the word or imitate sounds using words, which draw readers into the poem.

Reading “The Raven” aloud enables the readers to hear the onomatopoeia. “As of someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door. / 'Tis some visitor, ‘I muttered, tapping at my chamber door--” the diction makes the story realistic. The words “gently rapping” and “tapping” make a visual and auditory image of something tapping on the chamber door. The unknown tapping creates a feeling of uneasiness for the narrator. The tapping on the door interrupts the silence which narrator presumes it a guest. The entire house is silent until the rapping tapping on the chamber door. The onomatopoeia achieve the effect of loneliness that the narrator is filled

with.
Within “The Raven” internal rhymes are frequent in the poem. In fact, the first line in the poem includes internal rhyme “Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary”. “Dreary” and “weary” rhyme, but both words have a dark connotation to them. “Dreary” depicts the atmosphere of the poem being dark and depressing. The narrator describes himself as someone who ponders the house assume with grief walking “weary”. The internal rhyme creates the sound effect of a long ‘e’ or ‘i’ sound. The rhyme creates an echo, a pattern that helps the poem flow.
In addition, Edgar A. Poe allegedly spent around four years picking out the right words to depict the dark melancholy atmosphere. The diction is a key part in contributing to the story of “The Raven”. The name “Lenore” is repeated multiple times and represent love. “Lenore” is the woman the narrator lost and describes as “an angel”. The narrator is mourning the loss of Lenore and feels outcast out because of the loss. Another repeated word is “nevermore” meaning never again, which the raven speaks to the narrator. The significance of “nevermore” is a warning that the raven gives, that in the end the narrator will not find happiness again.
Overall, “The Raven” sound devices present a melancholy atmosphere of grief and despair that the narrator feels after losing Lenora. Reading the poem aloud allows individuals to hear the patterns of the word and grasps the sound around where the narrator is. Onomatopoeia contributes to the sound devices such as “tapping”, the sound the narrator hears on the chamber door. The internal rhyme conveys description of the dark setting and the narrator’s depression. Repetition of “Lenore” and “nevermore” displays that the words are a major part in the poem. “Lenore” is the angel the narrator lost and is mourning over. “Nevermore” is what the raven preaches to reveal the narrator will never have the happiness he once had before. All the device capture the essence of the dark tone and the sounds emphasize the key parts in the poem.