Similarities Between The Raven And Aubade

As Khalil Gibran once stated, “life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one” (Khalil Gibran). Both interconnect with one another, never having one without the other. Numerous people fear death as we watch those around us fall victims to it, but in reality, death is benign and people should not be afraid. Death can have varying consequences on a person’s view in life. In the poems “Sonnet-Silence”, “The Raven”, and “Aubade”, Edgar Allen Poe and Philip Larken use personification, symbolism and imagery to reveal how death affects people differently. For Poe, “Sonnet-Silence” conveys the idea that death should not be fearful and to not let death rule your life. Essentially, society should look at death as harmless and “render him terrorless” (Poe 419). By viewing death as a physical being and personifying the concept of death as a male, people can relate more easily to accepting death and not be afraid. Moreover, Poe states that “there is a two-fold Silence”, comparing the body and soul to the sea and shore as separate but inseparable entities (419). One should not be fearful of death as the soul cannot be separate from the body, any more than the shore can be separate from the sea. The dual nature of life and death come as a pair and one should not

At the end of the poem, the speaker exclaims “And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor Shall be lifted—nevermore!” (425). As the raven is sitting on his door, the bird becomes a constant and eternal reminder of the loss of Lenore, his deceased wife, and that his shadow casting over the floor is a shadow over his soul. The raven becomes a symbolism for the messenger of darkness and helps in explaining the speaker’s emotional state. Lenore’s death will always haunt the speaker through the shadow that is left over him in the form of a raven perched above the