Dickinsons

The Reflection of Death and Literature
Katie Newbanks
ENG 125: Introduction to Literature
February 21, 2010

The Reflection of Death and Literature
Death is something everyone can relate to, it’s something we all will face. Death has been a subject that many face mixed emotions on; however, death is inevitable. Writer’s often choosing to write about death because of its presence and effect it brings to their audience. The mystique of the unknown is something that many writers use as a backdrop, or setting, on how they view the topic on death. Edgar Allen Poe, Emily Dickinson, and William Shakespeare are famous for their portrayal and ideas on mortality. Though the three writers are of different styles, they are able to captivate audiences about a topic that all have mixed emotions about.
Edgar Allen Poe’s, “The Raven,” tells a story of a man who is grieving and longing for his love, Lenore. The loss, so overwhelming, made him go crazy from the loneliness he is experiencing. The man is sitting alone in his “chamber” and the feeling of how alone he feels is too terrifying for him to take. The use of the word “chamber” represents something cold and dark. The use suggests that the man considers loneliness as torture. The poem led me to believe that the man is thinking of resorting to suicide, in an attempt to be with Lenore again; however, the fear of the unknown, and the thought of death is too frightening. Edgar Allen Poe’s “dark and dreary” had a connection between how he viewed life and associated it with death. He was not happy alive, yet afraid of death.
A raven is often a symbol used to describe death, due to the darkness of the bird. The reference to the bird in this poem immediately draws the reader to believe something sinister and sad is taking place. The raven was used to symbolize how death was something he could not control, much like the raven. The title a lone suggests something dark and mysterious. Poe used rhyme and alliteration in this poem.... [continues]

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