How Did Poe's Life Influence The Speaker Of The Raven

1167 Words3 Pages

“Words have no power to impress the mind without the exquisite horror of their reality.” This quote by Edgar Allen Poe reflects greatly on the speaker that Poe created for his poem “The Raven”. In “The Raven”, the word that the raven repeats highly influences the speaker because it brings light to a reality that he does not want to face. As far as he knows, he will never be able to see his lover again, and facing this reality drives the speaker into madness (Poe 602-604). When Poe wrote “The Raven”, it can be seen that he greatly related to the speaker of the poem, and that he was writing about experiences and emotions he was facing at that time. Knowing certain aspects of Poe’s life helps readers understand the speaker in the poem. To understand how Poe’s life influenced the speaker of the poem, it is important to understand the qualities of the speaker. The speaker of “The Raven” is a man who has just lost his lover Lenore to death. He is deeply grieving her death and is going through a lot of issues in dealing with her death. This can be seen in the …show more content…

Even as an infant, Poe’s life was much harder than many others at that time. His parents were very poor, his dad was an alcoholic, and he even had to endure the death of his mother when he was only two years old. It is also said that two year old Poe had to spend an entire night with the corpse of his mother, and even Poe said in his poem “Alone” that this incident along with many others in his childhood had a negative effect on his adulthood (Dhahir 1). Having to accept the death of a love one at such a young age is almost always very influential on that person later in life, and adding the fact that he was left with his mother’s corpse only makes it even harder for Poe, and the speaker, to deal will the death of loved

Show More
Related

  • How Does Poe Use Loss In The Raven

    585 Words  | 2 Pages

    The actor Keanu Reeves once commented, “Grief changes shape, but it never ends.” Perhaps, nowhere else is this idea of never-ending grief more prevalent than in dark romanticist Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “The Raven.” The popular eighteenth century poem follows the despondent narrator’s encounter with the Raven, the ominous bird later forces him to realize his never-ending isolation and sorrow due to the loss of his love, Lenore. In his poem, through the use of allusions and the literary devices of repetition and comparison in stanza 17, Poe explores the perpetual effects of loss.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Diction In The Raven

    363 Words  | 1 Pages

    In,”The Raven”, Poe utilizes diction, syntax, and rhymes to convey his theme of depression towards his lost love, Lenore. The raven flew into Poe’s home uninvited and stayed perched on his chamber door. In the story, the raven symbolizes the undying grief he has for Lenore.

    Read More

  • The Raven

    1705 Words  | 4 Pages

    “The Raven” is a magnificent piece by a very well known poet from the 19th century, Edgar Allan Poe. Poe was well known for his dark and haunting poetry. Along with writing poetry, Poe was also recognized for his Gothic-style short stories. “The Raven” is one of Poe’s greatest accomplishments and was even turned into recitals and numerous television appearances. “The Raven” tells a story about an unnamed narrator whose beloved Lenore has left him. A raven comes at different points throughout the poem and tells the narrator that he and his lover are “Nevermore.” Poe presents the downfall of the narrator’s mind through the raven and many chilling events. By thorough review and studying of Edgar Allan Poe’s work, one can fully understand the single effect, theme, and repetition in “The Raven.”

    Read More

  • Examples Of Alliteration In The Raven

    732 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the poem “The Raven” he narrator is mourning over a person he loved named Lenore. Being lost in his thoughts, he is suddenly startled when he hears a tapping at his door. When he goes to the door there is no one there. He goes back into his room and then he hears tapping on his window. He opens his window and a Raven steps into his room. The narrator has been on an emotional roller coaster throughout the whole entire poem; talking to this Raven makes him feel even worse. In the poem Edgar Poe uses many literary devices. For example he uses alliteration, internal rhyme, and allusion.

    Read More

  • How Did Shakespeare Influence Edgar Allan Poe

    1258 Words  | 3 Pages

    (Poe 840). “The Raven,” is an insight of the experiences Edgar Allan Poe suffered from because of his treacherous

    Read More

  • The Use Of Mood In Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven

    588 Words  | 2 Pages

    Edgar Allen Poe’s poem, “The Raven” uses poetic devices to create the mood through the use of language, rhyme and repetition, alliteration, as well as through the speaker’s despair.

    Read More

  • A Comparison Of Poe's Personal Life In The Raven By Edgar Allan Poe

    1302 Words  | 3 Pages

    For poets, it is essential that they write about what they know and what they feel, as the substance of what they are revealing will enhance their work and ultimately attract audiences. Edgar Allan Poe is one poet whose personal endeavours can be extracted from his poems. His works such as The Raven, Annabel-Lee and Ulalume are just a few of his most celebrated poems that reflect diverse aspects of Poe’s own life. Poe’s reoccurring themes of death in conjunction with love, the subconsciousness of self and ambiguity attracted audiences to become entranced in his work (Spark Notes, 2014). Adjacent to these intriguing themes is how Poe’s personal life was inexplicitly perceived in his poems, in particular The Raven. Poe’s life is reflected through

    Read More

  • Diction In The Raven

    597 Words  | 2 Pages

    Image a family. Now imagine the parents divorcing and never see the father again. Then imagine the mother dying and leaving three kids behind. All of which get taken in by someone. The two year old is given to a family, with a loving mother and caring father. Edgar Alan Poe did not have to imagine this, this was his childhood. Poe’s difficult youth was a heavy contributor to his perspective that pain is beautiful. Poe illustrates many things in “The Raven”, one of his most well-known pieces. “The Raven” is about a depressed man who lost his lover Lenore. The speaker states “’Tis the wind and nothing more!” (Line 36) in his delusional state to help himself cope with his loss. In “The Raven” Poe uses irony and complex diction. This helps Poe create his theme of the human tendency to lie to one self to feel better.

    Read More

  • The Life of Edgar Allan Poe

    859 Words  | 2 Pages

    Before the age of three, Poe was already an orphan after his Mother dying and his Father walking out on them (Frank 56). Poe was too young to remember his Mother since her death occurred when he was very young, but later in his life he grew resentful for being raised as a foster child. After the loss of his Mother, Poe would go on to experience the death of many more loved ones. This became the source of the terrible fear Poe would associate with death and dying, a common theme in many of his works.

    Read More

  • Dramatic Energy, Symbolism and Emotion in Fuseli's The Nightmare and Poe's The Raven

    635 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Raven, by Edgar Allen Poe, is instead from the latter end of the Romantic era. This narrative poem recounts a scene in which a raven visits a mourning, distraught lover, who serves as the narrator. Both of these works display dramatic presentation, symbolism, and a great sense of emotional power to create a frightening scene. Poe and Fuseli each infuse their works with dramatic energy.

    Read More

  • Poe's Life Reflected in The Raven

    1427 Words  | 3 Pages

    Edgar Allen Poe was one of the greatest writers of the nineteenth century. Perhaps he is best know for is ominous short stories. One of my personal favorites was called The Raven. Throughout his works Poe used coherent connections between symbols to encourage the reader to dig deep and find the real meaning of his writing. Poe's work is much like a puzzle, when u first see it its intact, but take apart and find there is much more to the story than you thought. The Raven, written in 1845, is a perfect example of Poe at his craziest. Poe's calculated use of symbolism is at his best in this story as each symbol coincides with the others. In The Raven, Poe explains a morbid fear of loneliness and the end of something through symbols. The symbols not only tell the story of the narrator in the poem, they also tell the true story of Poe's own loneliness in life and the hardships he faced. Connected together through imagery they tell a story of a dark world only Poe Knows exists.

    Read More

  • Edgar Allan Poe And The Death Of Beautiful Women Analysis

    1611 Words  | 4 Pages

    In Poe’s own life no durg could ever fully numb him to the pain of all his loses. His only true solace from his despair was in literature and his writings. Poe believed that visual art allowed the spirit to transcend the plane of reality to which it was stuck. In the Raven the narrator closely resembles Poe in this aspect. The narrator spends many a night reading long forgotten literature in an attempt to forget his own troubles after his loss. This is explained beautifully by Poe with the line “Eagerly I wished the morrow;- vainly I had tried to borrow, / From my books surcease of sorrow- sorrow for the lost Lenore.” (Poe 9-10) No matter how hard he tries; however he can shake the crushing despair that has a firm grip on his emotions. One dreary night the narrator gained an unsuspecting visitor. This visitor came in the form of a raven that flew into his window. The raven torments the man reminding him of his insecurities, his flaws, and his loss. The raven accomplishes all these things by rhythmically answering his pleas with but one word, to quote the raven “nevermore.” Just like the narrator will nevermore see the face of his dead love, he too will never be free from his despair. For as long as the man lives much like Poe he

    Read More

  • Mental Disorder In Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven

    1099 Words  | 3 Pages

    Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” follows the story of a young man who is sadden by the death of a woman named Leonore. As the reader advance through the poem, the main character is getting more and more emotionally unstable. He is clearly suffering from some kind of mental illness most likely depression. The narrator is in first person, we are living the poem through the eyes of the main character. (He compulsorily constructs self-destructive meaning around a raven’s repetition of the word 'Nevermore ', until he finally despairs of being reunited with his beloved Lenore in another world. Just because of the nightmarish effect, the poem cannot be called an elegy.) Poe use vivid details to describe how the narrator is gradually losing his mind.

    Read More

  • Analysis of The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe

    457 Words  | 1 Pages

    Edgar Allan Poe?s ?The Raven? is a dark reflection on lost love, death, and loss of hope. The poem examines the emotions of a young man who has lost his lover to death and who tries unsuccessfully to distract himself from his sadness through books. Books, however, prove to be of little help, as his night becomes a nightmare and his solitude is shattered by a single visitor, the raven. Through this poem, Poe uses symbolism, imagery and tone, as well as a variety of poetic elements to enforce his theme of sadness and death of the one he loves.

    Read More

  • Analysis of Poe’s The Raven

    1358 Words  | 3 Pages

    The first two stanzas of The Raven introduce you to the narrator, and his beloved maiden Lenore.  You find him sitting on a “dreary” and dark evening with a book opened in front of him, though he is dozing more than reading.  Suddenly, he hears knocking on his door, but only believes it to be a visitor nothing more.  He remembers another night, like this one, where he had sought the solace                       this poem thinking daffodils and sunshine, but howling winds and shadows.  By using these words, Poe gives you the sense of being isolated and alone.  He also contrasts this isolation, symbolized by the storm and the dark chamber, with the richness of the objects in the library.  The furnished room also reminds him of the beauty of his lost Lenore.  Also, Poe uses a rhythm in his beginning stanza, using “ta continue reading.  And at the end of each stanza, “nothing more” or “nevermore” is like the door slamming of the library.            One of the genius factors of Poe’s writing is his way of working his way into the human psyche, with nothing more than a few words and a perfect setting.  You can not really relate to someone, who is being chased by a monster, because even though it only answers in the negative over and over again to whatever question is asked, slowly driving the narrator insane.  One wonders if Poe himself wrote this poem late at night, under the flickering of candlelight, not having enough sleep or enough to eat, yet under influences such as alcohol, etc.  With the narrators mention of the angel-named Lenore, “Nameless here for evermore,” Poe is possibly reaching out for his lost love long dead to him. People wanted to be taken away from the torments of the physical world, the Revolutionary War had ended years before, yet the country was still trying to be a united country, and to clean up the ravages of war.  Families had lost vital members of their home, and more and more immigrants were coming into the country to make something of themselves.  The cities were filled with business and urban development, while the rural areas were filled with crops growing up again on the torn land, and people progressed closer and closer to the edges of needed a release from everyday life, something they could read by the fire at night that would take them away into another world.  Poe was a master at this.            In the first two stanzas of Poe’s The Raven, we learn of the setting for the narrator’s psychological breakdown.  The tone and mood is set from the opening line, “Once upon a midnight dreary,” which captures the reader and holds tight. heritage. The sandstone of the sandstone. And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain.

    Read More

More about How Did Poe's Life Influence The Speaker Of The Raven

Open Document