Short Analysis for "The Raven" and “What Troubled Poe’s Raven”
“The Raven”
I feel the title suggests that the poem might entail a story about a raven. Ravens are often associated with death, due to their dark, eerie features, as well as with trickery, thus the title clues that the story will most likely be shadier. The speaker of the poem is a man who is troubled by the memories of his lost love, Lenore, and of his impending death. “And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor shall be lifted—nevermore!” (106, 107) indicates the speaker knows he has the possibility of dying soon. The line, “Quaff, oh quaff this kind repenthe and forget this lost Lenore!” (81), shows that the speaker is having great difficulty letting go of Lenore and may be even guilty over her death- as he is almost asking for forgiveness (“this kind repenthe”). A raven keeps reminding him that his time on Earth will be short. “Take that beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!” (99, 100) explains that the bird won’t leave the speaker’s soul alone (“beak from out my heart”) and he just want him to go away. In the beginning of the poem, the speaker feels as if he is just able to control his emotions, trying to forget about Lenore: “vainly I had sought to borrow from my books surcease of sorrow—sorrow for the lost Lenore.” (9, 10). He also doubts where he will go to in the afterlife. Using contrasts between heaven (“Aidenn”[92], “Seraphim” [79]) and hell(“Plutonian shore”[47], “the Raven”) and mentioning he is “Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared dream before.” (26) hints on his uncertainty over his life in the future. Yet toward the end, a much more agitated feeling is sensed: he begins to shout (“thing of evil!” [90]) and uses shorter vowels, such as “flitting”, “sitting”, “still” and “devil”. The overall tone of the poem is of gloom and bitterness. Words such as “grim”, “bleak”, “melancholy” and “beak from out my heart” help create this quality for the readers. The author uses a mix of figurative, “each
I feel the title suggests that the poem might entail a story about a raven. Ravens are often associated with death, due to their dark, eerie features, as well as with trickery, thus the title clues that the story will most likely be shadier. The speaker of the poem is a man who is troubled by the memories of his lost love, Lenore, and of his impending death. “And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor shall be lifted—nevermore!” (106, 107) indicates the speaker knows he has the possibility of dying soon. The line, “Quaff, oh quaff this kind repenthe and forget this lost Lenore!” (81), shows that the speaker is having great difficulty letting go of Lenore and may be even guilty over her death- as he is almost asking for forgiveness (“this kind repenthe”). A raven keeps reminding him that his time on Earth will be short. “Take that beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!” (99, 100) explains that the bird won’t leave the speaker’s soul alone (“beak from out my heart”) and he just want him to go away. In the beginning of the poem, the speaker feels as if he is just able to control his emotions, trying to forget about Lenore: “vainly I had sought to borrow from my books surcease of sorrow—sorrow for the lost Lenore.” (9, 10). He also doubts where he will go to in the afterlife. Using contrasts between heaven (“Aidenn”[92], “Seraphim” [79]) and hell(“Plutonian shore”[47], “the Raven”) and mentioning he is “Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared dream before.” (26) hints on his uncertainty over his life in the future. Yet toward the end, a much more agitated feeling is sensed: he begins to shout (“thing of evil!” [90]) and uses shorter vowels, such as “flitting”, “sitting”, “still” and “devil”. The overall tone of the poem is of gloom and bitterness. Words such as “grim”, “bleak”, “melancholy” and “beak from out my heart” help create this quality for the readers. The author uses a mix of figurative, “each