Literary Analysis Of The Raven By Edgar Allan Poe

831 words - 4 pages

U2A6 Robert Desjardine

Literary Analysis
of

The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe
The Poem I believe to be the best ever written is “ The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe. This poem was a sensation when published in 1845, and it continues to stir the same emotion in readers today as it did then. His use of several poetic devices in precise locations creates a dark sing-song rhythm to the poem. These include meter, alliteration, repetition, simile, personification, among many others. Each flowing so that it all draws in the reader and makes the tale come alive in the minds eye.

The poem is about a man sitting alone in his chamber falling asleep in a book trying to forget about his deceased love, ...view middle of the document...

When a line contains eight trochee feet it is called a trochaic octameter. The repeating structure of the trochaic octameter makes the reader almost chant each line, bringing out the feelings of nervousness and distress felt by the protagonist. The sixth and final line of each stanza provides an excellent almost conclusive transition to the next stanza. The difference in this sixth line is in the pairs of trochee feet, there is only four, making it a trochaic tetrameter.

The use of alliteration is fairly heavy in “The Raven” it provides excellent rhythm to the poem and adds significantly to the musical feel of the poem. This gives the reader another window into the madness the protagonist begins to feel, “ Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortals ever dared to dream before” ( line 26, The Raven, Poe). Line 26 is a great example of alliteration with five of the ten words in it beginning with the letter d.

Repetition or refrain is a major player in this poem with almost every stanza containing nevermore and examples like lines four and five, in which many words repeat. The line “Quoth the raven: Nevermore” (Lines 48, 84,90,96,102, The Raven, Poe) is used a lot through the poem, as all the raven can say is nevermore. This reuse of the line drives the protagonist mad but also helps...

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