Examples Of Obsession In The Raven

Human Obsession and Insanity Human obsession is a major part in Edgar Allan Poe’s works. In “The Raven,” the obsessions are about a woman, Lenore, and death. The character’s obsession with Lenore and death are illustrated with the use of drugs and also with insanity. The obsession with Lenore also leads to the insanity of the narrator. In Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven,” the narrating character is obsessed about his past love that he is “weak and weary” (Poe 1). “From my books surcease of sorrow – sorrow for the lost Lenore.” (10) He cannot accept that she is gone, his “rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore.” (11) When the narrator hears a tapping at his chamber door, he believes at first it is Lenore. He feels a thrill and opens the door to emptiness. “And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, ‘Lenore?’ / This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, ‘Lenore!’ / Merely this and nothing more.” (28-30)
When the raven is seen by the narrator he thinks it is a sign from his beloved Lenore. The narrator’s insanity leads him to believe that the raven is a sign that maybe Lenore is not gone. His obsession with the loss of Lenore makes
The narrator associates the raven with “Night’s Plutonian shore” (47). This references Pluto, the Roman god of the underworld. By associating the raven with Pluto, the raven acts a messenger for the dead. This ties back in to the narrator hoping that because the raven is there, Lenore might come back to him. When the narrator gets angry at the raven for repeating the answer “nevermore,” he yells at it to “Get thee back into the tempest and the Night’s Plutonian shore!” (98) He wants the raven to leave him alone and go back to the underworld with the dead. He goes so far as to call the raven the devil; “…thing of evil! – prophet still, if bird or devil! – / Whether Tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore”