"The Raven" analysis

I'll take a break from sports and post an  essay I wrote for my English class this semester on Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven." This essay was written in class. I am an avid reader of Edgar Allan Poe's work. He is a genius. 

Evan Rostron

English 102

1 April 2013

Loss of a Love

     Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” is a poem that describes a narrator who is visited by a raven one night in December. It establishes the narrator’s mental stage of depression and coping with the loss of a love. The details in the first three stanzas provide a springboard for the rest of his poem. Throughout the poem, there are many references to depression and how one can be driven insane after the loss someone dear to them. The first three stanzas distinguish the narrator’s mental and emotional state as being depressed due to the setting, the narrator’s longing, and common sense.

     The poem opens with, “Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary” (1). Poe is describing a narrator that cannot sleep and is up at midnight thinking of something, or someone. Already, one would question why the narrator is not asleep due to the time and what one is thinking about. Poe continues to set the scene in the next stanza by stating, “Ah distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December” (7). With these two lines, the reader can begin to see how dark and depressed the narrator feels. December is thought of to be a cold, unhappy month, and usually a symbol for death in literature. The setting in the poem describes a person who is up past midnight, on a cold winter’s night, fully awake with thoughts of something or someone. Most people would be asleep in their beds, but this narrator cannot free the thoughts he is having. The narrator’s mind is unhealthy and uneasy and the setting is an example of that fact.

     In the second stanza, Poe begins to explain why the narrator cannot get to sleep. Poe writes, “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” (10-12). These lines indicate that the narrator has lost someone by the name of Lenore. One may have originally thought that she and the narrator were together romantically and she left him, but as the poem continues, it is more probable that she has died, as a raven often symbolizes death. Also, he states that he is feeling sorrow for the loss of Lenore and in the next line states that the “angels” name Lenore. Both of these indicate the passing of Lenore. Poe is describing someone’s, if not his own, struggles with the passing of someone dear to him. He continues in the third stanza by writing: “And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain / Thrilled me – filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before” (13-14). After hearing the “tapping at his chamber door,” his curtains begin to sway and he is aware that someone is at his “door.” The fantastic terrors he feels is his sadden heart, knowing that no matter how many times he thinks of Lenore, she is dead. He is hoping and is wishing that she will one day show up at his door, but that is impossible. By getting his hopes up, he is only hurting himself more, for his common sense will tell him later in the poem, that she is gone forever. The first three stanzas begin to set up how Poe ends every line in a stanza.

     The last lines in the first three stanzas are, “Only this and nothing more / Nameless her for evermore / That it is and nothing more” (6, 12, 18). As the poem continues, Poe ends every line in a stanza with “nothing more, evermore, or nevermore.” These words are defiant and illustrate that death is final. One may argue that the narrator is not even talking to an actual raven, but having a conversation with himself. The “tapping at his chamber door” (5) may just be the memories he has of Lenore tapping into his broken heart. He understands that Lenore is gone forever, yet he does not want to accept that fact. The “Raven” symbolizes the narrator’s common sense, as in that he will never be able to see his beloved Lenore again. The only word the raven speaks is “Nevermore” as if tell the narrator that she is never coming back. By understanding this, he is beginning to get over her; yet, his love for her may be too strong to ever accomplish that.

     The narrator in “The Raven,” does not wish to accept the fact that his beloved Lenore is dead. Thoughts of her are constantly swimming around his head and he cannot forget her. One may argue that the narrator is not even attempting to get over her. Another could argue that he loved and loves her so incredibly much that to get over her would be impossible. The mental and emotional condition of the narrator is severely depressed because of his loss. The dark setting help establish a scene in which the reader can understand that he is depressed. In addition, his longing to be with Lenore further illustrates his feelings of depression of her death. Lastly, the raven is his common sense trying to tell him that she is gone and will never come back, not matter how many times he thinks and wishes to be with her. As upsetting as it is to loss someone to death, one must be able to attempt to get over it. The narrator in “The Raven,” is struggling severely with his loss and will probably never get over it. His love for Lenore is much too strong to ever get over it.

Works Cited

Poe, Edgar A. “The Raven.” Complete Stories and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe. New York :Doubleday. 754-756.