...Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore – While I nodded, nearly napping, sudden ly there came a tapping, As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door. "'Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door – Only this and nothing more." Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December; And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor. Eagerly I wished the morrow; – va inly I had sought to borrow From my books surcease of sorrow – sorrow for the lost Lenore – For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore – Nameless here for evermore. And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain Thrilled me – filled me with fantas tic terrors never felt before; So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating "'Tis some visitor entreating ent rance at my chamber door – Some late visitor entreating ent rance at my chamber door; – This it is and nothing more." Presently my soul grew st ronger; hesitating then no longer, "Sir," said I, "or Madam, trul y your forgiveness I implore; But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping, And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door, That I scarce was sure I heard you" – here I opened wide the door; – Darkness there and nothing more. Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering...
Words: 1115 - Pages: 5
...The Raven—by Edgar Allen Poe—is widely considered to be one of the greatest poems of all time. It features striking imagery, deep symbolism, near perfect rhythm, and rhyming structure and, of course, a soul wrenching story of lost love. It was first published in 1845 in The American Review, under the pseudonym Quarles. Part of what separates The Raven from other poems is the technique of internal rhyming, in which a line can rhyme with itself as well as with the next line. Although the rhyming meter isn’t exactly the same throughout, in general the poem is written in trochaic octameter: eight trochaic feet per line with the emphasis placed on the first syllable, or one stressed syllable followed by one unstressed syllable. For example, the first line of the poem is: “Once upon a midnight dreary, as I pondered weak and weary”. “Once” is stressed, while the first syllable of “upon” is not. The second syllable of “upon” is stressed, while “a” is not and so on and so forth, the sum total of which make eight pairs of stressed and unstressed syllables in that line. The greatest strengths of Poe’s masterpiece are its symbolism and allegorical capacities. In the poem, the raven for which the poem is named sits atop a bust of Pallas Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom. The raven’s perch symbolizes that it speaks from a position of wisdom, whereas the unnamed narrator argues against it. The raven speaks very little, in fact only saying one word repeated several times throughout the...
Words: 894 - Pages: 4
...one word, in ominous tones, to a grief-stricken young man mourning the death of his young ladylove. The poem has garnered international attention and became one of the most famous poems ever written (Poestories). Therefore, the poem of “The Raven†by Edgar Allan Poe is the most successful poem, surviving heavy criticism, all due to the combination of poetic devices with structure, imagery and symbolism of Leonor, the Raven and language such as The Night’s Plutonian Shore and Nepenthe, that together emphasize the themes of insanity, love and the supernatural. Edgar Poe uses several themes that are found throughout his creative works. It includes the tragic death of a beautiful woman at a young age and the grief of the young man whose affection for his lost love transcends the physical boundaries of death and life (Got Poetry). This supports Poe's fascination with the imagery of young lovers separated by death. Throughout the poem the young man (narrator) slips into insanity, which now begins to question the existence of the Raven. The motif of the Raven as the omen of misery and sorrow also embodies grief caused by loneliness and separation. This is the central confrontation of the poem, bringing out the idea of a conflict between man and nature. It is these themes of madness, love and the paranormal that are the focus of the poem. Imagery and symbolism is used to make poetry come alive, giving the reader the immediate connection to the theme and the poet's attempt...
Words: 956 - Pages: 4
...Lesson 9 The Raven: Edgar Allan Poe Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore— While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door. “’Tis some visitor,” I muttered, “tapping at my chamber door— Only this and nothing more.” Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December; And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor. Eagerly I wished the morrow;—vainly I had sought to borrow From my books surcease of sorrow—sorrow for the lost Lenore— For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore— Nameless here for evermore. And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain Thrilled me—filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before; So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating “’Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door— Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door;— This it is and nothing more.” Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer, “Sir,” said I, “or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore; But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping, And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door, That I scarce was sure I heard you”—here I opened wide the door;— Darkness there and nothing more...
Words: 1857 - Pages: 8
...In the poem “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe, the speaker details one night during a period of sadness and madness in which a raven flies into his room and talks to him. The speaker uses diction, symbolism, and allusion to present the loneliness, hopelessness, and darkness that he experiences throughout the night and how it takes a toll on his mind. The diction in “The Raven” helps to set the mood of the poem, which is gloomy and dark. The poem starts off with, “Once upon a midnight dreary.” This phrase automatically tells the reader that the rest of the poem is going to be scary and dark, and the word “dreary” represents hopelessness. The speaker also says in the second stanza his experience took place “in the bleak December.” “Bleak” is another...
Words: 613 - Pages: 3
...“The Raven”, by Edgar Allan Poe, was one of the scariest poems ever written in its time. Even though it doesn’t seem very scary to us today, it can still be considered as a very creepy story. The narrator is almost being psychologically tortured by this bird who just appeared out of nowhere. The worst part is that he is being tortured because the bird is saying he will never his wife Lenore again, even in heaven. The central idea of this text is that the narrator can’t cope with the demise of her wife, Lenore. You can see throughout the story by the tone that the Raven and the narrator throughout the poem. On the fourth line of the fifth stanza it says, “And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, ‘Lenore!’ This I whispered,” this line definitely proved that the narrator still had hope that she was still alive, it’s sort of like he’s in the denial stage of grief; the narrator believes that Lenore is still alive and it basically says Lenore in a desperate tone because of the exclamation mark. The grief of the narrator is even expressed directly on the last three lines of the second stanza....
Words: 438 - Pages: 2
...The repetition of nevermore, chamber door, and lost Lenore conveys the depressing mood of “The Raven”. In the poem, the narrator lost someone he loved dearly named Lenore. He repeats her name, grieving for her. He repeats the line “sorrow for the lost Lenore” because he is missing Lenore (line 10). He is mourning and wishing Lenore would come back because he can barely withstand the sorrow without her. By using repetition, Poe creates a mood of distress. Besides the repetition of lost Lenore, the narrator quotes the raven by continually repeating the word ‘nevermore’. As he mourns the loss of Lenore, the repetition of this word constantly reminds him that Lenore is never coming back. While the narrator is thinking about his loss he...
Words: 381 - Pages: 2
...The Raven, perhaps Edgar Allen Poe’s most successful and popular piece, tells the story of a lonely man’s interactions with a raven. The man, who is most likely Poe, is missing his wife, Lenore and when an unlikely talking raven appears in his room, he begins to ask it certain questions about his wife. Each answer from the raven drives him closer and closer to insanity. Due to the use of a number of various literary devices, the poem is deeply haunting. Poe used repetition, personification, and juxtaposition to progress the plot and increase the overall effectiveness and depth of the poem. The first, and most prevalent literary device that Poe used, was repetition. Throughout the poem, every stanza is ended with “nothing more” or “nevermore”....
Words: 685 - Pages: 3
...diction in his poem “The Raven” to create an eerie, chilling, and dark mood. To start, in the first stanza when Poe is setting the scene, he says: “Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary” (st. 1). He uses “midnight dreary” and “weak and weary” specifically to create a dark, foreboding mood throughout the poem. The second example of Poe using diction to create a chilling mood comes after the narrator hears a knock at his door: “Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December, / And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor” (st. 2). Poe is using examples of death to create his dark mood here, using “bleak December” and a “ghost”, to relate to dead trees and dark skies. Next,...
Words: 444 - Pages: 2
...“The Raven” takes place in the evening of a bleak December night as the narrator sits, trying to forget and cope with the loss of his love, Lenore. While on the verge of sleep, “suddenly there came a tapping, / As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.” He questions who or what could possibly be at his door at midnight, and so he goes to the window to try to fix the situation. A raven swoops in at the window, and the presence of this bird results in a smile from the narrator, “this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling.” This smile is something unknown to him due to the daily torment that his soul experiences of longing to be united with Lenore, a torment so excruciating that he may have considered attempting suicide...
Words: 822 - Pages: 4
...Dear AJ, I am writing this letter of recommendation for the poem called “The Raven” by ‘Edgar Allen Poe.’ I will be recommending reading “The Raven” over watching the movie “Coraline.” “The Raven” is told by a man late at night in his dark spooky room all alone. There is suddenly a tapping sound at his door but he’s makes the decision to leave it he rethinks his life with his love, ‘Lenore.’ He starts to fear what is on the other side of his door so he takes the courageous act and opens the door. What does he see? He still hears tapping, and then he sees a Raven swoop in. The pure black raven watches over the narrator. The narrator asks the raven’s name. The raven answers “nevermore,” The poem then receives a twist where the bird answers...
Words: 645 - Pages: 3
...In Edgar Allan Poe's poem "The Raven" the crow was repeating himself, the man in the poem was getting annoyed at the crow for only giving him one answer. The crow keeps saying one word over and over again. "Nevermore." That's the only answer the crow ever replied with. The man kept asking the crow different questions. "What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, giant, and ominous bird of yore meant in croaking." "Nevermore." The man tried to ask the crow why he was so dark and soulless, but all the crow replied with his usual response. Then the man thought why is he still here. The gentleman in the poem was thinking about when the crow was going to fly away. "On the morrow he will leave me, as my hopes have flown before." "Nevermore." The gentleman...
Words: 461 - Pages: 2
...Term Paper ‘The Raven’ by Edgar Allan Poe verfasst von Maria Weber handed in on 16th of February 2011 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………........3 2. Poem…………………………………………………………………………………………3 3. Story…………………………………………………………………………………………7 4. External structure……………………………………………………………………………8 5. Complex phonological structures 5.1. Rhyme scheme………………………………………………………………………...9 5.2. Alliteration…………………………………………………………………………….9 5.3. Consonance……………………………………………………………………………9 5.4. Assonance……………………………………………………………………………10 5.5. Onomatopoeia………………………………………………………………………..10 6. Complex morphological and syntactic structures 6.1. Epiphora……………………………………………………………………………...11 6.2. Anaphora……………………………………………………………………………..12 6.3. Epanalepsis…………………………………………………………………………...12 6.4. Figura etymologica…………………………………………………………………...12 6.5. Synonymy……………………………………………………………………………12 6.6. Parallelism……………………………………………………………………………12 7. Complex semantic structures: Imagery 7.1. Personification………………………………………………………………………..13 7.2. Metaphors…………………………………………………………………………….13 7.3. Simile………………………………………………………………………………...14 8. Psychoanalytical approach…………………………………………………………………14 9. Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………...…….15 10. Bibliography………………………………………………………………………………16 11. Webliography……………………………………………………………………………..17 ...
Words: 5604 - Pages: 23
...In Edgar Allan Poe’s, “The Raven” is an intricate story of life’s shortness and how desperate individuals are to reclaim moments of loved ones or friends who they may have lost. Consequently, in "The Raven" through the anger that emerges as the man grieves, leads him down a path of unwanted deprivation, and self-doubt. The individual clings to the belief that the answers to his lingering questions will come from the "mistreated raven" until his need to know becomes broken. Additionally, "The Raven" demonstrates the inner workings of a man's mind, as a representation of grief and signifying how desperate people can become because of it. This story demonstrates an individual’s inability to escape the depression and grief of a lost lover and presents...
Words: 683 - Pages: 3
...Ashley Davis Mrs. Gunulfsen October 30, 2015 “The Raven” is the poem I have chosen for my analysis that was constructed by Edgar Alllen Poe.It includes several stanzas of despair and depression, symbolized by the bird it was named for. It was first published in 1845 and was noted for its “supernatural atmosphere”. He writes of a talking bird, the black as ink raven, that pays a visit to a student mourning the loss of his lover, Lenore. As it sits on a bust above the student’s chamber door, the raven seems to interrogate the lover with its constant repeating of the word “Nevermore”. Edgar said that he wrote the poem with mostly logical and methodical intent in order to construct a story that would appeal to both critics and the public, as...
Words: 1270 - Pages: 6
