In the poem The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe, figurative language is used to emphasize and intensify the growing emotions of the narrator. To the narrator, the raven symbolizes bad fortune. Moreover, the raven is black and black can represent death or evil. Poe twists the bird into a controlling being who torments him over the death of a loved one and he is able to enhance that effect with the use of metaphors. The use of metaphors in this poem adds an eerie background to the bird and adds quality to the writing.One example of a metaphor being used in The Raven is, “‘Prophet!" said I, "thing of evil! - prophet still, if bird or devil,’” (Poe). This metaphor compares the bird to a prophet who gets under his skin. In this line, it is apparent that