Transition Into Madness And Insanity In Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven

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“The Raven” by Edgar Allen Poe tells of a raven's inexplicable visit to a distressed lover, depicting the man's transition into madness and insanity. The lover is mourning the loss of his love, Lenore, and while mourning, a raven flies into his abode and to the man’s surprise, it also speaks. The raven, who finds itself perched on a sculpture of Pallas, augments the lover’s distress with his recitation of only one single word: "Nevermore". The cataclysm of the lover’s slow fall into insanity is further exemplified through the use of successive letter sounds such as “weak and weary”. The repetition of the ‘w’ sound draws attention to these specific words in order to portray the man as old and tired and also creates a rhythm within the poem in order to captivate the reader and clearly explains the condition of the old man with emphasis. …show more content…

He included these words in order to draw attention to the overall message in the poem: undying devotion. The words weak and weary highlight the notion that no matter the condition of the man, he will always remain devoted to his lover. The narrator seems to seek pleasure in ruminating upon the loss and remembering his lover which is clearly exemplified through alliterizing specific words such as “weak and weary”. Overall, Poe’s utilization of repetitious diction effectively portrays the condition of the character, draw attention to a specific point in the poem, and hints at the overall theme of relentless, unconditional

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