How Does Poe's Attitude Change In The Raven

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Everyone fears it, it is in a many ways a monster, it takes away loved ones and can utterly crush one’s soul. This murderous force is known as death. Death surrounds many people including the infamous author Edgar Allen Poe. Poe channels his experiences with death through the speaker’s relationship of a raven in his illustrious poem “The Raven”. In “The Raven”, Poe chronicles the speaker’s changing attitude, from amazement and trust to realization of its inherit nature, towards the raven through his use of literary devices. Poe is able to establish the speakers initial feelings of amazement towards the raven through his use of diction or word choice. Poe announces “In there stepped a stately Raven of the saintly days of yore;”(38). Poe at …show more content…

Poe also applies the word “yore” meaning of legend and folklore. Yore radiates a somewhat ominous, cryptic feeling comparing the Raven to unworldly, godlike beings. Like all celestial beings at their commencing manifestation, one thing can describe the spectator’s expressions, marvel. This marvel is coming from a worship status that this creature projects without even the observer’s ratification. Poe further elaborates this on the next line “Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;” (39). Obeisance means to show reverence, yet the Raven’s presence inhibits this apprehension. This is because at the Raven’s cardinal emergence, the Raven insists on the amazement that comes with being a deific character. In all essence the Raven commands the power of an ambrosial figure because what it exemplifies is death. Death is trying to trick the speaker, to lure him into a false sense of security. Poe alludes to this “Then this …show more content…

“To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosom’s core;” (74). By the use of the metaphor “fiery eyes” , this elucidates the realization of the speaker as the raven being an ancient force . Not just ancient but damnable as well because this fire shows hell. The speaker’s beloved Lenore is somewhere that the speaker can never be, heaven. The raven’s metaphorical eyes admonishes this because the blazes represent where he will go once, death or the Raven takes him. This realization utterly consumes the speaker shattering his hope. A further example of the Raven’s irreligious eyes can be seen when Poe composes “ And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon’s that is dreaming,”(111). The birds eyes resembling a demon is shows how the reader perceives the birds as death itself. Its dreamlike quality emanates an eerie, dead appearance that shows the connotation of death. The speaker has now come to realization of the bird as not a holy and friendly personality but one cruel and evil. The vile Raven has separated him and his beloved Lenore. It is with this acceptance Poe proclaims “And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor /Shall be lifted—nevermore!” (113-114 ). By this line the speaker accepts how he will never be hopeful again over the loss his

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