Influence of Tragedy on Edgar Allan Poe's Life and Work

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Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary.” ("Edgar Allan Poe quotes")Weary was something that Edgar Allan Poe was familiar with his whole life due to people leaving or passing away in his life. Being in a weary state influenced Poe’s poems that are known around the world.
Edgar Allan Poe is an American writer and his story begins on January 19th 1809 in Boston Massachusetts (Academy of American Poets ."Edgar Allan Poe.). Poe did not grow up with his parents who were both in the acting business (Academy of American Poets ."Edgar Allan Poe.). Elizabeth Arnold Poe died while Poe was only three from tuberculous and David Poe Jr. who left Poe at an early age ("Edgar Allan Poe Biography"). Poe was separated from his siblings, …show more content…

This poem kind of has a Melancholy and gloomy tone and Poe carefully organizes it to make words “stand out” ("The Raven Summary."). To summarize the poem Lenore’s Husband has just lost his love Lenore. It is a late December night and he is up reading books doing everything to try and forget his “lost love” ("The Raven Summary.") When he was almost asleep, he heard a knocking at the door. He opens it and sees nothing except darkness he tells himself it was just the wind against the window. So, he walks over to the window, opens it, and a Raven flies in and sort of makes Lenore’s husband insane. ( "The Raven Summary.") Poe uses imagery throughout The Raven by comparing the Raven to death. Poe also used many similes in The Raven which are figures of speech, an example of one would be “On the morrow he will leave me as my hopes have flown before” ("The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe | Poetry Foundation") which means the Raven flies away just like his hopes when Lenore “left him for death”. Poe also used one my favorite sound devices which is personification and it represents an abstract quality. An example would be when his “soul is floating on the floor and it shall be lifted nevermore” ("The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe | Poetry Foundation") and he means that when he heard the Raven tapping on the chamber door he described his fear as his soul going out of his body. My personal reaction to The Raven was I loved how Poe uses a raven to represent the emotions Lenore’s husband feels and the Raven is his shadow that will never leave his

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