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What Does The Raven Symbolize

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The Raven “The Raven” is a poem written in the 1800’s by Edgar Allan Poe. The setting pulls the reader into a heavy, dark ambience: the fire had “dying embers” and the only light was a single lamp. “Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December, / And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor. / Eagerly I wished the morrow;—vainly I had sought to borrow. / From my books surcease of sorrow—sorrow for the lost Lenore…” (Poe, lines 7-10) The poem is brimming with symbolism and feelings of deep mourning. The embers are a metaphor for the life that was lost and the fate of the narrator. When the raven appears it is described as “grim” perhaps leading the reader to believe that the Raven symbolizes a bad omen. The Raven has an overwhelmingly sad tone with repetition of the words “evermore” …show more content…

Internally the narrator knows that Lenore is gone forever, a concept that he is unable to accept and drives him into a deep loneliness, “Other friends have flown before— / On the morrow he will leave me, as my Hopes have flown before” (Poe, lines 58-59). Since birds are not capable of speech, the fact that the raven is speaking at all shows that the raven is a figment of the narrator's fantasy world. The raven is questioned about Lenore and its only response is “nevermore” because nothing is going to change the fact that Lenore has died and the reality that she is never coming back, " Quoth the raven "nevermore"” (Poe, line 48). The repetitive “nevermore” response gives insight to the narrator's madness. The narrator is depressed and struggling with loss so much so that he feels hopeless and terrified. The darkness represents the emptiness he lives with as he yearns for Lenore, and soon it is revealed that the narrator is hearing and seeing things that are not present in reality."deep into that darkness peering... and echo murmured back the word "Lenore!" (Poe, lines

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