The Raven Literary Analysis
Gaby Escobedo
Creative Writing
Period 6
5/7/12
The Raven Literary Analysis
“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.
Poe uses the very structure of his poem to scream melancholy despair. “The Raven” is written in trochaic octameter. The first and third lines have sixteen syllables each. That makes eight pairs of syllables. The emphasis in these pairs is usually placed on the first syllable. (Once / u / pon / a / mid / night / drea / ry / while / I / pon / dered / weak / and / wea/ ry). It also makes use of internal rhyming,every eight syllables rhyme (Dreary, Weary). In the fourth line, the rhyme from the third line is used to rhyme again in the middle. (Eagerly I wished the morrow; vainly I had sought to borrow From my books surcease of sorrow, sorrow for the lost Lenore.) The most noticeable rhyme comes at the end of the second, fourth, fifth, and sixth lines in each stanza it’s easy to pick up because it always ends in an “or” sound (lore, door, floor, Lenore, and of course nevermore), meaning two-thirds of the poem ends in the same sound.The meter however is not constant throughout, the last line of each stanza is a lot shorter with only seven syllables and the second, fourth, and fifth lines only have fifteen syllables. The trick is that in each of the lines ending in an “or” sound, poe leaves off a syllable. That way the crucial “or” sits out there by itself, unattached to another syllable, making it stand out even more. Through all of these little things he makes his poem musical hypnotic and captivating drawing you more completely
Creative Writing
Period 6
5/7/12
The Raven Literary Analysis
“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.
Poe uses the very structure of his poem to scream melancholy despair. “The Raven” is written in trochaic octameter. The first and third lines have sixteen syllables each. That makes eight pairs of syllables. The emphasis in these pairs is usually placed on the first syllable. (Once / u / pon / a / mid / night / drea / ry / while / I / pon / dered / weak / and / wea/ ry). It also makes use of internal rhyming,every eight syllables rhyme (Dreary, Weary). In the fourth line, the rhyme from the third line is used to rhyme again in the middle. (Eagerly I wished the morrow; vainly I had sought to borrow From my books surcease of sorrow, sorrow for the lost Lenore.) The most noticeable rhyme comes at the end of the second, fourth, fifth, and sixth lines in each stanza it’s easy to pick up because it always ends in an “or” sound (lore, door, floor, Lenore, and of course nevermore), meaning two-thirds of the poem ends in the same sound.The meter however is not constant throughout, the last line of each stanza is a lot shorter with only seven syllables and the second, fourth, and fifth lines only have fifteen syllables. The trick is that in each of the lines ending in an “or” sound, poe leaves off a syllable. That way the crucial “or” sits out there by itself, unattached to another syllable, making it stand out even more. Through all of these little things he makes his poem musical hypnotic and captivating drawing you more completely