the raven argumentative essay

Essay Service Examples Literature The Raven

The Raven: Argumentative Essay

• Proper editing and formatting
• Free revision, title page, and bibliography
• Flexible prices and money-back guarantee

Our writers will provide you with an essay sample written from scratch: any topic, any deadline, any instructions.

Cite this paper

Related essay topics.

Get your paper done in as fast as 3 hours, 24/7.

Related articles

Most popular essays

• The Tell Tale Heart

Edgar Allen Poe’s writing style is known to be grotesque and slightly barbaric. He utilizes...

• Edgar Allan Poe

¨Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night”...

• Literary Criticism

“The agony of my soul found vent in one loud, long and final scream of despair.” That line may...

• The Cask of Amontillado
• The Fall of The House of Usher

Edgar Allan Poe lived a life full of trauma, loss, and substance abuse. In his 40 years, Poe...

• Critical Thinking
• Literary Devices

title More than any other art form, poetry permits its writers to articulate their emotions and...

Edgar Allan Poe begins his poem called “The Raven” with the narrator, who is nearly asleep when he...

“Words have no power to impress the mind without the exquisite horror of their reality.” This...

According to Naidoo Mervyn, author of “80% of Victims Know Their Killers” IOL November 16, 2014....

• Gothic Literature

Throughout Poe's life, many challenges have been thrown at him, causing him to fall into a deep...

Join our 150k of happy users

• Get original paper written according to your instructions
• Save time for what matters most

Fair Use Policy

EduBirdie considers academic integrity to be the essential part of the learning process and does not support any violation of the academic standards. Should you have any questions regarding our Fair Use Policy or become aware of any violations, please do not hesitate to contact us via [email protected].

We are here 24/7 to write your paper in as fast as 3 hours.

Provide your email, and we'll send you this sample!

By providing your email, you agree to our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy .

Say goodbye to copy-pasting!

Get custom-crafted papers for you.

Enter your email, and we'll promptly send you the full essay. No need to copy piece by piece. It's in your inbox!

24/7 writing help on your phone

To install StudyMoose App tap and then “Add to Home Screen”

"The Raven": Edgar Allan Poe's Masterful Reflection of Despair and Gloom

Save to my list

Remove from my list

Introduction

Literary elements as reflectors of mood, summary of "the raven".

Setting as a Reflection of Despair and Gloominess

Assonance as a literary device, biographical context, comparison to other works, cultural and historical context, modern interpretations.

"The Raven": Edgar Allan Poe's Masterful Reflection of Despair and Gloom. (2020, Jun 02). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/edgar-allan-poes-the-raven-new-essay

""The Raven": Edgar Allan Poe's Masterful Reflection of Despair and Gloom." StudyMoose , 2 Jun 2020, https://studymoose.com/edgar-allan-poes-the-raven-new-essay

StudyMoose. (2020). "The Raven": Edgar Allan Poe's Masterful Reflection of Despair and Gloom . [Online]. Available at: https://studymoose.com/edgar-allan-poes-the-raven-new-essay [Accessed: 2 Aug. 2024]

""The Raven": Edgar Allan Poe's Masterful Reflection of Despair and Gloom." StudyMoose, Jun 02, 2020. Accessed August 2, 2024. https://studymoose.com/edgar-allan-poes-the-raven-new-essay

""The Raven": Edgar Allan Poe's Masterful Reflection of Despair and Gloom," StudyMoose , 02-Jun-2020. [Online]. Available: https://studymoose.com/edgar-allan-poes-the-raven-new-essay. [Accessed: 2-Aug-2024]

StudyMoose. (2020). "The Raven": Edgar Allan Poe's Masterful Reflection of Despair and Gloom . [Online]. Available at: https://studymoose.com/edgar-allan-poes-the-raven-new-essay [Accessed: 2-Aug-2024]

• "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe and "The Tyger" by William Blake Pages: 3 (737 words)
• Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven: Summary and Analysis Pages: 3 (728 words)
• The Birth-Mark by Nathaniel Hawthorne; The Raven, Annabel Lee and The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe: Dark Romanticism Pages: 3 (649 words)
• The Raven: An Assimilation of Edgar Allan Poe's Life Pages: 2 (410 words)
• "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe Pages: 4 (1061 words)
• Gothic Themes in Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" Pages: 4 (1098 words)
• Analysis "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe Pages: 3 (785 words)
• The Critical Analysis of Symbolism in Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven Pages: 5 (1304 words)
• Sadness And Depression in The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe Pages: 3 (818 words)
• "The raven" by Edgar A. Poe Pages: 8 (2271 words)

👋 Hi! I’m your smart assistant Amy!

Don’t know where to start? Type your requirements and I’ll connect you to an academic expert within 3 minutes.

Edgar Allan Poe: Interpretation of “The Raven” Essay

• To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
• As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
• As a template for you assignment

“The Raven” is considered to be one of the greatest masterpieces in American literature. Reading the poem for the first time, the image of a lonely person who grieves the death of his beloved woman appears in one’s mind. But with careful analyzing it can be associated with larger social, cultural, and historical issues, which influence the meaning and the interpretation of the poem itself.

First of all, death is an unavoidable event in the human life span, which can be understood by everyone in society. The physiological torture of the person in the poem represents any bereaved individual, who is left on the earth to cope with the loss, regrets, and grief, and with the realization that death is a present reality, and it has changed life forever. No wonder the author chose the metaphors and symbols to highlight the depressing tone in the poem.

Edgar Allan Poe tried to make emphasize the theme of death. This poetic trick is felt throughout the artistic work of the author. In this respect, one can judge Poe’s “The Raven” as an additional point on the main character’s despair. To run the gamut of the whole idea reflected in the poem a reader should be familiarized with the rest of Poe’s works. For instance “The Fall of Ashers” represents the same idea of death in peoples’ life span. An accurate reader should make some conclusions as to the motives that drove Poe in composing such a great and full-of-sorrow poem.

One of the suggestions that dominate Poe’s talent in writing “The Raven” was the succession of terrible events the author encountered in his life. Perhaps, this was the main reason for Poe’s addiction to alcohol. On the other hand, it is strange while looking at his brilliance in writing while nothing pleased the author in life. One of the suggestions is the death of his mother when Edgar Poe was a little boy (Hayes 194). He and his brother adored their mother after her death. They were devoted to the power of motherhood. Unfortunately, a new tremendous hit appeared in Poe’s life when his brother died. Later on, the author will write on this case the following strokes: “There can be no tie more strong than that of brother for brother – it is not so much that they love one another as that they both love the same parent” (Hayes 194). Hence, the first reason for writing “The Raven” is implied in Poe’s personal life tragedy.

Transforming the image of the raven into more realistic shapes, one might point out the place on which it perched. It was a bust of Pallas, an ancient goddess of wisdom. To describe the symbolic interpretation of it, Poe described the truth of life realized through the inevitable death. The raven is about to tell the narrator some wise remarks. These are interrelated with other moments in the poem striving at the end of the social life of a human being. It is a mentioning of “bleak December” or “midnight”. These features tend to be associated with a decline of something that people used to have in their life. This feature interpellates direct notes on historical and cultural issues.

For instance, the author uses quite enough symbols and metaphors reflecting the essence of the mythological explanation of life. To be precise, it is not so much that Poe is inclined to strengthen some definite philosophical or religious trend, as that he wants to encompass prolific thoughts in their diversity. Thus, Poe’s vocabulary in the poem includes such words as Balm in Gilead (from The Old Testament of the Bible); Plutonian (taken from Roman mythology, the ancient god of the underworld), and some others (Hallqvist para. 3). It reconciles a huge versatility of Poe’s language in his works. Doing it in the wrong way and using some trivial patterns, the author’s works would appear boring, dull, and uninteresting.

Getting closer to the character of the author, “The Raven” solely helps to understand his cries and sorrows. Furthermore, insisting on Poe’s invoke to the wholeness of the aesthetical heritage of humanity, one agrees that the trouble of Poe surpasses such troubles about to happen in any other life. At this point, one can notice the pivotal caveat as per social reality. The entire nature of it concerns people living in all times and epochs.

Edgar Allan Poe realized reality through the limb of human experience, heritage, traditions, and cultures as well as through personal contemplation. In this peculiarity of the author, one can render his works. “The Raven” is without any doubt one of the most gorgeous works in American poetry, despite its “decadent” mood of narrating. The conceptual part of the work responds to the far-reaching issues of what the sense of life when it is destroyed is. Looking at the symbol of the “ebony bird”, one should conclude that in the variety of different cultures the raven is considered with wisdom and longevity. Moreover, in the case of Poe’s poem, this image refers to “incomprehensibility” of what one is eager to know or achieve urgently. It is shown in the repeated word “nevermore” in the poem.

To sum up, the theme of grief, sorrow, and hardships of life is heard in the poem by Edgar Allan Poe “The Raven”. The whole interpretation of the poem showed points on not only the author’s life troubles, but through them, it holds features of broader cultural, historical, and social domains. In this respect, the observation of Poe’s poem should possess a more distinct and critical view on the diversity of symbols and metaphors used. Further, still, readers are better to get acquainted with life prospects and other works of the writer, so that to have a clear idea about their mutual influence on each other.

Works cited

Christoffer Hallqvist. Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven”. 1998. Web.

Hayes, Kevin J. The Cambridge Companion to Edgar Allan Poe . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002.

Poe, Edgar Allan, and Barger, Andrew. Edgar Allan Poe Annotated and Illustrated Entire Stories and Poems. New York: Bottletree Books LLC, 2008.

• “The Clan of One-Breasted Women” by Terry Tempest William: The Impacts of Politics and Power
• Narration and Symbolism in Edgar Allan Poe's "The Black Cat"
• Literary Analysis of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven”
• Lost Love of the Narrator in “The Raven” by Poe
• Edgar Allan Poe, an American Romanticism Writer
• “The Wizard of Oz”: Disputes, Influences, and Achievements
• Oates' “Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?”
• “Riding the Bus with My Sister” by Rachel Simon
• Rosco Blunt’s Foot Soldier: Odyssey of a Soldier
• "The Goophered Grapevine" by Charles Chesnutt
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2021, December 12). Edgar Allan Poe: Interpretation of "The Raven". https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-raven-by-edgar-allan-poe/

"Edgar Allan Poe: Interpretation of "The Raven"." IvyPanda , 12 Dec. 2021, ivypanda.com/essays/the-raven-by-edgar-allan-poe/.

IvyPanda . (2021) 'Edgar Allan Poe: Interpretation of "The Raven"'. 12 December.

IvyPanda . 2021. "Edgar Allan Poe: Interpretation of "The Raven"." December 12, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-raven-by-edgar-allan-poe/.

1. IvyPanda . "Edgar Allan Poe: Interpretation of "The Raven"." December 12, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-raven-by-edgar-allan-poe/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Edgar Allan Poe: Interpretation of "The Raven"." December 12, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-raven-by-edgar-allan-poe/.

Choose Your Test

• Search Blogs By Category
• College Admissions
• AP and IB Exams
• GPA and Coursework

Understanding The Raven: Expert Poem Analysis

General Education

"The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most well-known poems ever written. It brought its author worldwide fame and has frequently been analyzed, performed, and parodied. But what about this poem makes it so special?

In this guide, we give you a complete overview of "The Raven," discussing everything from the sad stories behind its creation and what is actually going on between the narrator and the raven, to its themes and the poetic devices it uses so effectively.

The Raven Poem: Full Text

Below is the complete text of The Raven poem, written by Edgar Allan Poe and published in 1845. It consists of 18 stanzas and a total of 108 lines.

What Is "The Raven" About?

"The Raven" is a poem about a man who is heartbroken over the recent death of his beloved Lenore. As he passes a lonely December night in his room, a raven taps repeatedly on the door and then the window. The man first thinks the noise is caused by a late night visitor come to disturb him, and he is surprised to find the raven when he opens the window shutter. After being let in, the raven flies to and lands on a bust of Pallas (an ancient Greek goddess of wisdom).

The man is amused by how serious the raven looks, and he begins talking to the raven; however, the bird can only reply by croaking "nevermore."

The man reflects aloud that the bird will leave him soon as all the people he cared about have left him. When the raven replies "nevermore," the man takes it as the bird agreeing with him, although it's unclear if the raven actually understands what the man is saying or is just speaking the one word it knows.

As the man continues to converse with the bird, he slowly loses his grip on reality. He moves his chair directly in front of the raven and asks it despairing questions, including whether he and Lenore will be reunited in heaven. Now, instead of being merely amused by the bird, he takes the raven's repeated "nevermore" response as a sign that all his dark thoughts are true. He eventually grows angry and shrieks at the raven, calling it a devil and a thing of evil.

The poem ends with the raven still sitting on the bust of Pallas and the narrator, seemingly defeated by his grief and madness, declaring that his soul shall be lifted "nevermore."

Background on "The Raven"

Edgar Allan Poe wrote "The Raven" during a difficult period in his life. His wife, Virginia, was suffering from tuberculosis, Poe was struggling to make money as an unknown writer, and he began drinking heavily and picking fights with coworkers and other writers. It's easy to see how he could have conjured the dark and melancholy mood of "The Raven."

It's not known how long Poe spent writing "The Raven," (guesses range from anywhere to a single day to over a decade) but it's thought most likely that he wrote the poem in the summer of 1844. In his essay, "The Philosophy of Composition," Poe stated that he chose to focus the poem on the death of a beautiful woman because it is "unquestionably the most poetical topic in the world." He hoped "The Raven" would make him famous, and, in the same essay, stated that he purposely wrote the poem to appeal to both "the popular and the critical taste."

"The Raven" was published in the newspaper The New York Evening Mirror on January 29, 1845 (depending on the source, Poe was paid either $9 or $15 for it). "The Raven" brought Poe instant fame, although not the financial security he was looking for. Critical reception was mixed, with some famous writers such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and William Butler Yeats expressing their dislike for the poem. Despite those initial mixed reviews, The Raven poem has continued its popularity and is now one of the most well-known poems in the world. Countless parodies have been written, and the poem has been referenced in everything from The Simpsons to the NFL team the Baltimore Ravens (their mascot is even named "Poe").

Major Themes in "The Raven"

From The Raven summary, we know it's definitely a melancholy poem, and most of its themes revolve around grim topics. Here are three of the most important themes.

Theme 1: Grief

Grief is the overwhelming emotion in "The Raven, " and the narrator is absolutely consumed by his grief for his lost love, Lenore. At the beginning of the poem, he tries to distract himself from his sadness by reading a "volume of forgotten lore", but when the raven arrives, he immediately begins peppering it with questions about Lenore and becomes further lost in his grief at the raven's response of "nevermore." By the end of the poem, the narrator is seemingly broken, stating that his soul will never again be "lifted" due to his sadness.

Poe stated that the raven itself was a symbol of grief, specifically, that it represented "mournful and never-ending remembrance." He purposely chose a raven over a parrot (a bird species better known for its ability to speak) because he thought a raven suited the dark tone of the poem better.

Edgar Allan Poe had experienced a great deal of grief by the time he wrote "The Raven," and he had seen people close to him leave, fall gravely ill, or die. He would have been well aware of the consuming power that grief can have and how it has the ability to blot everything else out.

Theme 2: Devotion

It's the narrator's deep love for Lenore that causes him such grief, and later rage and madness. Even though Lenore has died, the narrator still loves her and appears unable to think of anything but her. In the poem, he speaks of Lenore in superlatives, calling her "sainted" and "radiant." In his mind, she is completely perfect, practically a saint. His love for this woman who is no longer here distracts him from everything in his current life. With this theme, Poe is showing the power of love and how it can continue to be powerful even after death.

Theme 3: Rationality vs Irrationality

At the beginning of the poem, the narrator is rational enough to understand that Lenore is dead and he will not see her again. When the raven first begins repeating "nevermore," he realizes that the answer is the bird's "only stock and store," and he won't get another response no matter what he asks. He seems to even find the bird vaguely amusing.

However, as the poem continues, the narrator's irrationality increases as he asks the raven questions it couldn't possibly know and takes its repeated response of "nevermore" to be a truthful and logical answer. He then descends further into madness, cursing the bird as a "devil" and "thing of evil" and thinking he feels angels surrounding him before sinking into his grief. He has clearly come undone by the end of the poem.

In "The Raven," Poe wanted to show the fine line between rational thought and madness and how strong emotions, such as grief, can push a person into irrationality, even during mundane interactions like the one the narrator had with the raven.

The 7 Key Poetic Devices "The Raven" Uses

Edgar Allan Poe makes use of many poetic devices in "The Raven" to create a memorable and moving piece of writing. Below we discuss seven of the most important of these devices and how they contribute to the poem.

Alliteration

An allusion is an indirect reference to something, and Poe makes multiple allusions in "The Raven." Some key ones include:

The bust of Pallas the raven sits on refers to Pallas Athena, the ancient Greek goddess of wisdom.

Nepenthe is a drug mentioned in Homer's ancient epic The Odyssey, and it is purported to erase memories.

The Balm of Gilead is a reference to a healing cream mentioned in the Book of Jeremiah in the Bible.

Aidenn refers to the Garden of Eden, although the narrator likely uses it to mean "heaven" in general, as he wants to know if that's where he and Lenore will reunite.

Ravens themselves are mentioned in many stories, including Norse mythology and Ovid's epic poem Metamorphoses.

The majority of "The Raven" follows trochaic octameter, which is when there are eight trochaic feet per line, and each foot has one stressed syllable followed by one unstressed syllable.

However, Poe actually used several types of meter, and he is said to have based both the meter and rhyming pattern of "The Raven" off Elizabeth Barrett's poem " Lady Geraldine's Courtship." Meter is very prominent in "The Raven," and, along with other poetic devices, helps make it such a popular poem to recite.

The rhyming pattern in "The Raven" follows the pattern ABCBBB. The "B" lines all rhyme with "nevermore" and place additional emphasis on the final syllable of the line.

There is also quite a bit of internal rhyme within the poem, such as the line "But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token," where "unbroken" rhymes with "token."

Internal rhyming occurs in the first line of each stanza. It also occurs in the third line and part of the fourth line of each stanza. In the example "Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!/Leave my loneliness unbroken!—quit the bust above my door!" "token" and "spoken" in the third line of the stanza rhyme with "unbroken" in the fourth line of the stanza.

Onomatopoeia

Onomatopoeia is when the name of a word is associated with the sound it makes, and it occurs throughout "The Raven," such as with the words "rapping," "tapping," "shrieked," and "whispered." It all helps add to the atmospheric quality of the poem and makes readers feel as though they are really in the room with the narrator and the raven.

What's Next?

"Ozymandias" by Percy Shelley is another famous and often-studied poem. Learn all about this poem and its famous line "look on my works, ye mighty, and despair" in our complete guide to Ozymandias .

There are many more poetic devices than those included in "The Raven." Read our guide on the 20 poetic devices you need to know so you can become an expert.

Taking AP Literature? We've got you covered! In our expert guide to the AP Literature exam, we've compiled all the information you need to know about the test and how to study for it to get a top score.

Trending Now

How to Get Into Harvard and the Ivy League

How to Get a Perfect 4.0 GPA

How to Write an Amazing College Essay

What Exactly Are Colleges Looking For?

ACT vs. SAT: Which Test Should You Take?

When should you take the SAT or ACT?

Get Your Free

Find Your Target SAT Score

Free Complete Official SAT Practice Tests

How to Get a Perfect SAT Score, by an Expert Full Scorer

Score 800 on SAT Math

Score 800 on SAT Reading and Writing

How to Improve Your Low SAT Score

Score 600 on SAT Math

Score 600 on SAT Reading and Writing

Find Your Target ACT Score

Complete Official Free ACT Practice Tests

How to Get a Perfect ACT Score, by a 36 Full Scorer

Get a 36 on ACT English

Get a 36 on ACT Math

Get a 36 on ACT Reading

Get a 36 on ACT Science

How to Improve Your Low ACT Score

Get a 24 on ACT English

Get a 24 on ACT Math

Get a 24 on ACT Reading

Get a 24 on ACT Science

Stay Informed

Get the latest articles and test prep tips!

Christine graduated from Michigan State University with degrees in Environmental Biology and Geography and received her Master's from Duke University. In high school she scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT and was named a National Merit Finalist. She has taught English and biology in several countries.

Ask a Question Below

Have any questions about this article or other topics? Ask below and we'll reply!

A Summary and Analysis of Edgar Allan Poe’s ‘The Raven’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

‘Why is a raven like a writing desk?’ This was the riddle posed by the Mad Hatter in Lewis Carroll ’s 1865 book Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland . Probably the most famous solution proposed to this riddle (for the riddle has never been answered with a definitive solution) is: ‘Because Poe wrote on both.’ ‘The Raven’ is undoubtedly Edgar Allan Poe’s most famous poem.

It was first published under Poe’s name in January 1845, and has been popular ever since. It is the only literary work to inspire the name of a sporting team (the American Football team the Baltimore Ravens).

According to Poe himself, in a later work of literary analysis, if he hadn’t had a change of heart we might well be reading a poem called, not ‘The Raven’, but ‘The Parrot’. The poem is so famous, so widely anthologised, that perhaps a closer analysis of its features and language is necessary to strip away some of our preconceptions about it.

First, here is a summary of the poem.

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.’

The unnamed narrator (we can call him a narrator as ‘The Raven’ just about qualifies as a narrative poem) sits up late one December night, mourning the loss of his beloved, Lenore, when a raven appears at the window and speaks the repeated single word, ‘Nevermore’. The narrator starts to view the raven as some sort of prophet.

Throughout the poem, the narrator sits and ponders the meaning of the raven, and asks it questions, such as whether he will be see his beloved Lenore again in heaven, but the bird simply responds enigmatically each time, ‘Nevermore’. In the end, the narrator demands that the raven leave him alone, but it replies once again, ‘Nevermore.’

The poem ends:

And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door; And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon’s that is dreaming, And the lamp-light o’er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor; And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor Shall be lifted—nevermore!

Poe credited two chief literary works in the genesis and composition of ‘The Raven’: he got the idea of the raven from Charles Dickens’s novel Barnaby Rudge (whose title character has a pet raven, Grip – the same name of Dickens’s own pet raven in real life), and he borrowed the metre for his poem from Elizabeth Barrett Browning ’s poem ‘Lady Geraldine’s Courtship’. Here is a stanza from Barrett Browning’s poem:

Dear my friend and fellow-student, I would lean my spirit o’er you: Down the purple of this chamber, tears should scarcely run at will: I am humbled who was humble! Friend,—I bow my head before you! You should lead me to my peasants!—but their faces are too still.

The metre of this poem, and of Poe’s ‘The Raven’, is relatively rare in English-language verse: trochaic octameter. (Trochaic because the stress falls on the first syllable in each foot, so ‘ Dear my friend and fell ow stu dent’, and ‘ Once up on a mid night drear y’; octameter because there are eight feet in each line, so ‘ Once up on a mid night drear y, while I pond ered, weak and wear y’.

But Poe added something to this rhythm, by including internal rhyme in each stanza of ‘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 , 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.”

So although each stanza of ‘The Raven’ is rhymed abcbbb , with the ‘ore’ rhyme being constant throughout the poem, the a and c rhymes are complemented by a mid-line rhyme: dreary/weary , napping/tapping .

This makes ‘The Raven’ the perfect poem for reading aloud on a dark, wintry night – but it also arguably underscores the poem’s focus on speech, and on the talking raven that provides the refrain, and final word, of many of the poem’s stanzas. ‘Nevermore’ rhymes with the dead beloved of the poem’s narrator, Lenore, but it is also an inherently ‘poetic’ turn of phrase to end a poem (or successive stanzas of a poem): compare Hardy’s ‘never again’ , or Edward Thomas’s , or Tennyson’s ‘the days that are no more’ .

The word ‘Nevermore’, like ‘never again’ and ‘no more’, evokes finality, something gone from us that will not be regained: time, our youth, a lost lover. Whether Lenore in ‘The Raven’ is the narrator’s dead beloved – perhaps even his wife – is not spelt out in the poem, leaving us not so much to analyse as to speculate upon that point. But the broader point remains: a door has closed that will not be opened again.

As we mentioned at the beginning of this analysis, there is reason to believe that Poe originally planned to have a parrot, rather than a raven, utter the refrain ‘Nevermore’ in the poem. In his ‘ Philosophy of Composition ’, he wrote that in his mind there ‘arose the idea of a non-reasoning creature capable of speech; and very naturally, a parrot, in the first instance, suggested itself, but was superseded forthwith by a Raven, as equally capable of speech.’

Whether Poe was merely retrospectively having us on, or whether he was being genuine here, the parrot does seem the natural choice for a bird capable of mimicking human speech, and Poe implies that he soon dropped the idea of writing a poem called ‘The Parrot’. Ravens are closely associated with omens and with the dead: it had to be ‘The Raven’.

Discover more from Interesting Literature

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Type your email…

5 thoughts on “A Summary and Analysis of Edgar Allan Poe’s ‘The Raven’”

Many years ago, my mum had me make a recording reading “The Raven.” And I did the best I could as far as enunciating and pausing, etc. She was teaching art in K-8, and for the older grades she played the tape and they were always silent/enraptured listening and then they were to make a drawing of the Raven, or anything from their imagination inspired by the poem. Usually she did it around Halloween and she got some really interesting illustrations/interpretations.

What an inspiring teacher she must have been, you should be proud of her.

I read that Poe did not earn but a paltry sum for this famous work due to the lack of copyright laws. It is sad how much trauma he suffered throughout his life.

• Pingback: 10 of the Best Gothic Poems for Halloween | Interesting Literature
• Pingback: Five Fascinating Facts about Edgar Allan Poe | Interesting Literature

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading

Home — Essay Samples — Literature — The Raven — Rhetorical Analysis Of The Raven By Edgar Allen Poe

Rhetorical Analysis of The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe

• Categories: Edgar Allan Poe Poetry The Raven

About this sample

Words: 828 |

Published: Feb 9, 2022

Words: 828 | Pages: 2 | 5 min read

Cite this Essay

Let us write you an essay from scratch

• 450+ experts on 30 subjects ready to help
• Custom essay delivered in as few as 3 hours

Get high-quality help

Verified writer

• Expert in: Literature

+ 120 experts online

By clicking “Check Writers’ Offers”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy . We’ll occasionally send you promo and account related email

No need to pay just yet!

Related Essays

1 pages / 615 words

5 pages / 2305 words

5 pages / 2179 words

5.5 pages / 2392 words

Remember! This is just a sample.

You can get your custom paper by one of our expert writers.

121 writers online

Still can’t find what you need?

Browse our vast selection of original essay samples, each expertly formatted and styled

Related Essays on The Raven

Edgar Allan Poe's poem, "The Raven," is a classic piece of literature that is known for its haunting atmosphere and dark themes. In this essay, we will explore how setting and word choice play a crucial role in creating the [...]

Suspense is a fundamental element of literature that keeps readers engaged and captivated. When utilized effectively, it can create a sense of curiosity, anticipation, and tension, compelling readers to continue on their [...]

Edgar Allan Poe, one of the most influential American writers of the 19th century, was known for his dark and mysterious tales. His poem, "The Raven," is a masterpiece that showcases his exceptional ability to create a haunting [...]

Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" stands as one of the most iconic and enduring works of American literature. First published in 1845, this narrative poem is renowned for its musicality, stylized language, and supernatural [...]

The poem, written by Allan Poe, “The Raven”, speaks about an unnamed character who is alone in his house on a cold December evening. As he is about to fall asleep he hears a knock on the door, however, he decides to ignore it. [...]

“The Raven”, is a poem written by Edgar Allen Poe that was published on January 29, 1845. With this publication Poe was immensely praised for his work, even though, for many years, he had already been established as a journalist [...]

Related Topics

By clicking “Send”, you agree to our Terms of service and Privacy statement . We will occasionally send you account related emails.

Where do you want us to send this sample?

By clicking “Continue”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy.

Be careful. This essay is not unique

This essay was donated by a student and is likely to have been used and submitted before

Download this Sample

Free samples may contain mistakes and not unique parts

Sorry, we could not paraphrase this essay. Our professional writers can rewrite it and get you a unique paper.

Please check your inbox.

We can write you a custom essay that will follow your exact instructions and meet the deadlines. Let's fix your grades together!

Get Your Personalized Essay in 3 Hours or Less!

We use cookies to personalyze your web-site experience. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .

• Instructions Followed To The Letter
• Deadlines Met At Every Stage
• Unique And Plagiarism Free

In order to continue enjoying our site, we ask that you confirm your identity as a human. Thank you very much for your cooperation.

Pardon Our Interruption

As you were browsing something about your browser made us think you were a bot. There are a few reasons this might happen:

• You've disabled JavaScript in your web browser.
• You're a power user moving through this website with super-human speed.
• You've disabled cookies in your web browser.
• A third-party browser plugin, such as Ghostery or NoScript, is preventing JavaScript from running. Additional information is available in this support article .

To regain access, please make sure that cookies and JavaScript are enabled before reloading the page.

Argumentative Essay: Who Killed Edgar Allen Poe

Who killed Edgar Allen Poe? Over the last two weeks, my class has been studying Edgar Allen Poe. In the real world no one actually knows how Poe died. Last week we started our fictional quest to find the murderer of Poe. The suspects of this crime are: The Red Death, The Raven, Annabel Lee, Lenore, Montresor, Mark Twain, Rufus Griswold, Auguste Dupin, and Person from the Tell-Tale Heart. Based on the evidence, the Raven killed Edgar Allen Poe. The Raven had two main reasons to kill Poe. One of those reasons was that Poe had created The Raven to only say “Nevermore”. At the beginning of the quest he said he was glad that he could talk without having to say “Nevermore”. The other reason The Raven had to kill Poe was that Poe made him so annoying.

More about Argumentative Essay: Who Killed Edgar Allen Poe

Edgar Allan Poe

Ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

by Edgar Allan Poe

Ten Essay Ideas for The Raven

1. Discuss the use of symbols in Poe's "The Raven."

This essay should identify the major symbols used in the poem, and discuss what effect each has. The most important symbol is the raven itself, with its dark and gloomy appearance lending a sense of inevitability. Other symbols include the Bust of Pallas, who is the Goddess of Wisdom, and the beautiful chamber, which is reminiscent of the beauty of the lost Lenore.

2. Explore the parallels between "The Raven" and Poe's own life.

This essay should focus on Poe's life circumstances at the time of writing, particularly the decline in his wife, Virginia's, health, and the deaths of other women in his life. The sense of doom in the poem should be related to Poe’s pessimism about his own life.

3. The Raven has an undeniable atmosphere of doom. Discuss how this atmosphere is created.

This essay should explore how the different elements of the poem combine to create this atmosphere of doom. Elements which should be discussed include the poem’s subject matter, rhyme and meter, symbolism and word choice.

4. In his essay "The Philosophy of Composition" Poe explored the process he used to write "The Raven." How well does his poem meet the requirements set out in his essay?

This essay should detail the main elements of a good poem, as enunciated by Poe – namely a single effect, brevity, an impression of beauty and a tone of sadness. Each element should be applied to the poem in question.

5. Analyze the mood and tone of Poe's "The Raven."

This essay should focus on the melancholy and dreary mood of the poem. This is created by the choice of words (Gaunt, dreary. . .), the chain of events and the foreboding of the repeated word "Nevermore."

6. Is "The Raven" just a tale of a talking bird? What deeper themes does it explore?

This essay should focus on the themes of the poem – beauty, despair, destiny and horror. The bird is included not to overshadow the themes but to aid in their exploration.

7. In what ways is "The Raven" representative of Poe's use of beautiful women in his work?

This essay should compare Lenore – a woman of great beauty – with female figures in Poe's other works. The improtant point here is the predominance of beautiful women who are either mortally ill or already dead. Examples could include Eleanora, Madeline Usher and Ligeia.

8. What effect does the setting of the poem have?

This essay should discuss the physical elements of the setting: the library lined with heavy drapes which make it sound almost tomb-like; the fire which, with its 'dying embers', provides little solace; the time of year – December, with its lengthening nights and the closing of the year; and the lamp which gives the only light in the room – and also shadows to add to the horror.

9. In what ways is "The Raven" a 'horror' poem?

This essay should explore the way Poe builds the tension of the poem to create the same kind of horror as in many of his prose works. Elements include the use of the raven, long seen as a symbol of ill omen, and the effect its refrain has on the narrator; the growing insanity of the narrator, and the choice of language in the poem.

10. In "The Philosophy of Composition," Poe’s focus was primarily on the form and rhyme scheme of the work, rather than on its tone or subject matter. Does this suggest that Poe was unconcerned with these matters?

This essay should demonstrate that the form and rhyme scheme of the poem are an integral part of the tone and subject matter. The structure of the poem helps to create the growing sense of doom. Reference should be made to the poem’s rhyme scheme, rhythm and the use of repetition.

Cite this page as follows:

"The Raven - Ten Essay Ideas for The Raven." eNotes Publishing, edited by eNotes Editorial, eNotes.com, Inc., 2 Aug. 2024 <https://www.enotes.com/topics/raven/critical-essays#critical-essays-ten-essay-ideas-raven>

See eNotes Ad-Free

Start your 48-hour free trial to get access to more than 30,000 additional guides and more than 350,000 Homework Help questions answered by our experts.

Already a member? Log in here.

Critical Overview