The Raven
By Edgar Allan Poe
A summary:
The narrator is in his study late one night when he hears a
rapping. Saddened by the recent death of his beloved, Lenore, he
summons his courage to open the door, only to find no one there.
Finally he realizes the rapping comes from the window. When he
opens it, a large raven enters. To every question the man asks,
the raven answers, “Nevermore.” The man wants to know
whether he will ever see his darling again, and the raven deepens
his despair by answering again, “Nevermore.”
Allusion:
An allusion is a reference to a character, place, or situation from
another work of art or literature, or from history. For example,
the raven in Poe’s poem may be an allusion to the bird that
served as a messenger for Apollo, the Greek sun god.
Other allusions in the poem: the ravens of the Bible that fed
Elijah; Pallas, the Greek goddess of wisdom; Pluto, the Roman
god of the dead; balm in Gilead, in the Bible a place of refuge;
and Aidenn, another spelling of the biblical Eden are alluded to.
The Mood:
In “The Raven” by Edgar Allen Poe, the speaker is continually
losing his mind as he morns the death of his lover, Lenore. When
the raven comes to the speaker, it is a constant reminder that
Lenore is forever gone. The raven repeats the refrain
"nevermore" throughout the poem several times. Each time this
word is spoken, it seems to instill more anger and despair into
the speaker. Reminding him, a numerous amount of times, that
Lenore is gone. The raven, itself, helps to set a melancholy
mood that Poe tries to keep throughout the poem.
Symbolism:
Poe uses a raven, a dark creature, to represent death.
Sound Effects & Rhyme Scheme:
The rhyme scheme used by Poe in his poem “The Raven” is
described as ABCBBB. Every stanza in “The Raven” follows this
rhyme scheme to create a very structured poem. Poe also uses
internal rhyme where two words in the third line will rhyme with
each other and with another word in the fourth line. In the
second stanza the word morrow in line three rhymes with the
word borrow also in line three and sorrow in line four. Poe also
uses repetition to not only conform to his rhyme scheme, but to
emphasize the word as well. “'Wretch,' I cried, 'thy God hath lent
thee - by these angels he hath sent thee” (Raven: 81) is an
example of Poe using repetition to rhyme.
Poe used many sound devices in his poem such as
alliteration, assonance, and consonance. “Doubting,
dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before;”
(Raven: 26) is an example of alliteration and consonance. Poe
used alliteration to increase the effect of the line. “.
The Tone:
The tone of “The Raven” is morbid (gloomy) and depressing.
How did he create this tone? Poe used a man who had lost his
love, Lenore, to deepen the melancholy feeling, because losing a
loved one is the grimmest (cruel, morbid) subjects there is. Poe
had a raven, an already grim animal, to repeat the word
“nevermore” whenever the narrator would speak to it. One other
way Poe increased the melancholy effect is the torture of the
narrator. The answer the narrator received each time was already
predetermined and both the reader and the narrator knew what
the reply was going to be; therefore, continuously torturing the
narrator.
Figures of Speech:
Poe also used many similes, metaphors, and examples of
personification. “Quoth the Raven 'Nevermore'” (Raven: 48) is
an example of personification found in Poe's poem “The Raven”.
Since birds cannot really talk, the raven was given a human
characteristic of speech. “And his eyes have all the seeming of a
demon's that is dreaming,” is an example of a metaphor used in
“The Raven” by Poe to compare the raven's eyes to a demon's;
therefore, comparing the raven to a demon. “That one word, as if
his soul in that one word he did outpour.” (Raven: 56) is an
example of a simile that Poe used to compare the raven's reply to
the narrators state of grief.
The Speaker's character:
The speaker in "The Raven" doesn't seem willing to work
through his grief and try to get on with his life. The speaker is
obviously dwelling on his own grief. Even at the very beginning
of the poem, the speaker seems upset by the possibility of a
visitor at the door. One wonders if he has cut himself off from all
friends and family so he can focus exclusively on his grief. At the
very end of the poem, the speaker states that his soul will never
be lifted from the shadow that the raven casts on the floor. In
other words, he is giving up any hope for recovery.