Literary Analysis of The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe The life of Edgar Allan Poe was as morbid and melancholy as his works. After the abandonment by his father and the disturbing death of his mother, both prominent traveling actors, Edgar was reluctantly forced into orphanage. He was later taken into the home of John Allan, a wealthy tobacco merchant. Their relationship was shaky, at best, and the contention between the two would last until Allan's death, where his will left nothing for Poe. Amidst these calamities, came only more distress. The death John Allan's wife, the woman who cared for Poe after his mother died, and a large amount of debts acquired from gambling that forced him into early resignation from the University of Virginia, only sent Edgar into a deeper state of despair. But the most devastating blow came when his beloved wife, Virginnia Clemm, died from the same disease his mother perished from--consumption. The tragedies in Poe's life are reflected in his poem, "The Raven," and can be predominately seen thro...
In final anyalysis, the work of Edgar Allan Poe has more meanings than those that meet the eye. Tragic events and gloomy details of his life are transcribed on paper, not clearly, but hidden in each of his publications. His stories can be viewed more as footprints rather than allegories: they are his footprints he left behind in the universe. His life story, all of his experiences, good and bad, influenced his writing in some way or another. Today, we can analyze this information and infer facts about Poe's life, much like detectives unveiling clues from the forgotten past, yet the past wasn't totally forgotten. Poe is gone now, but he is alive and well in our hearts today when we read his prose as well as poetry. His bold and powerful words are in essence the entire life of Edgar Allan Poe.
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.
Edgar Allan Poe, at the age of two, he and his family were abandoned by his father. On top of that, his mother died, in December 1811, later the same year (Lemco “Poe, Edgar Allan”). Although Poe was never officially adopted, he eventually became part of the Allan family of Richmond, Virginia. In comparison to William Shakespeare, Poe grew up in a phenomenal educational environment, and he had a passion for literature from the time he started school. “Poe considered John Allan a miserly and abusive father to him because of his love for literature” (Lemco).
My favorite quote by Poe is “Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before.” As Poe once said Edgar Allan Poe poems based on the raven and the bells being dark and mysterious. The raven based off his love such as lonore as someone taps on his chamber door nothing appears, hoping it would be lenore or at least hear from her at the end of the story. Then as he asks the bird multiple questions he responds with “nevermore” (Hallqvist). Edgar was born on January 19, 1809 in boston (Seidel). Coming from a broken home as in mother died while he was just two years old and father deserted. Once he went into college he soon went into debt and was kicked out. After
He held a close bond with Frances, but not John (The Biography, 2015). In Poe’s late teenage years, the Allan’s only provided Poe with a third of the money he required to continue his college education, leaving him in debt and forcing him to drop out of school in less than a year (Poe Stories, 2005). In The Raven it is evident in the second stanza that the narrator is feeling quite lonely, that he no longer has anyone there for him, this is perpendicular to Poe as he was virtually abandoned by the family that nurtured him for practically his whole life. The stressed feelings of abandonment heightened by the trochaic octameter and hyperbole creates a defined association between Poe’s individual feelings of abandonment from his younger years, which may have been reminiscent of the imminent loss of his wife Virginia.
Some of his writings were much more personal for Poe such as “The Raven” and “The Fall of the House of Usher.” Even through both poems, reflect his personal life in some way “The Raven” portrays his own personal experiences. The death of his wife was one of the most influential deaths he had to deal with. Her death led to a period of hard drinking and staying up all hours to watch over her grave, sometimes even sleeping on her grave to be closer to her. During this period of hopelessness led to the writing of “The Raven.” The poem “The Raven” is about a man and his sorrow over the death of Lenore. The raven, which may symbolize the devil, forever hunting him and a living reminder of the death of his wife. In the poem, he shows the world of his pain of having his wife taken away from him and compares death to the raven. This shows us how the raven reminds him of what he suffered after the death of his wife. The Raven” gives us an idea of what Poe was dealing with during this time of depression. Poe knew this direct and individual experience well, unlike his other works. “The Raven” was a more personal experience to Poe because it talked about something that touched him deeply and affected his. “The Raven” was a poem about his own actual life. In this way “The Raven” is a prime example of the true Poe and how his life affected his
Soon after the death of his mother, Poe was taken in by John Allan and Frances Keeling Valentine Allan, and he relocated to Richmond to join his new foster family. His foster father, John Allan, continually abused him. Poe enlisted in the army as a way to escape his troubled home life. Poe excelled in the ...
Edgar Allan Poe was a son of traveling actors that soon his father left the family behind. Which then his beautiful mother passed away in a theatrical room in Virginia.At the age of three he was a foster child.Which then he was brought into the Allan family which his parents were pleased with him.They really liked how he was athletic and was able to get great scholarships.Poe attended the University of Virginia but, soon he dropped out of huge gambling debts.Edgar Allan Poe’s final days has been a mystery since no one really knows how he died. Lots of people have been writing stories on how he possibly died but, we don’t know if they are true. His death has been a cliffhanger ever since people have been writing stories on how he must have
Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) was born to traveling actors in Boston. He was hit hard with death at a young age as his mother and father both died within two days when Poe was only two years old. The wealthy John Allan and his wife became the legal guardians of young Edgar. When Edgar was fourteen, he met the first woman in his life, Jane Stith Stanard, the inspiration to his poem “To Helen”(1831). However, Mrs. Stanard passed away only a year after Poe first met her. In 1825 Poe became engaged with Elmira Royster. While he was away from her, he would write her many letters; however, Elmira’s parents intercepted the letters. Edgar wondered why she never replied, and when he went back to see her, he found out that she married someone else. This left Poe in a very depressed state. Poe’s relationship with the Allans was never secure, and this became evident when John Allan refused to pay Edgar’s debts at the University of Virginia. Edgar was then kicked out of school. In the next couple of years Poe has to fight through the death of his foster mother and his brother. Then in 1833 he moved in with his Aunt Maria Clemm. John Allan died a year later. He then married his cousin Virginia three years later. Virginia then died in 1842 (Anderson 9-64). Poe was introduced to death and betrayal throughout his young life leaving him in a very depressed state, and these traits are present throughout his short stories and poems.
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.
Poe spent most of his life grieving for lost loved ones. His first wife Virginia Clemm died five years into their marriage of tuberculosis. Poe endured many tragedies and his poetry reflects his agony and torture.
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.
Abandoned as an infant by his father, Poe lost his mother to tuberculosis at the age of three, and was sent to live with foster parents. There he was raised but never adopted. Also, his relationship with his foster father was quite tumultuous. Shortly after their death, he married his cousin Virginia Clemm, who also ended up contracting tuberculosis and died after a long hard battle with the disease. This had a very hard impact on Poe. Furthermore, it is known that Poe also had a serious problem with alcohol, as well as there are reports that he likely suffered from a mental illness, as evidenced by a letter he wrote stating that he had tried to commit suicide (Quinn 1998). Also, throughout his life, Poe struggled to be a writer, though his ways always ended up keeping him from achieving, while he was alive, what he was capable of. As one can see, Poe lived a life that was defined by death, hardship, and his own possible insanity. This makes it much more clear as to why he chose such dark themes for his works.
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.
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 of his library to forget his sorrows of his long lost beloved, and to wait for dawn. Meanwhile the tapping on his door continues.