Poe

= = Home | Hawthorne | Melville | Poe = Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven = One of Poe's most well known works was his poem The Raven, which has been interpreted in almost every way possible. From YouTube videos to television shows this poem has definitely been one to entertain. The poem is like most all of Poe’s story, dark and depressing, focusing on the death of a woman in the narrator’s life. Lenore, the narrator’s lover, has passed on because of unknown reasons we as readers will never know, however the narrator has yet to let go of the mourning of his dearest loves death. Many of his stories follow the same theme, one of despair, influenced by Poe’s past greatly. After losing bother his father and mother at a young age, then again losing his wife Virginia he went through more than most at his age. Not to mention his lifelong struggle with depression and alcoholism, his stories never possessed a happy ending like those of many writers during his time.

 The Raven is a great poem and symbol of Poe’s works, because most would consider a raven a bird that would be related to death. With its black feathers and crow like features, this bird possesses nothing close to a sign of happiness. The narrator in the poem is struggling with the death of his wife, however when this bird comes “tapping” his mind immediately things of Lenore and how this may be a sign from her. Opening the door he sees no one there, however when the tapping returns on the window he finds the Raven sitting on the ledge. Like some birds, this raven has learned the word “nevermore” from either a previous owner or on the street perhaps. The narrator is aware of birds with the talent to do this yet when he begins asking the raven questions that he already knows the answer to, his sadness, drug addiction and depression have led him to near insanity. He then begins thinking that this bird possesses some type of prophecy abilities and begins asking him more questions, even some of his dear Lenore. Whether it is his addiction to opium or his overwhelming emotions from the loss of his wife, the narrator has let this small bird drive him almost totally mad.



The American Dream, a theme we have discussed heavily in class, is far from what Poe or the narrator of The Raven had accomplished to have. I believe that after all of the struggles that Poe went through throughout his entire life he never wanted any of his characters to possess the ability to achieve The American Dream. Many critics have even said that Poe’s use of first person narration is a way for him to put himself into all of his stories. We talk about one's hopes of achieving their own impression of the American Dream in class, however when I read all of Poe's pieces that we were assigned I saw nothing more than a failed attempt at achieving one's American Dream in almost every one of his narrators.

Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts on January 19, 1809. His parents were both actors, however they died when Poe was only three years old. He spent the majority of his life with his foster parents, John and Frances Allan, in Richmond, Virginia. He attended an elite boarding school and later attended the University of Virginia. After leaving college because of John Allan's refusal to pay of gambling debts Poe joined the Westpoint Military Academy. He was forced to leave there as well due to lack of funds. All of these disappointments and heartache is what many believe to be the cause of Poe's dark and depressing writing styles. Those only being in early life, he later lost his wife Virginia and fell to an addiction to alcohol. Poe's life was nothing close to wonderful, however he is now remembered as one of the first American writers to become a major figure in world literature.


 * Sources:**
 * 1) =====  The Poetry of Edgar Allan Poe.  // Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism. //  Ed. Lynn M. Zott.   Vol. 117.   Detroit:   Gale,   2003.   Word Count: 1525.   From  // Literature Resource Center //  .  =====
 * 2) Poe, Edgar Allan. // The Complete Tales of Mystery and Imagination ; The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym ; The Raven and Other Poems //. London: Octopus, 1981. Print.
 * 3) // Poe's Life //. Web. 02 May 2011. .
 * 4) Web. .