A Critical Analysis of The Raven

A detailed Summary of A Critical Analysis of The Raven

Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven, representing Poe’s own crisis, is oddly moving and eye-catching to the reader. In his essay entitled The Philosophy of Composition, Poe reveals his purpose in writing The Raven and also describes the work of constructing the poem as being calculated in all aspects. Of all the distressing topics, Poe wished to use the one that was universally understood, death, specifically death involving a loved one.

The tone seemingly represents a very painful state of mind, an intellect receptive to insanity and the void of depression brought upon by the death of a beloved woman. When Poe had decided to use a refrain that repeated the word "nevermore," he found that it would be most effective if he used a non-reasoning creature to utter the word. It would make little sense to use a human being, since another person could reason to answer the questions.

The narrator tells what he remembers about the setting and action at the time of the Raven's visit. It was December, the first month of winter and a time when the nights are longest, creating a mood of mystery. Both midnight and December symbolize closure, as midnight is the last hour of the day and December is the last month of the year. “Mi

A strong device for the sorrowful tone is Poe’s use of the first person. Poe used the first person by virtue of the situations in The Raven being directly influenced by Poe's life experiences. Among many other misfortunes, including living a life of poverty and being orphaned at a young age, Poe’s beloved wife Virginia died after a long illness. After Virginia’s death, Poe tried to relieve his grief by drinking. A parallel is formed in The Raven between the arrogant 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”. Alcohol taunts Poe into never-ending depression and caused him to have a life-long problem with alcoholism, which eventually led to his death.

In reaction to the raven the speaker calls the bird a "Prophet," and because the prophecy foretells of more suffering for the speaker, he calls the bird "evil" and suggests that it may be a "devil." He does not know if the Raven is merely a bird seeking refuge after a tempest or if it is an evil being sent by the “Tempter.”

Once the thought of Lenore re-enters the speaker's mind, his imagination and emotions again became active. He imagines that he smells the incense of angels. He prefers to think of the scent as a gift from God, noticing it provides a comforting understanding that may help him forget his misery. He cries out to himself, calling himself "Wretch." By this he means that he has sunk to a wretched state of grief. But now he hopes that with the angels' help he has a chance to rest from the grief, to forget Lenore. When he suggests this out lou

Some common words found in the essay are:
Composition Poe, Lenore” Alcohol, Raven Poe, Raven Nevermore”, Poe’s Raven, lost love, speaker calls bird, speaker calls, sadness feels, poe makes, december month, calls bird, poem deals, love lenore, death raven, word nevermore,

Approximate Word count = 1149
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English