Edgar Allan Poe, Annabel Lee, And The Raven

The Life and Works of Edgar Allan Poe The ideas and subjects expressed in Edgar Allan Poe’s works are a reflection of his life and times. Poe was an author and poet who was primarily active in the mid 1800’s. Infamous for writing grueling horror stories, he composed classics such as “The Tell Tale Heart,” “Annabel Lee,” and “The Raven.” For a majority of his life he lived in poverty and was heavily influenced by alcohol after the death of his young wife, Virginia (Poemuseum 1). His health plummeted at various points of his life, driving him to the brink of insanity (Ebsco 1). Such factors are often portrayed in his writings. “The Tell Tale Heart” depicts the story of an individual crazed by the eye of an old man. Maddened, he murders the

He implores the raven to discuss its business being there, only to receive the response “Nevermore” each time (Poetryfound 1). He believes the raven is a symbol of death, representinghis lost lover, Lenore. Once again, Virginia influenced the story, seen when then the narrator says, “Get thee back into the tempest and the Night’s Plutonian shore...” (Poetryfound 1). In this quote, the narrator entreats the Raven to return to the “Plutonian shore,” a reference to the god of the underworld (Ebsco 1). Essentially, he is asking the raven to return to a state of death. Evidentently, he views the raven as a sign of death, moreover the sign of Lenore’s death, or in Poe’s life, Virginia’s death. Poe may have used the death of Lenore and the raven to express the pain he feels of his memory, and that he too wants the memories and insanity provoked from her death to return to where she is: in the afterworld. Additionally, the beginning of the story the narrator describes himself to be drinking a “nepenthe” in attempt to forget the loss of his love. Poe had a history of being an alcoholic, as he was influenced by family members and took up the habit himself; the death of Virginia worsened this habit, just as it had in the poem (Ebsco 1).
Evidently, the element of death is a recurring theme in Poe’s works— especially the death of a loved one, such as Virginia. Another redundant theme is insanity, seen