Analysis of Edgar Allan Poes The Raven Essay -- Egar Allan Poe Raven

Analysis of Edgar Allan Poes The RavenEdgar Allan Poes The Raven, though parodied, republished, and altered countless times, has withstood the test of time as wiz of the most recognizable and famous works of poetry in the English language. Carefully measured stanzas with a fascinating rhyme scheme embedded throughout, unitedly with the unique and completely individualistic style of its author, are but a few of the elements that combine to elevate this poem in the public eye. It reaches an as-yet-unparalleled plane of poetical excellence. It is imperative, then, for the reader to understand that the conflict presented in The Raven is not the commonly-assumed Man vs. Animal, as though to embody the plight of the man as he pits himself against the unrelenting and daunting raven who crouches before him, but rather Man vs. Himself. Unfortunately, a sad mistake is predominantly concluded upon by the public at turgid as they study this piece. Many readers view the titular charact er as being the sinister, twisted daemon sent from hell to torment its host. This, while at a preliminary reading may appear to be the case, is not the theory widely accepted both by scholars and serious contemporary students. The ingeminate negative answer is not a warning, prophecy, or ill-spoken omen. The bird is no oracle. Poe himself tells us that the creatures only stock and store, / Caught from some unhappy overshadow whom unmerciful disaster / Followed fast and followed faster till his songs one burden bore- / Till the dirges of his Hope that melancholy burden bore is, in fact, Never- nevermore (62-66). It is fire to note that Poe originally postulated placing a parrot in this role, but opted for a raven as equally ... ...eming of a demons that is dreaming,And the lamplight oer him streaming throws his shadow on the floorAnd my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor Shall be lifted- nevermore This work deftly captures the secret a nd hidden desire that all men and women face in the maelstrom of grief that accompanies the death of their true love. As has been noted, it is not the raven that carries with it the agony. The raven is exclusively the catalyst, acting upon the pent-up agony that already exists within the bosom of the narrator. Here we find true, seldom-revealed human nature in striking clarity. The Raven is as without end as it is human, and as long as lovers love and the living die, it will remain a horrifyingly accurate representation of life as more would not care to admit. Therein lies its strength, and therein lies its beauty.