Preview

The Raven Essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
654 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Raven Essay
The Romantic Story, the Raven Surprising enough, the famous story by Edgar Allan Poe, the Raven, is a Romantic poem. Poe was a poet during the Romantic period, making him a romantic writer/poet. Actually he was a dark romantic poet, which makes a little more sense. The Raven typifies Romanticism in many ways, especially when it comes to their connection with God. Also Poe reveals many emotions throughout this poem. Romantics loved and cherished the natural world. They would rather be in the woods than in the city, and they also escaped to nature to find a more emotional and intellectual awakening. When it comes to God and spiritual beliefs, they place faith in inner experience and the power of imagination, everything including humans is a reflection of the divine soul, physical facts of the natural world are a doorway to the spiritual world, intuition allows people to behold God’s spirit revealed in nature or in their own souls. Dark Romantics explored the conflict between good and evil, the effects of guilt and sin, and the destructive underside of appearances. They also explored the madness in the human psyche as well as the humor of evil. The Raven mainly demonstrates connections to God. The Romantics believe that their imagination is of great importance in your life and in the Raven the narrators imagination got the best of him and he put faith in his imagination in thinking that his dead wife came back to life. The narrator hears something very quietly tapping on his door. He finally decides to go and answer the door, “Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,/Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before;/But the silence was unbroken, and the darkness gave no token,/And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, `Lenore!'/This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, `Lenore!'/Merely this and nothing more” (Poe). In his imagination he saw Lenore, his wife who died and he believed it which

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In "The Raven", a man, most likely older than the man in "Annabel Lee", mourns the death of his love whom he called "Lenore". Lenore, like Annabel Lee, had died several years earlier. In "The Raven", man hears tapping on his chamber door and sees the curtains slowly swaying. He believes that it can be no other than Lenore. Unfortunately for him though, it is only but a bird. A large, black bird known as the Raven. A raven is usually symbolized as something dark and sinister. Throughout the poem, the man is tormented by his lost love, Lenore, who came back in the form of a Raven.…

    • 433 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    On a dark night in December as a man sits in his living room lost in ill-fated thoughts, a Raven emits to him one spiteful word that drives him over the edge. The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe is a famous poem about a man who long for his lost love, Lenore. As the Speaker sits in his living room he hears sounds at his door that fillS him with terror. He encounters the Raven and speaks to him, asking him questions about Lenore and his fate. Everyone can agree that the Raven creates a sense of doom, but many people debate over if the Raven is real or a figment of the Speaker’s imagination. While others may disagree, the Raven in Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven” is real because the Raven came into the Speaker’s life and made his loneliness worse.…

    • 935 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Raven is about a man who lost his beloved lenore, and he cannot stop thinking about her. The way it shows romanticism is because of its extreme emotion of what love can do. A man who is laying in his bed trying to sleep one night cannot stop thinking about his beloved Lenore. He hears knocking, voices, and steps from outside of his room and door. He tries to believe it is wind, but he knows it's not. Finally, he stand up to go to his door and opens it, and it is the literal door to hell. Soon after this door opens a raven comes in and lands on his statue of athena (the god of wisdom). The raven and athena are representing how his life has been blocked by the death of his beloved. He asks the raven many questions about lenore spanning from if he will be happy to if she has found peace in heaven. The answer the raven gives is never more. Essentially by the end of the story the man knows he will never find love or peace without Lenore for the rest of his life. Edgar Allan Poe models his stories after his life. His wife had died, and he never got over this. So in his stories he uses romanticism to show the story of his…

    • 1027 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The elements of the color black and the use of the raven as a spirit/demon are presented in the poem which aid in establishing a somber and spooky mood . “This ebony bird” (Poe 438) describes the black color of the raven and the symbolism the color has on the deeper meaning of the story. The black raven signifies the darkness and death that has ultimately taken over the man’s life since the passing of his wife, Lenore. The raven, “and his eyes have all the seeming of a demon that is dreaming” (Poe 440) characterizes the raven as a demon (dark spirit) that has come to haunt the man after his wife’s passing. This ultimately creates a haunting mood and allows the reader to understand the deeper connection the raven has to the man and the recent event of his wife’s…

    • 644 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Through literature, Romantic writers strove to define themselves and their place in life. In Nature, Emerson wrote, “In the tranquil landscape, and especially in the distant line of the horizon, man beholds somewhat as beautiful as his own nature.” Transcendentalists defined themselves through nature and the Over-Soul. Longfellow’s optimistic view of life, A Psalm of Life, tells of how individuals should be. “Let us, then, be up and doing, With a heart for any fate; Still achieving, still pursuing, Learn to labor and to wait.” Gothic works such as Poe’s The Raven with its macabre and psychological torment and supernatural elements exposes the darker side of mankind. Telling of the Raven, Poe writes, “And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon’s that is dreaming; And the lamp-light 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!” Emily Dickinson’s poetry illustrates a great deal of individuality, and what she believes individuals are capable of. In The Brain--is wider than the Sky--, she relates the astounding capacity of the human brain. “The Brain--is wider than the Sky--...The Brain is deeper than the sea--...The Brain is just the weight of God--.” In their own way, each Romantic author reflect the idea of the individual in their…

    • 714 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    . The tragedies in Poe’s life are reflected in his poem, “The Raven,” and can be predominately seen through the comparison between the loss of his wife, and the narrators loss of Lenore. The apparent tone in Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” seemingly represents a very painful condition of mind, an intellect sensitive to madness and the abyss of melancholy brought upon by the death of a beloved lady. The parallelism of Poe’s own personal problems with those of the narrator in “The Raven,” and the repetitive verse by the raven, makes the reader aware of Poe’s prominent tone of melancholy. A strong device for the melancholic tone is Poe’s life experiences. The narrator’s sorrow for the lost Lenore is paralleled with Poe’s own grief regarding the death of his wife. Confined in the chamber are memories of her who had frequented it. These ghostly recollections bring out a state of eager anticipation in the reader to know and be relieved of the bewilderment that the narrator and consequently Poe himself are experiencing; the narrator ponders whether he will see his wife in the afterlife. After Virginnia’s lingering death, Poe tried to relieve his grief by drinking. A parallelism is formed in “The Raven” between the condescending actions of the raven towards the narrator and the taunting of alcohol towards Poe. The raven condescends that Poe will never see his lost love again when uttering, “forget this lost Lenore,” in line 84. Alcohol taunts Poe into ceaseless depression and caused him to have a life-long problem with alcoholism, which eventually led to his death. In a similar manner to which alcohol explored Poe’s inner devastation, the raven brings out the narrator’s innermost fears that he will never see his Lenore again. The articulation of language through the use of the raven and it’s refrain is also utilized to produce the melancholic tone in “The Raven.” In the poem it is important that the answers to the questions are already known, to illustrate the self-torture…

    • 525 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “The Raven” is an exploration into the loneliness, despair, and insanity associated with the loss of a loved one. Through the clever use of structure, repetition and symbolism Edgar Allan Poe manages to draw us into this feeling of morbid despair and with every use of the haunting refrain “nevermore” upon which the chilling cadence of this poem is built Poe transforms a story steeped in sorrow into a tale of supernatural fear and insanity as only he can.…

    • 1196 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    “The Raven” was written by Edgar Allan Poe and originally published in January 1845. It is a narrative poem about a man sitting in his room and falling asleep while reading, wanting to forget his lost love named Lenore. All of a sudden his attention is grabbed by a knock at his door. He goes to open the door only to find there is no one there. Then, there is a knock at his window. This time a raven swoops into the man’s room. This raven first interests the man, but then ends up tormenting him at the end of the poem. While readers may think this man is just a sad a lonely fellow, there may be more to him than they think. Throughout the poem, the speaker goes through several different emotions very quickly. Instead…

    • 1345 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Through poetry, Lenore's premature death is made important as the narrator is unable to let himself let go of her memory and release his reliance on it. He asks the raven if there is "balm in Gilead", asking the raven if Lenore exists in the afterlife. To his despair, when he received the answer, the raven confirmed his worst suspicions by rejecting his requests. The fear of death affects Poe's writing majorly. "The Raven" is one of his bleakest publications because it…

    • 338 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Great poems come from great authors, most of whom have interesting stories. One of the greatest poets in American literature was Edgar Allen Poe. To best understand his works, especially his poem "The Raven," it is important to know about his life. According to Terry Heller, Edgar Poe was born on January 19, 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts to David and Eliza Poe, both traveling actors. Poe 's early life was full of tragic events. His father disappeared when he was three years old and his mother dies less than a year later. A foster family, the Allen 's, from whom he claimed his middle name, then raised Poe. After briefly attending the University of Virginia, Poe joined the army. After leaving the army, he wrote for various magazines, during which time some of his most well-known stories were written. In 1936 Poe married Virginia Clemm, who was only fourteen years old at the time. Virginia passed away shortly after their marriage due to complications of tuberculosis. After Virginia 's death, Poe became depressed and turned to drugs and alcohol for comfort. These, however, did not help Poe deal with the pain; he attempted suicide in 1848 and eventually died in October, 1849. Throughout all of his writing, Poe drew from tragic events in his life to create some of the most well known poems of all time (Heller).…

    • 1216 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    "Poe's Life Reflected in The Raven" Edgar Allen Poe is a well known writer and poet. He wrotemany tales of mystery and macabre. I once read his book, 'The Masqueof the Red Death'. The story was so heavy and dark that I felt scaredwhile reading the book. When I was about to read his poem 'TheRaven', the title already gave me the similar image of 'The Masque ofthe Red Death'. Individuals may have different ideas about raven.Some have a positive images on raven because it is considered to bringgood luck in some countries. They believe that ravens guide and helppeople findtheir destination. Others have a negative images on raven becauseraven is a symbol of death in some countries. I also have a bad imageabout raven. Even though I do not believe that raven brings death, Ido not feel good about it. Maybe that's why the title reminded me ofthe story 'The Masque of the Red Death'. Maybe it's not exactly thestory but the atmosphere of the story.There are many other birds which give us more affinity andpositive images such as eagle and bluebird. At first I wondered whyPoe used raven as his messinger. After reading the whole poem,however, I realized why he used raven. I believe that Poe wanted togive readers more reasons to wonder about what this bird means, whereit comes from, and what it might represent. Also, by using raven'sdark image he may want to convey the dreary atmosphere and mysterytone of the poem. It seems obvious that the raven symbolizes emotionalsufferings and portrays a vivid understanding of reality.The story of the poem is about a man (narrator) who lost hislover, Lenore. He is awfully depressed and lonely. I can assume hisemotional condition. He seems very tired and weak. Poe used the word'dreary' to creat the weak and weary atmosphere of scene in the firsttwo lines. I can empathize with his heartbreak because I myself haveexperienced the loss of beloved ones. The line 7 gives a specificinformation about the background. It is December, and the…

    • 1137 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better 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
  • 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

    In many of Poe’s and other authors poems throughout history, they created a particular style of writing: romanticism. With the use of romanticism, these authors booned their stories/poems with aspects of mood with diction that helps convey darker themes. The elements of Gothic Literature in the short stories the “Black Cat,” “the Devil and Tom Walker,” and Sharp Objects create a morbid mood through the usage of grotesque scenery, psychological issues, and death.…

    • 708 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Essay On The Raven's Gate

    • 292 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Raven’s Gate by Anthony Horowitz is a thirdperson horror novel. The Raven’s gate is set in the UK around the early 21century. It’s a story about a fourteen year old boy named Matt freeman. Matt has always been different from the other kids, his parents died in a car crash when he was young and the night before he saw it while he was dreaming. Matt’s aunt took him in after his parents death. Matt was always in trouble with the police until one day, he and his friend had to stab a security guard. Which later he was sent to the LEAF project and he ended up living with Mrs. Deverill in Yorkshire. It’s not long before he senses something wrong with Mrs.Deverill and the whole village. Matt discovers…

    • 292 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays

Related Topics