Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven” is an eerie and sinister poem because of its dark nature. This poem uses an experience that is understood by many people----- the death of a loved one. Poe uses poetic devices to show the reader just how much grief one could feel by losing a loved one, or just how crazy someone could become because of this grief. This poem features a mysterious raven who repeats the word “Nevermore,” over and over again to a man who has been struck with sadness and grief over the death of his love, Lenore.
Poe’s literary device that he favors in this poem is symbolism. The most obvious form of symbolism is the raven. The raven itself symbolizes death. As the poem progresses, the reader starts to see the narrator go from thinking the raven is a foolish bird speaking total nonsense, to being scared out of his mind by the bird. It is shown when “Once the bird enters his chambers, nothing really changes except the speaker’s attitude, which grows increasingly nervous.” (Bolden, 206). Since he
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He uses allusion in the line; “Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore" (Poe 47). This is an allusion that refers to the greek god Pluto. In Greece, Pluto is the god of the underworld. The underworld, which is also known as hell in the bible or Hades in Rome, is dark (Columbia). This darkness can also be a metaphor for the dark thoughts of death flowing through the speaker’s mind and the raven. The word “shore” can also be a reference to link between the planet Earth and the underworld, known as the River of Styx. In Greek mythology, the River of Styx is used to carry dead and recently deceased souls from Earth or where they died, and transport them to the underworld (Wiki). This process was done by the ferryman, who was named Charon. This reference makes sense to the poem, as the speaker is tormented by internal pain from both the raven and the death of