U2A6 Robert Desjardine
Literary Analysis
of
The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe
The Poem I believe to be the best ever written is “ The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe. This poem was a sensation when published in 1845, and it continues to stir the same emotion in readers today as it did then. His use of several poetic devices in precise locations creates a dark sing-song rhythm to the poem. These include meter, alliteration, repetition, simile, personification, among many others. Each flowing so that it all draws in the reader and makes the tale come alive in the minds eye.
The poem is about a man sitting alone in his chamber falling asleep in a book trying to forget about his deceased love, when he hears a knocking at his door. After finding nothing he presumes it must be from the window, upon opening the window a raven flies in. The man is amused and asks the bird his name to which the bird replies “ Nevermore”. As the man sits to ponder this reply he begins to think of his lost love. He feels the air grow thicker and begins to think god sent the raven to make him forget Lenore. The raven answers his question with one answer, “ Nevermore”. The man then enraged asks the raven if he and Lenore will ever be together again in heaven, to which the raven replies as expected, “Nevermore”. “And the Raven… And the lamplight o’er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor; And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor, Shall be lifted- nevermore!” ( lines 106-107, The Raven, Poe)
The Essay on Margaret Atwood Man Orange Poem
"Against Still Life' By Margaret Atwood Essay," Against Still Life' By Margaret Atwood Against Still Life In the poem Against Still Life, poet Margaret Atwood fascinates us by weaving her words into descriptive feelings we can all relate too, especially women. Atwood is a well known poet and novelist who has a certain way of grabbing the attention of the reader and throwing the reader's thoughts ...
The Meter of this poem follows a well structured trochaic octameter for the first five lines of each stanza with the sixth line being a trochaic tetrameter. This is mixed with the darker imagery of the poem gives it a truly dark yet whimsical mood. The trochaic octameter is a line with eight pairs of stressed-unstressed syllables, each pair is called a foot. These kind of feet (having pairs of stressed-
unstressed syllables) are known as trochee. When a line contains eight trochee feet it is called a trochaic octameter. The repeating structure of the trochaic octameter makes the reader almost chant each line, bringing out the feelings of nervousness and distress felt by the protagonist. The sixth and final line of each stanza provides an excellent almost conclusive transition to the next stanza. The difference in this sixth line is in the pairs of trochee feet, there is only four, making it a trochaic tetrameter.
The use of alliteration is fairly heavy in “The Raven” it provides excellent rhythm to the poem and adds significantly to the musical feel of the poem. This gives the reader another window into the madness the protagonist begins to feel, “ Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortals ever dared to dream before” ( line 26, The Raven, Poe).
Line 26 is a great example of alliteration with five of the ten words in it beginning with the letter d.
Repetition or refrain is a major player in this poem with almost every stanza containing nevermore and examples like lines four and five, in which many words repeat. The line “Quoth the raven: Nevermore” (Lines 48, 84,90,96,102, The Raven, Poe) is used a lot through the poem, as all the raven can say is nevermore. This reuse of the line drives the protagonist mad but also helps to solidify the message that Poe is trying to get across in this tale.
The similes in this poem supply the reader with queues to try and really visualize the enviroment and setting of the room. They also give some personal qualities to the raven such as “ ..with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door” (Line 40, The Raven, Poe).
Here Poe is comparing the raven to a lord or lady the way he came into the room.
The Essay on The Raven Symbolism Poe Reasoning End
'The Raven " Symbolism In Poe's 'The Raven' the most obvious symbol is the Raven its self. Why would Poe use a non-reasoning creature to recite the refrain of 'nevermore?' I believe Poe uses the non-reasoning raven because to us it would make little to no sense, and frustrate us because were a reasoning creature that can answer the question. It is also important that the answers to the questions ...
Personification does this same thing very much for the poem giving objects a personal attitude or
nature, only helps make the tale come alive in the mind of the reader. One example of Poe’s personification in “The Raven” is “ On the cushion’s velvet lining that the lamp-light gloated o’er” ( Line 76, The Raven, Poe).
Here he gives the light shining on the seat cushion a human characteristic saying it was gloating at him that Lenore would never sit there again.
All of these poetic devices come together to form a beautiful rhyme that flows consistently throughout the poem. “ The Raven” is a short poem which deals with love, and death but also how humans deal with loss and even the meaning of life itself. The meaning of this poem is how our feelings of death, loss and how we handle them, or how if never healed can manifest into something sinister.
