Tell- Tale Heart, and The Raven, brought him moderate success throughout his life and major recognition after his death. Poe's

forever yearn yearning for the opposite sex fueled the fire that made some of the most romantic works of his period. In his

poem Annabel Lee he writes, "For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams of the beautiful Annabel Lee; And the

stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes of the beautiful Annabel Lee."(Annabel Lee, 35-38) He wrote many many more

poems of the same romantic stature but the same love that fueled him to write from his heart also caused him to write from his

soul. Poe's dark side shown through in works like The Black Cat where he writes, "One morning, in cool blood, I slipped a

noose about its neck and hung it to the limb of a tree....hung it because I knew that it had loved me, and because I felt it had

given me no reason of offence..." (Black Cat, His romantic encounters acted as a double edged sword which led to depression

and failed suicide attempts. Maybe none of his works were more disturbing then The Raven, not because of grotesque imager

but because of the haunting way the reader starts to feel the inner turmoil of the Narrator. The poem The Raven is about a love

by, what he says is a "tapping on my chamber door." He gets up hoping that it is his lost Lenore outside only to find that it is

something. The midnight in December could be New Years Eve for all we know, a date most of us connect with change.

are just a few more, less obvious symbols Poe could have been cleverly slipping into the writing to make the poem more greatly

critics dismay his life was not one long drunk escapade. He was a casual drinker, sometimes staying sober for a years time. Poe

using opium. Readers, more times then not, got Poe and the narrator of the story confused, since they were written in first

the narrator could be feeling.(Kenneth Silverman,1993). There are many other symbols that could be debated, like the empty

appreciated by its audience. Poe's harsh life contributed in many ways to the subjects of the writings of his more gothic works,

answer the man's ongoing questions with full statements. Poe had also considered using a parrot instead of a raven, being that

Some common words found in the essay are:
Black Cat, December Eve, Raven Poe, Annie Richmond, Frances Allan, University Virginia, Cat Raven, Maria Clemm, Carter Poe's, Heart Raven, midnight december, raven poe, black cat, lost lenore, love lost, opposite sex, obvious symbols, annabel lee, mother figure, poe 1850,
Approximate Word count = 1670
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)