The Raven Research Paper
The Raven
A grieving man sits and hears a knocking on his door, what could it be? Out of all the possibilities it's a raven. I believe that the raven in Edgar Allan Poe’s poem is imaginary for many reasons. However, the main reasons are; the behavior of the raven, the talking, and the man’s sorrow of his wife Lenore which symbolizes the raven. First, I will talk about why the bird’s behavior is a sign that the bird is imaginary.
Typically, when birds fly into rooms they flutter and lose control. However in this story the bird, “perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door, perched, and sat, and nothing more.” Now normally birds aren’t that poised and wouldn’t just calmly perch itself on the bust of Pallas. Most birds when flying into a house, fly all over the place and don’t …show more content…
But that’s exactly what I think the raven is, merely a symbol. The man is obviously in a bad state. In the beginning of the story he is found partly sleeping and reading. He then is imagining a talking raven. I believe the man is insane, and driving his insanity is the lost love of his life- Lenore. He can not bear the thought of not having her and I think this is why he imagines the raven, out of extreme grief and sorrow. The raven is just a figment of the man’s imagination and has to be a sign of his grieving. I think this also shows the man is not healthy mentally or emotionally with the loss of his wife, and that’s why he imagines this raven. Overall the raven is proof that the man is filled with sorrow after losing someone he loved. And that’s the message I think Edgar Allan Poe was trying to get across. There’s undying devotion and the loss of grief sometimes can’t be diminished.
Overall the bird’s behavior, talking, and symbolism are the three main reasons why I believe the raven is imaginary in this poem. They all contribute to the fact that the bird is an overall symbol of the man’s
A grieving man sits and hears a knocking on his door, what could it be? Out of all the possibilities it's a raven. I believe that the raven in Edgar Allan Poe’s poem is imaginary for many reasons. However, the main reasons are; the behavior of the raven, the talking, and the man’s sorrow of his wife Lenore which symbolizes the raven. First, I will talk about why the bird’s behavior is a sign that the bird is imaginary.
Typically, when birds fly into rooms they flutter and lose control. However in this story the bird, “perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door, perched, and sat, and nothing more.” Now normally birds aren’t that poised and wouldn’t just calmly perch itself on the bust of Pallas. Most birds when flying into a house, fly all over the place and don’t …show more content…
But that’s exactly what I think the raven is, merely a symbol. The man is obviously in a bad state. In the beginning of the story he is found partly sleeping and reading. He then is imagining a talking raven. I believe the man is insane, and driving his insanity is the lost love of his life- Lenore. He can not bear the thought of not having her and I think this is why he imagines the raven, out of extreme grief and sorrow. The raven is just a figment of the man’s imagination and has to be a sign of his grieving. I think this also shows the man is not healthy mentally or emotionally with the loss of his wife, and that’s why he imagines this raven. Overall the raven is proof that the man is filled with sorrow after losing someone he loved. And that’s the message I think Edgar Allan Poe was trying to get across. There’s undying devotion and the loss of grief sometimes can’t be diminished.
Overall the bird’s behavior, talking, and symbolism are the three main reasons why I believe the raven is imaginary in this poem. They all contribute to the fact that the bird is an overall symbol of the man’s