Fly Away: Dark Romanticism in “The Raven”
“The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins?” Edgar Allan Poe (BrainyQuote). This relates to “The Raven” because the man is unsure where his lover Lenore has gone but he shouldn 't let a bird tell him she is gone forever. “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe tells of a man (protagonist) who is mourning over the loss of his Lenore; the man tries to forget by reading books in his chamber (setting) but is bothered by a rapping on his interior door. To his surprise there was no one at the door but when he opens the window a raven (antagonist) enters and only responds “Nevermore” to all of the his questions (main conflict and rising action). The man asks if he will ever say Lenore again and the raven answers with “Nevermore.” The man now very upset he tries to get the bird to leave but after quite some time he just gives in and realizes it not worth it to fight anymore (climax, falling action resolution). Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” strongly demonstrates the Dark Romanticism literary style. The narrative poem gives multiple examples of gothic traits, the fight between good versus evil, negative emotions, and general negative diction. To begin with, Poe uses many gothic traits in his piece of literature.[D:Pos] First, Poe mentions “purple curtain” (line 13).[E:Quote] Typically in reference to the gothic era purple was often a sign of power royalty, power or of noble descent.[D:Define] Next Poe makes note of a “chamber door” (line 16).[E:Quote] This example uses the gothic trait of big houses; imagine one small piece of a one hundred piece puzzle that is what a chamber door is like inside a gothic home.[D:Imagery] Another reference to color is the use of black synonymes words such as “darkness” and “ebony” (lines 25,43).[E:Quote] During the gothic times, if an object or person was described as dark then that object would look or have qualities of the dead or death-like.[D:If/Then] Fourthly, after hearing the rapping at his door the man whisperers “Lenore” (line 28,29).[E:Quote] At this point, Poe’s character is so worked up about the loss of his Lenore that the man thinks that it is her ghosts coming back to him; this a gothic element because it refers to supernatural beings.[D:Summary] To wrap up, Poe used many examples of gothic elements in “The Raven.”[D:Reposition] Continuing on, Poe shows the reader the fight between good and evil (religion).[D:Pos] To start with, Poe uses on line 47 “Night’s Plutonian shore.”[E:Quote] Plutonian is an allusion to the Roman God of the underworld (hell); this is used to associate the raven with death.[D:Description] Next, Poe recites “nepenthe” in back to back lines (lines 82,83).[E:Quote] The definition of nepenthe is a powerful mythical drug to help forget grief.[D:Define] In the context of “The Raven” the man imagines god giving him this drug to help forget about his problems; in the “Odyssey” Homer describes it in the same way.[D:Allusion] Also, Poe wrote “the distant Aidenn” (line 93).[E:Quote] Aidenn or Eden was the garden of God and the first home of Adam and Eve.[D:Allusion] So, if Aidenn (heaven) is a distant place then Lenore must be in hell.[D:If/Then] Then, Poe makes mention of angels, “It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels named Lenore” (line 94).[E:Quote] In this line Poe says that Lenore is going to hell even though she was a saint and named by the angels.[D:Summary] Ultimately, Poe uses the Dark Romanticism trait good versus evil effectively in …show more content…
Poe wrote “The Raven” with six line per stanza this is called a sestet; the poem was also wrote with an (ABCBBB) rhyme scheme. Also the rhythm and meter was a Trochaic Octameter (terameter last sentence of each stanza). “Sad soul into smiling” (line 67). This is an example of alliteration. All of these literary devices help build the dreary tone and plot. “Words - so innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them” Nathaniel Hawthorne (Dark
“The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins?” Edgar Allan Poe (BrainyQuote). This relates to “The Raven” because the man is unsure where his lover Lenore has gone but he shouldn 't let a bird tell him she is gone forever. “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe tells of a man (protagonist) who is mourning over the loss of his Lenore; the man tries to forget by reading books in his chamber (setting) but is bothered by a rapping on his interior door. To his surprise there was no one at the door but when he opens the window a raven (antagonist) enters and only responds “Nevermore” to all of the his questions (main conflict and rising action). The man asks if he will ever say Lenore again and the raven answers with “Nevermore.” The man now very upset he tries to get the bird to leave but after quite some time he just gives in and realizes it not worth it to fight anymore (climax, falling action resolution). Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” strongly demonstrates the Dark Romanticism literary style. The narrative poem gives multiple examples of gothic traits, the fight between good versus evil, negative emotions, and general negative diction. To begin with, Poe uses many gothic traits in his piece of literature.[D:Pos] First, Poe mentions “purple curtain” (line 13).[E:Quote] Typically in reference to the gothic era purple was often a sign of power royalty, power or of noble descent.[D:Define] Next Poe makes note of a “chamber door” (line 16).[E:Quote] This example uses the gothic trait of big houses; imagine one small piece of a one hundred piece puzzle that is what a chamber door is like inside a gothic home.[D:Imagery] Another reference to color is the use of black synonymes words such as “darkness” and “ebony” (lines 25,43).[E:Quote] During the gothic times, if an object or person was described as dark then that object would look or have qualities of the dead or death-like.[D:If/Then] Fourthly, after hearing the rapping at his door the man whisperers “Lenore” (line 28,29).[E:Quote] At this point, Poe’s character is so worked up about the loss of his Lenore that the man thinks that it is her ghosts coming back to him; this a gothic element because it refers to supernatural beings.[D:Summary] To wrap up, Poe used many examples of gothic elements in “The Raven.”[D:Reposition] Continuing on, Poe shows the reader the fight between good and evil (religion).[D:Pos] To start with, Poe uses on line 47 “Night’s Plutonian shore.”[E:Quote] Plutonian is an allusion to the Roman God of the underworld (hell); this is used to associate the raven with death.[D:Description] Next, Poe recites “nepenthe” in back to back lines (lines 82,83).[E:Quote] The definition of nepenthe is a powerful mythical drug to help forget grief.[D:Define] In the context of “The Raven” the man imagines god giving him this drug to help forget about his problems; in the “Odyssey” Homer describes it in the same way.[D:Allusion] Also, Poe wrote “the distant Aidenn” (line 93).[E:Quote] Aidenn or Eden was the garden of God and the first home of Adam and Eve.[D:Allusion] So, if Aidenn (heaven) is a distant place then Lenore must be in hell.[D:If/Then] Then, Poe makes mention of angels, “It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels named Lenore” (line 94).[E:Quote] In this line Poe says that Lenore is going to hell even though she was a saint and named by the angels.[D:Summary] Ultimately, Poe uses the Dark Romanticism trait good versus evil effectively in …show more content…
Poe wrote “The Raven” with six line per stanza this is called a sestet; the poem was also wrote with an (ABCBBB) rhyme scheme. Also the rhythm and meter was a Trochaic Octameter (terameter last sentence of each stanza). “Sad soul into smiling” (line 67). This is an example of alliteration. All of these literary devices help build the dreary tone and plot. “Words - so innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them” Nathaniel Hawthorne (Dark