Analyzing The Raven

            Scary tales and myths send shivers down reader’s spines. Edgar Allan Poe’s "The Raven" is a bone-chilling poem that revolutionizes the dark tales that we know of today. Poe introduces a new breed of thrillers when he incorporates the theme of ‘death’ into his poems (Barbet 799). Following death, he stresses the damaging factors of desperation, misery, and self-induced mental torture (Doven 178). To make matters worse, these factors return to the victim after they seem to have left, as Poe depicts with the raven. He demonstrates the power of death when he resurrects Lenore in the form of a raven to haunt him.

            Poe builds suspense as the raven persistently brings back memories of Lenore. "Quaff, of quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore" Quaff the raven, "Nevermore" (Poe 83).  Poe utters that he wishes that he has a potion that he could drink to forget about Lenore.  His sorrow is expressed with deep passion that evolves from his late childhood.  His despair leads to inspiration as he jots down the next line of his unfinished “The Raven.”

Poe defines his self-destructive, yet faithful love for Lenore.  "Other friends have flown before" (Poe 56). Friends and lovers come and go but none will replace Lenore.  He never looks at life in a negative way, but rather as a reason to create and raise more issues (Doven 178).  Instead of him turning events in his life to their negative effect, he twines them into a massive combination that depicts precise emotions along with his theories of life.

Poe openly expresses how everything in his heart is escaping through his mouth.  "Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken" (Poe 96). Is Poe talking about the black terror of death or is he in mourning for the soul of Lenore?  The fine line between these two emotional disasters is jagged course that protrudes on both sides of the issue.  However, it bleeds the truth through a few simple words.  He leaves no emotion unspoken  (Lastert 12).

"The Raven" is written in an attempt to bring back the unwanted past  (Sons 456).  The raven symbolizes one’s misery, which he once escaped, brought right back to his doorstep.  With Poe’s steady repetition of words, "The Raven" sends readers into a trance and makes you relive your horrors and terror. Unfortunately, the effect of this principle still holds a strong influence in families, especially when a younger family member dies. Parents are abruptly thrown into a state distress, denial, and eventually insanity. However one decides to manage a loss, never let a raven perch on his door.

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