Preview

Literary Analysis of the Raven

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
587 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Literary Analysis of the Raven
Literary Analysis of The Raven

In “The Raven” by Edgar Allen Poe, the speaker is continually losing his mind as he morns the death of his lover, Lenore. Poe was able to maintain a melancholy feeling throughout his poem using the refrain “nevermore” and following some very strict, self-set, rules. Every stanza in the poem uses the same rhyme scheme, ABCBBB. He used many literary devices including alliteration, assonance, and onomatopoeia. His rhythm is also very structured and unwavering.

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 rhyme 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 trochaic octameter for his poem. Poe used many other devices in his poem such as alliteration 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 silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain” (Raven: 13) is an example of an onomatopoeia used by Poe in his poem.

The tone of “The Raven” is morbid and depressing. Poe used a man who had lost his lost Lenore to deepen the melancholy feeling, because losing a loved one is the grimmest 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

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Symbolism In The Raven

    • 78 Words
    • 1 Page

    One literary device in the poem is symbolism. Symbolism is the practice of using a word to represent an idea. There are several symbols in the poem “The Raven”, but the main symbol is the raven itself. The Raven symbolizes the man’s memories of his wife, Lenore. The bird stands as a memory of his loneliness and misery. When the bird said “nevermore” it was more effective than the human saying it. The raven represents evil and death.…

    • 78 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Raven creates a sense of doom for the speaker by confirming the fact that he will never be able to get rid of his sorrow. He will always be sad as he longs for his lost love, Lenore. In the poem, there’s a part where the Speaker is irate and driven to madness by the Raven. He screams at the Raven, “Leave my loneliness unbroken! – quit thy bust above my door! / Take thy beak from out my heart and take thy form from off my door” (Poe 17). The Raven gives the Speaker despair. The Speaker tells the bird to take its beak out of his heart because the bird is deepening his pain and causing agony. It also shows how the Raven is real because the speaker sees it above his door. The bird does not literally have his beak in the Speaker’s heart but he is lying above his door, haunting the Speaker. Although the bird has no intent to cause the Speaker pain, the Speaker interprets the Raven saying “nevermore” as a way of saying his pain will never end, thus creating his own sense of…

    • 935 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Once there was a beautiful raven. One day, while she was protecting her nest her spouse went out in search for food, but he did not return. The elegant mother was abandoned and force raise her children on her own. Fifteen days later the eggs hatched. There were five chicks; 4 males and one female. The mother raven raise her children well. She taught them to fly, fend for themselves, and find food. As her children grew old the mother raven watched as her children left one by one. Each of them finding a spouse perfect for them. But one did not find a spouse. This Raven’s name was Lily.…

    • 798 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe is a poem about a man that is being hunted by a raven. The man that is being hunted by a raven is hearing a voice calling out “Lenore” at his chamber door. After awhile he starts to notice that he is being hunted by a raven.…

    • 359 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Conspiracy, unkindness, and death are a few words associated with one of the most popular birds in the world. The raven is commonly seen in works of art, literature, and movies to set the tone or scenario for things that are coming next. In Poe’s, “The Raven”, the ebony bird symbolizes grief upon the man who is trying to forget his recent lost love, Lenore. The raven represents loneliness, void, and demise from the moment he tapped on the window until the bird spoke for the last time.…

    • 737 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Tone and mood are very important features in poetry. In the poem, “The Raven,” by Edgar Allan Poe, he uses lots of different types of figurative language to express the mournful tone. To begin, alliteration is a series of words that begin with the same consonant sound. To start with, in the second stanza, Poe states, Eagerly I wished the morrow;-vainly I had sought to borrow/From my books a surcease of sorrow-sorrow for the lost Lenore (Lines 9-10). First, Poe uses alliteration to surcease of Sorrow to symbolize that he is trying to stop thinking about his wife.…

    • 336 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    When the raven is seen by the narrator he thinks it is a sign from his beloved Lenore. The narrator’s insanity leads him to believe that the raven is a sign that maybe Lenore is not gone. His obsession with the loss of Lenore makes…

    • 685 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Edgar Allan Poe born in Boston on January 19, 1809 left behind a mystery that has never been solved. The 2012 American film, The Raven, directed by James McTergue on a screenplay by Ben Livingston and Hannah Shakespeare and starring John Crusack, is a murder mystery encompassing Edgar Allan Poe’s greatest works. The Raven is a thriller that tells the fictional tale that shows what may have happened to Poe in his last days of life. In this movie a serial killer starts murdering people in a manner based on Poe’s stories and kidnaps Poe’s fiancé. The writer is forced to become a detective to try and outwit the detective and save his beloved Emily. After learning…

    • 411 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Raven Analysis Essay

    • 546 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In this essay, I will discuss the elements involved and my interpretation of the poem The Raven, by Edgar Allen Poe. Many poems, including this particular one, are made up of a number of elements which are combined to give the reader a certain thought or feeling. I will also discuss the poet's philosophy on poetry and how this plays a role in The Raven.…

    • 546 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    o. The way Poe organizes his poem completely draws the reader into the world of the poem. If close attention is paid, one will notice that the rhyme scheme goes ABCBBB, written in trochaic octameter. However, Poe plays with this regular verse. Instead of staying with sixteen syllables per line, for the last line of each stanza, only seven syllables are used. For every other “B” in the rhyme scheme, fifteen syllables are used. This draws the reader into paying close attention to the “or” sound at the end of these lines, making the poem rhythmic and…

    • 1477 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Diction In The Raven

    • 699 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Poe utilizes the raven as a means of placing a dark tone on his poem when the narrator asks if “[he] shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore-/ Clasp a rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore” (94-95). The raven responds with “‘Nevermore’” (96). The widower questions the raven if he will ever get the chance to hold his wife again, and the raven replies that he will not, showing Poe’s tone of despair and misery. On the other hand, Poe creates a hopeful tone in “Annabel Lee” when, at the end of the poem, the narrator says, “And neither the angels in Heaven above/ Nor the demons down under the sea/ Can ever dissever my soul from the soul/ Of the beautiful Annabel Lee” (30-33). Declaring that even death cannot tear him and his love apart, the narrator believes that their souls will forever be together, no matter if she is in Heaven or Hell. This is much unlike “The Raven” in which the widower learns that he will never see his wife again. Poe’s tone in “Annabel Lee” provides a more peaceful atmosphere regarding the death of a loved one than that of “The Raven”. Both poems illustrate the ambiguities and uncertainties that that surround the death of a loved one and offer reactions to such…

    • 699 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lenore The Raven

    • 488 Words
    • 2 Pages

    he Raven is a poem written by Edgar Allan Poe. In The Raven the speaker is sad because his wife “Lenore” died. While he was trying to forget about the pain from the death of her wife, he heard someone knocking at the door, and when he went and looked who it was, he literally saw nobody. Later on he was heard something knocking on his window, he thought it was the wind but when he open the window a raven appear and then it started to rain. This is how the the poem started.…

    • 488 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the world of poetry, one of the most well-known poems is Poe’s “The Raven.” Its famous opening line, “Once upon a midnight dreary…” (1) sets a dark and melancholy tone. It is only suitable that a poem focused on the theme of death is set at midnight on a stormy night “in the bleak December” (7). This setting perpetuates the torment felt by the narrator as the raven continues to tap on his chamber door and repeat the word “nevermore.” It also contributes to the themes of death and insanity by…

    • 603 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Firstly, In The Raven, the literary device of repetition creates an isolated and deathly mood, that contributes to the depressing feeling of the reader. Poe uses repetition in lines 57 and 58 when the narrator claims that the raven will leave him the next day because everyone else in his life has left him, making him feel isolated and alone. The narrator states, “Other friends have flown before — On the morrow he will leave me, as my Hopes have flown before.” The repetition of “have flown before” is used to emphasize that…

    • 503 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Analysis of the Raven 1

    • 1928 Words
    • 8 Pages

    "The Raven" is a narrative poem by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in January 1845. It is often noted for its musicality, stylized language, andsupernatural atmosphere. It tells of a talking raven's mysterious visit to a distraught lover, tracing the man's slow descent into madness. The lover, often identified as being a student, is lamenting the loss of his love, Lenore. Sitting on a bust of Pallas, the raven seems to further instigate his distress with its constant repetition of the word "Nevermore". The poem makes use of a number of folk and classical references.…

    • 1928 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays