Budinski 1
Buddy Budinksi
English 8 Period 1
Ms. Cool Teacher
May 7, 2012
Memories Cause Misery
The poem “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe is about a man who is dealing with the death
of his loved one. It is late night in December in the poem. The man’s beloved, Lenore, has died.
He is sad and thinking about her. He is trying to distract himself from his thoughts of her by
reading. He is starting to doze off when he is awakened by a knock at the door. When he
opens the door there is no one there. He hears the knocking again, but this time it is coming
from the window. When he opens open the window a raven flies into his house and perches on
top of a statue that is above the door. The man goes through a series of questions asking what
the bird’s name is, and where it is from. The raven only responds with one word:
“Nevermore.” The man thinks about what the bird must mean by repeating the word
“Nevermore,” and he comes to the realization that the raven is speaking about Lenore…he will
never see Lenore again. He asks the raven one final question; if he will ever hold Lenore again.
The raven responds with his one word. This causes the man to go into a rage. He believes that
the raven is a type of evil spirit sent to torment him. He demands that the raven leave his
house and stop torturing him, but the raven stays perched on the statue above the door. The
poem’s theme is even though our loved ones may be gone and we will never see them again,
they are always with us in our memory.
Writing Applications 2.2 – Write a Response to Literature
Written by Ms. Grande EastLake Middle School
Budinski 2
The key to understanding this poem’s theme is when the author writes, “Tell this soul
with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn, / It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the
angels named Lenore -/ Clasp a rare and radiant maiden, whom the angels named
Lenore?'/Quoth the raven, ‘Nevermore' (lines 93-96). The poet is trying to tell us that the man
will never see his loved one again. We can understand the message of the poem by the poet’s
use of specific literary devices.
Three literary devices used in this poem are allusion, alliteration, and imagery. The
literary device allusion is when the author makes a reference to something else. The author
uses allusion in line 89 when he writes, “…Is there - is there balm in Gilead? “Balm” is an oily
fragrant substance that comes from certain plants that is supposed to have a healing quality.
Gilead is a city in the Bible. The narrator is asking if this city is known to have these medicinal
plants. This shows that the man is suffering from dealing with the death of Lenore and he is
looking for relief. He is not literally looking for a healing plant. He is asking if he will ever get
over the death of his love and feel good again. Another example of a literary device is
alliteration. Alliteration is when the poet repeats the same consonant sound at the beginning
of a word. Poe does this multiple times throughout his poem, but in line 26 he repeats the “d”
sound when he writes, “Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before.”
When the man heard the knocking at his door, he went to open it. There was no one there.
While he was peering into the darkness searching to see who could be knocking on his door so
late at night, he started having scary thoughts about who could be out there in the darkness.
This shows that the man is very frightened. Also, this demonstrates how Poe is able to create a
suspenseful mood through his use of alliteration. A third literary device used by Poe is imagery.
Writing Applications 2.2 – Write a Response to Literature
Written by Ms. Grande EastLake Middle School
Budinski 3
Imagery is when the poet uses descriptive language that appeals to the reader’s senses. This
poem is filled with imagery, but a good example can be found on line 74, “…To the fowl whose
fiery eyes now burned into my bosom's core.” This descriptive line appeals to the reader’s
sense of sight. A “fowl” is a bird. Ravens are large black birds similar to a crow, but bigger.
“Fiery” means “fierce” or “angry.” The reader can imagine this big black bird perched in the
man’s house with intense eyes just staring at him. Again, this contributes to the scary mood of
the poem. This is no ordinary bird that has accidentally flown in an open window. It is almost
as if this bird was sent from hell to torment the man. These literary devices helped me
understand the poem’s message because it all built up to the man facing a harsh reality…he will
never see Lenore again. Although this is a painful fact to accept, he must deal with it and know
that Lenore will always be with him in his memories.
I like this poem because it has a very scary mood. I also like it because it is dark and it
honestly describes some of the most intense emotions that we as humans have. We all have
lost a loved one, and I think Poe does an excellent job describing the pain, anger, insanity,
longing, all the range of emotions that we go through when someone we love dies. I recall
from my own personal experience a time when I had to deal with the death of a loved one. I
was in college and both of my grandparents were killed in a tragic accident. I could not believe
that they were gone and that I would never see them again. I wanted to remember the good
times we shared. I wanted to remember their faces, but it was just too heart-breaking. I can
understand what the man in the poem is struggling with. He, too, wants to remember his loved
one, but sometimes memories cause misery.
Writing Applications 2.2 – Write a Response to Literature
Written by Ms. Grande EastLake Middle School