Depression And Insanity In Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven
Death, Depression and Insanity in Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven”
In “The Raven”, Poe has created the tone of death, depression and insanity. The protagonist of the story is haunted by the loss of Lenore. We are introduced to the main character “upon a midnight dreary” (1) which parallels the characters internal feelings of darkness and melancholy. When he hears the rapping at his door, he talks to himself assuring “Tis some visitor,’ I muttered, ‘tapping at my chamber door—only this, and nothing more” (5-6). Talking to oneself is at times seen as being insane or crazy. It can be construed that due to the loss of Lenore, this man has lost his mind with sadness and afraid of his world alone.
In the second stanza, the despair of the protagonist …show more content…
Abu-Melhim explains that many cultures believe having a black bird in your house is an omen of death (116). This is further backed up by William Freedman’s observation that the bird is a seer or oracle (147). The bird had “perched on a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door” (41). The bust is Athena, the goddess of wisdom, and the symbolization of the bird on the bust above the door represents the man having to come to terms with the death of Lenore and then he can move on with his life. Otherwise he is destined to continue through insanity. The man “wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird and bust and door” (68) showing the man to think he can have a conversation with the bird as if it was human and capable of an act such as this. Clearly these are not the actions of a sane person.
As the man begins asking the bird questions, one can further come to the conclusion that he is losing his mind, for who would talk to a bird and expect the bird to answer. Furthermore, to have a response from the bird is also telling of ones loss of sanity, unless of course the belief of a supernatural entity is explored. The possibility of supernatural forces could explain parts of this story, though no actual proof is given for this option. It is more believable for the reader that the story is in fact all in the mind of someone who has lost part of their soul and is spiraling deep
In “The Raven”, Poe has created the tone of death, depression and insanity. The protagonist of the story is haunted by the loss of Lenore. We are introduced to the main character “upon a midnight dreary” (1) which parallels the characters internal feelings of darkness and melancholy. When he hears the rapping at his door, he talks to himself assuring “Tis some visitor,’ I muttered, ‘tapping at my chamber door—only this, and nothing more” (5-6). Talking to oneself is at times seen as being insane or crazy. It can be construed that due to the loss of Lenore, this man has lost his mind with sadness and afraid of his world alone.
In the second stanza, the despair of the protagonist …show more content…
Abu-Melhim explains that many cultures believe having a black bird in your house is an omen of death (116). This is further backed up by William Freedman’s observation that the bird is a seer or oracle (147). The bird had “perched on a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door” (41). The bust is Athena, the goddess of wisdom, and the symbolization of the bird on the bust above the door represents the man having to come to terms with the death of Lenore and then he can move on with his life. Otherwise he is destined to continue through insanity. The man “wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird and bust and door” (68) showing the man to think he can have a conversation with the bird as if it was human and capable of an act such as this. Clearly these are not the actions of a sane person.
As the man begins asking the bird questions, one can further come to the conclusion that he is losing his mind, for who would talk to a bird and expect the bird to answer. Furthermore, to have a response from the bird is also telling of ones loss of sanity, unless of course the belief of a supernatural entity is explored. The possibility of supernatural forces could explain parts of this story, though no actual proof is given for this option. It is more believable for the reader that the story is in fact all in the mind of someone who has lost part of their soul and is spiraling deep