Symbolism In The Raven

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The Raven as a Symbol of Emotional Denouement and the Permanence of Death

For a poem that focuses on some of the most surreal and supernatural themes of Western literature, The Raven, by Edgar Allan Poe, holds a suprisingly taut tension between normalcy and the otherworldly. Recognized for its lyrical brilliance and iconically eerie narrative, the poem is well known for its creepy mood and simple but compelling storyline. The story is by now famous: an unamed narrator, alone late at night in his study, is dwelling on the death of the woman Lenore when a raven enters through the window and gives its famous proclamation. But as we examine this piece more closely, we can observe some strange psychological facts about the narrator. For example, …show more content…
For example, the description of the purple curtains in the stanza three, or the nervous excuses made to the supposed visitor at the door. Even as the narrator apologizes for not hearing his "visitor", it is clear he is not expecting any such person. In stanza five, we see a break in this facade as the door is opened the the narrator whispers to the darkness the name of his lover: "And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, 'Lenore?' / This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, 'Lenore!'" (Poe, 1) In trying feverishly to keep up a calm demeanor, whilst still avoiding the thought of Lenore, the narrator finds himself thinking or her all the more. Here it escapes him, and we see self-recognition in his grief and horror. In the very next stanza, however, it is gone, and our narrator is busying himself with checking the window for the source of the tapping. And in steps the Raven. At first, it is an anticlimactic moment. Stanza eight reveals in the narrator a kind of feverish relief. In fact, the whimsy and novelty of the Raven act as a temporary dolorifuge, a reprieve from his sorrowful and isolated emotional state. The narrator smiles. Then, the Raven issues his famous line – his only line – and squawks out
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