Edgar Allan Poe And The Raven Essay

, Research Paper

Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortals ever dared to dream before.

The writer of these words was enchanted by darkness…thrilled by death.

What sort of person would spend their whole life linking hands with Death

and her counterparts. Quite possibly a literary genius by the name of Edgar

Allan Poe. Famous for romanticizing the darker, more Gothic side of life, E.

A. Poe had quite a collection of works from his lesser known stories to his

most famous poem, The Raven . This great man s life has been analyzed to

death (no pun intended) to find key s to unlock the maze of his apparent

creativity. Here, the reader will find only an in depth look at The Raven ,

information on the author s life and lifestyle, a brief look at other Poe

works, criticism on his writings, and some unusual ways his fame has been

honored . To begin with, The Raven holds a dark sense of elegance which

has been appealing to many since it was written in 1845.

The theme of The Raven is simple: a man suffering the loss of his

love is visited by a speaking raven, whose repetitious, meaningless answers

torture him to the point of insanity (see Appendix R) (Decoder, Internet).

The feeling of lost love portrayed in the poem might have reflected the

death of Poe s wife, Virginia, in 1847 (Qrisse, Internet). As it is read, a

definite rhyme scheme is present: internal rhyme in the first and third line,

and end rhymes in lines two, four, and five. All eighteen stanzas of the poem

are arranged like this, but Poe never makes it seems unexciting or

repetitious. Probably the most noticeable and most brilliant aspect of The

Raven is it s saturation of symbolism. The raven (see Appendix R) itself is

the main symbol, representing the man s self-torture uncovered in the work.

Because the raven does not comprehend or reason it s answers, it allows the

man to interpret them however his mind allows, which gives the reader a look

at the mind s unstable mind state. The bust of Pallas that the raven perches

upon to preach its wisdom is another strong symbol. Pallas is the goddess

of wisdom, and an eerie feeling is felt as the raven sits upon it and appears

to speak nonsense. When questioned about his reasoning for using the bust

of Pallas in his poem, Poe replied because of the sonorous of the word,

Pallas, itself. Two other symbols that are not so apparent are the use of

midnight and December . Both signify darkness, an end, or a change to

something new. The chamber the narrator speaks from could be interpreted

as a symbol, as it represents loneliness. The expensive furnishings of the

chamber appear to say that the beauty and riches the man surrounds

himself in will not replace his love (Qrisse, Internet). Edgar Allan Poe

entwined all these symbols in The Raven , a deliciously twisted poem about

the death of beauty and the heartache it causes.

Poe lived a solitary, reckless life, which included the use of alcohol and drugs. Born in 1809 to parents, Eliza Poe and David Poe Jr., he was orphaned before the age of three. His father died at the age of 36 and his mother died at 24 from tuberculosis (Payge s, Internet). Poe was sent live with

foster parents, John and Fanny Allan (see Appendix J). In 1826, he entered

the University of Virginia. He was a good student, but eventually turned to

gambling to pay debts. It was during this time that Poe had his first

romantic interest which ended on a harsh note (see Appendix E) Despite

grades and ambition, Poe had to leave college because of lack of money. A

year later he enlisted in the army for two years, after which he entered

Westpoint. Then, halting his solitary life, Edgar married his 13 year old

cousin, Virginia, in 1836. On October 5, 1849, he was found unconscious and

on drugs; three days later he died, possibly of rabies (Qrisse, Internet).

(see Appendix R) Edgar Allan Poe s appearance is a suprisingly interesting

topic, one that may be addressed with some importance. Poe was apparently

an attractive, fit man (perhaps due to his earlier, short-lived military

career). He also appeared dark, drawn in, and, towards the end of his life,

sickly. Poe was a small man; records showing approximately 5 feet 8 inches

in height and 140 pounds in weight. Documentation reveals that Poe s eyes

were odd, and even a bit disturbing. Information varies whether the color

was gray hazel, blue, or violet. Whatever the color, his eyes commanded the

attention of his face. According to Mary Star in 1888, His eyes were large

and full, gray and piercing.” Maybe because of his regular drinking and his

indulgence in the nighttime hours, Poe s complexion was always pale, almost

to the point of translucence (Society, Internet). Poe s characteristic looks

are a few of the things that made him a memorable person for anyone

meeting him to remember.

Poe s lifestyle was a bit of an enigma, and it

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