Insane In Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven

709 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Poe's the raven essay

When events cause someone pain it can result in going insane, blurring the line between real and imaginary. In Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven” the narrator goes through a series of emotionally painful events, which blurred his line between real and imaginary. The speaker believes a raven is out to get him, when it's simply an animal. The interaction between the two caused him to produce an overwhelming amount of emotional pain for himself ; this leads into the speaker’s own misery and demise. When something so surreal happens to an individual, the person tends to over analyze the situation because they are in disbelief as to how something so crazy has happened. In “The Raven” the narrator has just lost his precious Lenore, as he is mourning …show more content…

In the beginning of the poem the narrator recognizes the raven only speaks the word “nevermore”, nevertheless he continues to ask the raven questions. The narrator knows hearing “nevermore” as the answer to his questions will cause his own demise, but it doesn't prevent him from doing so. The narrator asks “Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore!” Quoth the Raven “Nevermore””( Poe 13). By this he asks if, he will ever forget the memories of Lenore that continue to run through his mind, the raven confirms he won't. He is angered by this response and questions the ravens true intention. As if the raven’s answer to his question didn't upset him enough he continues to ask deeper questions. With hope that he will receive a different answer he ponders “Is there- balm in Gilead?- tell me. I implore! Quoth the Raven “Nevermore”” (Poe 14). Here the narrator is asking if he will ever be joyful again, once again he is doing this knowing the raven respond the same answer everytime. He actually believes what the raven is saying, which is driving him insane for this reason he’s causing his own demise. To make matters worse the narrator asks if “within the distant Aidenn, It shall clasp Clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore” (Poe 15). He is inquiring if Lenore is in heaven, receiving no as an answer was his breaking point. Everyone definitely wants to hear the ones they love are in heaven, so why would the narrator ask the raven knowing the answer would be no? This proves the narrator is responsible for his own demise, not the

Show More
Related

  • How Does Poe Use Loss In The Raven

    585 Words  | 2 Pages

    Whenever the narrator questions the Raven on when his deceased love will return, or when he will stop grieving, the Raven responds with the repeated word “Nevermore” (Poe 102). The bird’s incessant reminders signify that since Lenore’s death is eternal, the narrator’s consequent anguish from it must be as well, which is why the narrator is incapable to ever recover from the Raven’s words on his loss. For, this leaves an everlasting impression on the narrator, prompting him to demand the bird, “‘Take thy beak out of my heart’” (Poe 101). In this metaphor, the author alludes that the Raven’s ‘beak’ is the words it is saying to the narrator, and the ‘heart’ is not representative of the narrator’s physical heart, because the bird is not physically attacking the speaker, but is making him aware of his eternal loss and irreversibly breaking him down emotionally. Therefore, Poe’s use of repetition and metaphor aid him in expressing the loss induced anguish of the

    Read More

  • Lost Love in The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe

    1005 Words  | 3 Pages

    Edgar Allan Poe tells the story of a bereaved man who is grieving for his lost love in the poem, “The Raven.” During a dark and gloomy night, the man hears a knock at his door. Hoping that it is Lenore, his dead lover, coming back to him, he goes to open the door. Unfortunately, he is only met with emptiness and disappointment. Shortly after, a raven flies into the room through the window and lands on the bust of Pallas. The man begins to converse with this dark and mysterious bird. In response to everything the man says, the raven repeats one dreadful word: “Nevermore.” The symbolism of the raven being connected to death, and the man’s interaction with the dark bird reveals to readers that he is going through the stages of dying. Subsequently, the repetition of the bird’s one worded reply makes it known that the man will never see Lenore again because there is no afterlife.

    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

  • The Raven Rhetorical Analysis

    1017 Words  | 3 Pages

    Edgar Allen Poe’s poem, "The Raven" starts off in a dark setting with an apartment on a "bleak December" night. The reader meets an agonized man sifting through his books while mourning over the premature death of a woman named Lenore. When the character is introduced to the raven he asks about Lenore and the chance in afterlife in which the bird replies “nevermore” which confirms his worst fears. This piece by Edgar Allen Poe is unparalleled; his poem’s theme is not predictable, it leads to a bitter negative ending and is surrounded by pain. To set this tone, Poe uses devices such as the repetition of "nevermore" to emphasize the meaning of the word to the overall theme; he also sets a dramatic tone that shows the character going from weary

    Read More

  • Diction In The Raven

    597 Words  | 2 Pages

    In “The Raven” there are many different variations of the same word never/and or more, is repeated 18 times once in each stanza. Poe uses nothing more, evermore, nevermore, and never. The word never is used 14 times by its self and with another word. The word never comes from the old English word naefre. Ne means no or not and aefre means ever. Never in English as an adverb can mean not ever; not at all, to no extent or degree. Never is also an idiom like, never mind. Nevermore is what the bird is saying. Means never again like how the speaker will never be sane again. Evermore means forever or henceforth like how Lenore will never come back to the speaker. Nothing more is a little more difficult. Nothing means nonexistent or no part of. More means in great amount or additional/ further. So nothing more; more or less means can mean a nonexistent addition or no longer available. This is how Poe uses words like never and more in his extended knowledge of

    Read More

  • Of Dark Romanticism In Masque Of The Red Death And The Raven By Edgar Allan Poe

    459 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the text it states “But the raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only that one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour” (Poe). The Raven is like the afterlife of Lenore and her trying to give guilt for the things he had done. As the Raven only uses one word “Nevermore” it could be the bird following him around as a reminder of things he has done and give him guilt. After every question he would ask he would only get one reply from the Raven. This ties together with the Masque of the Red Death because he talks about darkness and fear.

    Read More

  • The Analysis Of Kyle Allen Poe's The Raven

    255 Words  | 1 Pages

    Kyle Jung's analysis of Poe's "The Raven" tackles primarily with the conflict between the real and the unreal. Jung invokes Tzvetan Todorovs's understanding of what he calls the Fantastic. To be described fantastic, both the character and reader must be uncertain about the reality of at least one component of the piece. In "The Raven" this would be the Raven, as both the reader and the narrator cannot understand what the Raven is. If the Raven is simply a piece of the narrator's mind, then the Raven becomes uncanny.

    Read More

  • Obsession In Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven

    1217 Words  | 3 Pages

    Vanity can be defined as obsession. Obsession is the main theme of "The Raven", as the speaker goes through the stages of mourning the loss of a love one. "The Raven” begins with the speaker grieving for the lost of his Lenore. The narrator believes that Lenore has left and the narrator is awaiting her return. As the speaker awaits his beloved Lenore, a raven enters upon his home and land upon the bust of Pallas. Pallas—in other words, Athena—represents the source of wisdom towards the speaker and adds creditability to the Raven, as the fowl answers Poe’s questions the narrator is asking questions to the raven for the raven to answer; except the Raven only respond with Nevermore. Upon questions after questions, the reader realizes how the speaker obsesses the lost of his Lenore and enters through a stage of hopelessness. Poe uses the ebony bird to demonstrate are variety of reasons. For example, the Raven can represent grief, evil, and wisdom. After Poe asked questions, such as “Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, clasp a rare and radiant maiden whom the angels named Lenore…Quoths the raven, Nevermore”(Baym Levine, 690). The raven acts as guide to the speaker’s own personal underworld. The raven guides the speaker into realizing his obsession with the lost of his beloved Lenore and its now entering into the mad world of

    Read More

  • How Is Guilt Reflected In The Raven

    661 Words  | 2 Pages

    A time in the poem it is clear the raven symbolizes the speaker's guilt for the loss of his maiden Lenore is in stanza sixteen and seventeen. The speaker asks the raven if Lenore is in heaven and the raven answers him saying no, she is in hell. The speaker feels it is his fault she is in hell because they had sex despite them not being married. The speaker begins screaming declaring the raven is lying to him and that his maiden is indeed in heaven. This is simply just the speakers attempt to deal

    Read More

  • Insanity in The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe

    1322 Words  | 3 Pages

    In conclusion, Poe shows the insanity of the narrator through the claims of the narrator as to why he is not insane, the actions of the narrator bring out the narrative irony of the story, and the character of the narrator fits the definition of insanity as it applies to "The Tell Tale Heart". The "Tell Tale Heart" is a story about how insanity can overtake someone's mind and cause one to behave irrationally.

    Read More

  • Mental Disorder In Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven

    1099 Words  | 3 Pages

    Poe recurred to Personification to give human qualities to the raven. The main example is the ability of the raven to talk and Poe ilustarte it "as if his soul in that one word he did outpour"(932). Ravnes are uncapable of talking from their soul because usually people believe that only human beings have a souls, so giving the raven a soul is a use of personification. Also, the raven demostrated "mien of lord or lady"(932). Mien is a human quality of showing your mood through a look or a manner. Through history, ravens have had negative connotation. They are seen as a "thing of evil!" (933). Now, everyone knows that birds are capable of emitting sounds, but they cannot talk in a meaningful way. However, the unnamed narrator hear the raven saying the word nevermore constantly. This could mean two things. Firstly, it was just a normal response because he was "weak and weary" (931), or secondly, he had a mental illness that causes him to hear voices. Either way, it seems like his subconscious was trying to tell him something through the raven. In his case was the word nevermore. Consequently, the raven was a constant reminder that he will never see Lenore

    Read More

  • Figurative Language In The Raven Essay

    586 Words  | 2 Pages

    Through symbolism in stanza seventeen, we see that just as the raven remains with the suffering young man, even after the narrator demands that he leave, so does the grief. The raven replies, “Nevermore”, to this request. As the narrator discovers, grief doesn’t go away just because we ask it. In stanza eighteen, when describing the ever-present raven, the narrator states, “And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon’s that is dreaming.” This particular quote states a metaphor, where the narrator compares the raven to a demon. These examples of figurative language relevant to this individual theme are well-used in building and communicating this

    Read More

  • Imagery In Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven

    979 Words  | 2 Pages

    Death is tragic and one of the most finite things on Earth. It can turn an average human being insane and change his/her life forever. Losing someone close and dear is incredibly painful and an experience one will not forget. Death can cause numerous emotions to bubble up, like sorrow, and grief. In “The Raven” Poe utilizes imagery, diction, and figurative language along with symbolism to illustrate how isolation can cause madness when one comes to terms with the finite consequences of death.

    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

More about Insane In Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven

Open Document