The Raven is one of the most remarkable poems written by Edgar Allen Poe as it represents the author’s unique style and distinctive narrative where mystery is combined with misery. The work was first published in 1845, revealing the dark gothic atmosphere central for dozens of writers of that period; it has no direct relation to specific events of Poe’s life (Lewis 280). Nevertheless, the poem was written in the first person and resonated with grief every individual could experience.
The Raven is melancholic, and its main theme is a description of the feelings and emotions of an unfortunate person. Indeed, a beloved person’s death is the main reason for the character’s misery, which he lives through without trying to replace it or forget it (Muhilly 227). The main character’s experience with grief is displayed through their thoughts that change from a rational understanding that losses were inevitable in their life to the desire to ask a raven questions. “Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night’s Plutonian shore! Quoth the Raven “Nevermore” (Poe). The main character’s suffering is seen through the dark atmosphere and the hopelessness about the future without their love.
In The Raven, Poe used multiple literary and poetic devices to emphasize the character’s melancholy, hopelessness, and heartbroken sadness. Metaphors and imageries fill the poetry with descriptions that make readers see the pain and grief through phrases such as “rustling of each curtain” (Poe). Furthermore, personification, as the character communicates with a bird, and simile, as they compare experiences to flight, are the literary devices that make the raven a fully engaged participant of the poem (Fletcher 7). Poetic tools include sophisticated internal rhyme and the general ABCBBB scheme. The raven’s “Nevermore” throughout the poem is a repetition that enhances the poem’s lyrical mood and emphasizes the main character’s hopelessness.
Works Cited
Fletcher, Richard M. The Stylistic Development of Edgar Allan Poe. De Gruyter Mouton, 2018.
Lewis, Paul. “The Raven” Imitated, Admired, and Sometimes Mocked.” The Edgar Allan Poe Review, vol. 22, no. 2, 2021, pp. 274-311.
Muhilly, Maryann. “A Raven Named Grip: How a Bird Inspired Two Famous Writers, Charles Dickens and Edgar Allan Poe.” The Catholic Library World, vol. 92, no. 3, 2022, pp. 227-228.
Poe, Edgar Allan. The Raven. Poetry Foundation, n. d.