The Raven Response

842 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The short crtical analysis of the poem the raven by edgar allan poe

The Raven is a poem that tells of the emotional turmoil in the mind of a man. First of all, Poe’s use of Greek, Roman God’s and terminology in this poem was overwhelming compared to his other stories. There are many Gods and phrases that he references to that help the reader understand the story. Also, there is evidence that Poe has portrayed bits of his life through the narrator. Poe lost a loved one, and he is reflecting it through the narrator. Next, when the raven arrives the narrator is extremely curious. He begins to ask questions about his lost Lenore because he needs to know if she is okay. Last, the bird may represent a part of the narrator’s mind. It may be the rational part that is trying to convince him to move on, and what’s done is done.

Poe references many Greek and Roman Gods in this poem. One example of this is when the bird enters the narrator’s chamber; it immediately perches on the bust of Pallas. Pallas, (Also known as Pallas Athena or Athens) is the Greek Goddess of wisdom. This gesture that the bird made may be a sign that what the bird speaks or does is wise and may be useful to the narrator. The narrator however, shuns and ignores the bird after a short while, and orders him to leave his chambers. This is ironic because he has a bust of the Goddess of wisdom, and he himself does not exercise this sagacity. He makes very little effort to understand the bird’s presence, and is infuriated at the bird’s uncooperativeness. He then gives up on trying to solve the bird’s riddles and blocks the bird off entirely.

Another Greek God Poe uses is Pluto, the God of the underworld. “Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore!” The narrator shrieked at the bird. This shows that the narrator is ass...

... middle of paper ...

... want to believe. (That his Lenore is in the underworld.) He wants to believe that Lenore is in paradise, but the bird, being a part of his mind tells him the ugly truth. He wants it to be a misunderstanding, he needs proof, and he wants to know if it is true. He cannot get himself to accept that it is true. His mind is arguing with itself; one half is afraid to accept it, while the other is fighting to move on because there is nothing that can be done.

This poem is almost like a tragic love story. It creates a visual interpretation of the narrators mind, and how he fails to understand and believe that his wife is gone. The author, Poe, makes many connections with the underworld and the Gods to help the reader decipher and solve this intricate puzzle. Poe reflects parts of himself in this story, and it helps us understand of the pain and grief that was his life.

Show More
Related

  • Examples Of Diction In The Raven

    363 Words  | 1 Pages

    Poe creates the raven as a symbol of melancholy to show how he feels towards his lost Lenore by using diction to help the mood. The raven is “perched above my chamber door” and Poe believes that the bird is a “thing of evil” (Stanzas 9 and 17). Poe shows that the raven is perched on his door and with the diction he uses, he sounds like he wants it there. His belief that the bird is a thing of evil proves that he hates his grief and just wants it to leave. Poe

    Read More

  • Examples Of Alliteration In The Raven

    732 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • (A Comparison of Poe’s Raven and Coleridge’s Albatros)

    645 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Raven and Rime of the Ancient Mariner are two of the first horror stories ever written. They both involve a bird that has a huge amount of influence on the story. Keith French said, “Birds and other animals are vital parts of poems. One of the most vital birds in any poem is Poe’s Raven, without this bird obviously the events in this poem would have never happened, but it is more than just that. The type of bird, a Raven which symbolises fear or dread, was the perfect fit for the poem.” Each bird does something different in their respective story. Some things they have in common like that they both give a sense of false hope. Other things they do not have in common like how the Albatross is considered a good omen, where the Raven is considered a bad one.

    Read More

  • The Raven Rhetorical Analysis

    1017 Words  | 3 Pages

    Edgar Poe uses these rhetorical devices not only to contribute to the theme, but also to make it possible for the reader to experience the same hopelessness and isolation the narrator feeling. “On the morrow he will leave me, as my hopes have flown before” (line 10). In this simile the narrator is comparing his hopes to the bird’s ability to fly. He is saying that the bird will eventually fly away as did all his hope when his mistress died. Another example is when Poe writes, “Suddenly there came a tapping, as of someone gently rapping” (lines 3-4). The narrator is comparing the tapping of the raven with that of a human tapping, which reveals that the character is hoping at a chance that it is Lenore. As the poem goes on Edgar Allen Poe describes, ”All his eyes have all the seeming of a demon that is dreaming” (line 105). This line is comparing the raven’s eyes to a demon’s. Here, he is no longer seeing the raven as an angel but as a demon only there to deliver confirmation of his worst nightmare. Metaphors are also used several times throughout this poem to personify the raven. “But, with mien of lord or lady” (line 40). The author includes this metaphor to allow the reader to recognize that there is something unique about the raven. “Prophet!” said I, “thing of evil prophet still, if bird or devil (line 85). The narrator is comparing the raven to either a prophet or the devil. At

    Read More

  • How Does Poe Use Loss In The Raven

    585 Words  | 2 Pages

    Poe’s references to the Greek gods of wisdom and death help him iterate the never-ending effects of loss: isolation and depression. Upon intruding the narrator’s room, the Raven chooses to perch itself on the head of the bust of Pallas. Considering Pallas is the Greek

    Read More

  • Poe's Life Reflected in The Raven

    1427 Words  | 3 Pages

    Edgar Allen Poe was one of the greatest writers of the nineteenth century. Perhaps he is best know for is ominous short stories. One of my personal favorites was called The Raven. Throughout his works Poe used coherent connections between symbols to encourage the reader to dig deep and find the real meaning of his writing. Poe's work is much like a puzzle, when u first see it its intact, but take apart and find there is much more to the story than you thought. The Raven, written in 1845, is a perfect example of Poe at his craziest. Poe's calculated use of symbolism is at his best in this story as each symbol coincides with the others. In The Raven, Poe explains a morbid fear of loneliness and the end of something through symbols. The symbols not only tell the story of the narrator in the poem, they also tell the true story of Poe's own loneliness in life and the hardships he faced. Connected together through imagery they tell a story of a dark world only Poe Knows exists.

    Read More

  • How Does Poe Characterize In The Raven

    646 Words  | 2 Pages

    He wrote a very famous poem you may know of as called The raven, which is most likely his most famous poem yet tons of people love it. The raven was about his sorrow and death over Lenore (price). A bird barges into his house repeating the words ´nevermore´. The raven in the story represents grief caused by loneliness and separation caused by Lenore (Price). The raven represents evil and death (price). When poe was writing this instead of a raven he was at a friends house and he thought it would speak. It was originally a parrot but he felt like it did not evoke the right tone (Price). Another famous poem is the bells. He was inspired after his wife's death,

    Read More

  • The Raven

    1705 Words  | 4 Pages

    “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 single effect, theme, and repetition in “The Raven.”

    Read More

  • Diction In The Raven

    597 Words  | 2 Pages

    Image a family. Now imagine the parents divorcing and never see the father again. Then imagine the mother dying and leaving three kids behind. All of which get taken in by someone. The two year old is given to a family, with a loving mother and caring father. Edgar Alan Poe did not have to imagine this, this was his childhood. Poe’s difficult youth was a heavy contributor to his perspective that pain is beautiful. Poe illustrates many things in “The Raven”, one of his most well-known pieces. “The Raven” is about a depressed man who lost his lover Lenore. The speaker states “’Tis the wind and nothing more!” (Line 36) in his delusional state to help himself cope with his loss. In “The Raven” Poe uses irony and complex diction. This helps Poe create his theme of the human tendency to lie to one self to feel better.

    Read More

  • Analysis of The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe

    457 Words  | 1 Pages

    The poem consists of an undeniable narrative structure. Told from the third person, Poe also uses symbolism to create a strong melancholy tone. For instance, both midnight and December symbolize an end of something and the hope of something new to happen. Another example is the chamber in which the narrator is placed, this is used to show the loneliness of the man.

    Read More

  • once upon a midnight dreary

    565 Words  | 2 Pages

    “The Raven” is a very great poem that has many literary devices and has great meaning. Edgar Allan Poe wrote many poems but “The Raven” is probably his most famous poem. “The Raven” was chosen because in 4th grade my teacher read it to the class and since then it has had a lot of meaning. This poem is about a ”rapping at my chamber door” and then he realizes a raven causes the rapping on his chamber door. The raven is always saying “Nevermore” and then he goes so crazy he kills himself. He dies because the speaker says “And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor/ Shall be lifted- nevermore!” “The Raven” contains many literary devices such as symbolism, metaphors, sensory images, and personification. The raven symbolizes the character conscious. A metaphor in “The Raven” is the raven being a “a thing of evil” which is represented throughout the poem.

    Read More

  • Diction In Annabel Lee

    1170 Words  | 3 Pages

    He says that the angles nor demons “Can ever dissever my soul from the soul / of the beautiful Annabel Lee” (ll. 32-33). So even though she is dead, his love and bond for her is just as strong as it was when she was alive. He has a wonderful memory of her, but he is hurt that she is gone. He has dreams about her and still feels her presence because he is so consumed by his love for his beautiful Annabel Lee. However, it becomes creepy when every night he goes out to her tomb and lays next to her corps. “I lie down by the side / of my darling—my darling—my life and my bride / in her sepulchre there by the sea / In her tomb by the sounding sea” (ll. 39-41). His love for her is no longer light and pure. Instead, he is trapped by this love and is left sad and alone. This poem shows the harmful part of the emotions in the boy who once had a perfect love with his beautiful Annabel

    Read More

  • Of Dark Romanticism In Masque Of The Red Death And The Raven By Edgar Allan Poe

    459 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the text it states “But the raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only that one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour” (Poe). The Raven is like the afterlife of Lenore and her trying to give guilt for the things he had done. As the Raven only uses one word “Nevermore” it could be the bird following him around as a reminder of things he has done and give him guilt. After every question he would ask he would only get one reply from the Raven. This ties together with the Masque of the Red Death because he talks about darkness and fear.

    Read More

  • Lost Love in The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe

    1005 Words  | 3 Pages

    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. Subsequently, the repetition of the bird’s one worded reply makes it known that the man will never see Lenore again because there is no afterlife.

    Read More

  • Edgar Allan Poe Grief And Grief

    1324 Words  | 3 Pages

    Edgar Allan Poe was a man who unfortunately was born into a life full of morbidity and grief. The stories and poems that he created reflect the experience he has with agonizing situations, in which Poe’s dark side developed; his evil reasoning and twisted mentality allowed Poe to develop extremely vivid and enthralling stories and works. Due to not only his family members but also his wifes to passing from tuberculosis, morbidity and grief is present in almost every work that Poe created. From major works such as “the Raven”, “Black Cat”, “Annabel Lee”, and the Tell- Tale Heart, Poe utilized themes such as death, premature burials, body decompositions, mourning, and morbidity to enhance his point an the image he attempted to convey.

    Read More

More about The Raven Response

Open Document