The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe

The poem “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe is overall of Poe’s best poems ever written in his lifetime. The poem was in black and white when Poe was going through a sad and depressing time in his life. “The Raven” consists of many literary techniques, which have helped the audience to better understand the meaning and feeling of the poem. Nevertheless, the three main ways Poe manages to convey his message is via the theme, which is death, by his apt choice of good symbolism, allusions, and diction. His skillful use of these three techniques catches the reader’s attention.

The poem starts of at a midnight on a cold evening in December in the 1840s. In a dark and shadowy bedroom, wood burns in the fireplace as a man grieves over the death of Lenore, a woman he deeply loved. To occupy his mind, he reads old stories; however, a tapping noise disturbs him. When he opens the door to the chamber and sees nothing. He goes back inside. He then hears the tapping again. This time on the window, he opens the shutter and a raven flies into the room, landing above the door on the bust of Pallas. The raven says “Nevermore” to all his thoughts and longings.

Three good examples of symbolism that help develop the theme in “Raven” are the raven, the Bust of Pallas, and the chamber. The raven stimulates dark and evil feelings, which are felt throughout the poem. The raven is the main symbol that brings forward that evil and dark felling to the poem. The Bust of Pallas in this poem shows that the raven holds wisdom. Pallas is the Goddess of Wisdom, so when the raven sits on it, that is an indication to the reader that the bird is a bird that speaks of wisdom. The Bust of Pallas sets the level of sense to each of the ravens answer to the narrator’s questions. The chamber in which the narrator lives symbolizes how the narrator is lonely and sorrow for the passing of Lenore. This sorrow that the narrator feels, develop the tone. Therefore, the three symbols in this poem try to bring forward the theme of the poem and the tone of the poem.

Another technique Poe uses is allusions, which is a very useful method he uses to get the message across to the reader. The two most effective allusions in this poem are the use of Aidenn and the Balm of Gilead. Poe uses “Aidenn” as an allusion to the Gardens of Eden. He uses this as a way to ask the raven if Lenore has been accepted into Heaven. The Balm of Gilead is a reference to the Book