The Raven Essay

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“The Raven” Edgar Allan Poe’s life started in poverty, became better during his adopted years, and once again fell into poverty. Edgar Allan Poe inspired many people with his haunting poetry and short stores. One of his best known poems is “The Raven.” In this poem he is represented as a lonely fellow in his bedroom, longing for his lost love. Some say this poem is a metaphor for his close friends and family dying. “The Raven” is about a raven that flies into the home of a sad and lonely man. The poem takes place in a haunted house during a violent storm. For example, in the poem it says, “On this home by horror haunted,” and “...tempest tossed thee here ashore.” The time and place of the poem deliver a feeling of negativity and pessimism to the reader. Poe’s use of a depressing and negative setting for “The Raven” illustrates his despair and gloominess. Another example that illustrates the poem as an expression of Poe’s mood is the raven itself. A raven is a large bird of the crow family with lustrous black feathers and a straight, sharp beak. Poe could have used any bird however he wanted the reader to experience the gloom and despondency that he experienced. Therefore he wrote about a raven. Nevermore is a negative word meaning never again. The raven only said this word. Poe emphasizes nevermore because it helps accentuate the depressed and despaired mood of the poem. A strong device for the melancholic tone in “the Raven” is Poe’s use of the first person. Poe used the first person by virtue of the situations in “The Raven” taking direct influence from Poe’s life experiences. Among many other misfortunes, including living a life of poverty and being orphaned at a young age but the most devastating blow came when his beloved wife, Virginnia Clemm, died from the same disease his mother perished from. For example in the poem it say’s

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