Summary Of Poe's The Raven

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Would it be relieving to have a reminder of your late loved one(s) for every second of every day? Or would it be rather aggravating; having to relive that moment over and over again? “The Raven,” written by Edgar Allan Poe is a very popular gothic literature piece. Having to deal with his long lost love, the speaker is taunted by this raven who mysteriously appeared one dark and dreary night outside his chamber window. The speaker is reminded of his long lost love, Lenore, by the raven showing up. A lot of people now-a-days refer back to this piece to help them understand loss, and heartbreak. Many writers use birds as symbols of hope, freedom, and light, but Poe on the other hand, uses the raven as a reminder or a memory of the speaker’s long …show more content…

He loudly blurts out, “leave my loneliness unbroken!-quit the bust above my door! Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!” (100-101). The speaker wants the raven to leave. He wants it to get off his chamber door, stop saying nevermore, and actually give him some answers. The speaker asked the raven, “is there balm in Gilead [a healing ointment made in ancient Palestine]?” (89). Is there a medicine made for a broken heart is what he is actually asking the raven. In other words, the speaker is still heartbroken and wants to feel better. At this point we know that the raven reminds the speaker of Lenore. Towards the middle of the poem, as the readers, we get sort of this sad feeling. The speaker is thinking to himself, “on the morrow he [the raven] will leave me, as my Hopes have flown before” (59). If you noticed, the word hope is capitalized. This could conclude that this kind of hope refers to his other losses or Lenore. The raven will leave him tomorrow, and his hope that Lenore is still actually here will be gone. He had this kind of hope before, and it was never real. This thinking causes him to have more of a heartbreak and the thought of losing Lenore all over again, which is not a pleasant