Religious Allusions In The Raven

Edgar Allan Poe’s work has been admired for centuries. One of his most famous works, The Raven is one many people gravitate towards. This 108 line poem consists of assonance and religious allusions to contrast many different types of religion including Christianity and Hellenism. This gives the audience an inside view on Poe’s religious views, or lack thereof. Poe starts off this poem with assonance when he uses the terms “dreary,” “weak and weary.” This assonance begins the poem by setting the scene. We are able to interpret that the unnamed narrator is in a terrible mood, is fearful, and his anxiety is skyrocketing. This is set at midnight, which gives a feeling of uneasiness. These dark terms are emphasized by the assonance to give the

The speaker’s relationship with his “lost Lenore,” seems to be an unexpected one. Lenore is referred to as an angel, while the narrator is surrounded by ghosts and evil feelings. The feeling of terror which was felt when the narrator opened the door to find “darkness there and nothing more,” could have been reduced had a light been nearby to illuminate the hallway, but the importance of the darkness shows the audience that the lack of religion and prayers of the narrator are taking a toll on him, as the seemingly lack of religious beliefs Poe had also affected his life. Not only did Poe allude to the evil aspects of religions in this poem, but he also threw in a few allusions that make the audience question what Poe’s beliefs truly were. Poe alludes to the Hellenistic story of Pallas Athena in line 41, the narrator points out that this Raven is “perched upon a bust of Pallas,” Poe specifically chose Pallas because she and Lenore relate to each other in the ways that the two of them will only live on in their names. This connection between the goddess and the significant other shows that Poe is not oblivious to Hellenism. Another