In The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe. Poe wrote about how the sorrow of a person’s death can affect the living long after they are gone. This is something that Poe demonstrated through his use of tone, allegory, language, symbolism and allusion which is used to set the mood of the poem which is extremely dark. This paper will look at symbolisms of death that are used in The Raven.
Many think that the Raven is the dominate symbol in the poem. However, it is the memory of Lenore. Lenore, although she never shows up and the narrator offers no description of her. Is presented as an ideal who is described as an angel. The narrator’s desire to reunite with the woman he describes as being “rare and radiant” (line 11) is further enhanced by his connection of her to heaven. This is because he seems to be saying that he would be better off dead then without her. However, there is a part of the poem where the narrator realizes that his being unable to let her go has become a curse (line 83). He wishes that he had Nepenthe which was in Odysseus a drink that would take away a person’s grief by making them forget (line 84). Even so the narrator’s unconscious desire for death seems to have more power than reason. This results in his memories of Lenore fueling his depression and subsequent paranoia.
The Raven while most important and obvious symbol is only a manifestation of the narrator’s grief. Ravens are not only a symbol of death but they have been in some cultures they are thought to be able to travel between the world of the living and the dead. Although in this case the Raven could also represent the narrators impending doom if he continues mourning Lenore as he is. When we are first introduced to the Raven in lines 38-40 there is already a sense of dread due to the almost constant rapping that has occurred in the poem. Then when the Raven finally makes its entrance it does so in a stately manner, as though it is the only one with control in the situation. This is true because by this point the narrator is headed for death. So, the Raven is not only the symbol of Lenore’s death, it also seems as though it intends to be the cause of the narrator’s.
The Bust of Pallas who is the Goddess of Wisdom. In the poem the narrator begins to ask the Raven questions about Lenore. The only answer he ever receives in “nevermore” which increases his despondency over the death of Lenore. In a way this also shows how depression can overwhelm the wisdom that one would normally have regarding a situation. Had the narrator not been upset over Lenore’s death and not needed confirmation that she was okay wherever she was then the narrator would never have heard the words “nevermore” from the Raven. It is the idea that when one loses control of their emotions they can also lose reason.
The chamber itself could also be related to death as it was decorated with black, grey and purple which were all colors associated with death in Victorian times. Plus, a chamber was also another word for a funeral home in those days as many people had the wakes for deceased family members in their own homes. This represented the fact that the narrator if he continued on his path would end up dead in that room.
Finally, the narrator speaks of “night’s Plutonian shore”. This is reference to Hades, the god of the underworld and the river Styx which was believed by the Ancient Greeks to be the entrance into the underworld. Once again this represents the narrator’s desire for death so that he can reunite with Lenore. Ultimately, the poem, The Raven is about how grief and depression can ultimately destroy a person if they lose rational thought.
Works Cited
Edgar, Poe A. Raven, the. Gutenberg (e-books, 2005. Print.
