“Lenore”
Edgar Allan Poe Have you ever lost someone whom you loved? For Edgar Allan Poe, it was an all too common event. The spread of tuberculosis killed his mother, adoptive mother, and wife, all at different times in his life. However, Poe’s “Lenore” perhaps most clearly states his emotions after his love, Virginia Clemm, was sentenced to death by consumption. This poem describes how she was beautiful and angelic, even on her journey to Heaven. In “Lenore”, Poe uses many literary devices including allusion, extensive hyperbole, and clear rhyme to depict a mournful theme of undying love that has broken his heart. First of all, Poe uses allusion many times throughout “Lenore”, Since the poem is based on Virginia Clemm and her death, along with the deaths of Frances Allan and Eliza Poe, references to Guy De Vere and the Stygian River help to make imagery. “A saintly soul floats on the Stygian River,” Poe states (stanza 1, line 2). This line describes Lenore as a kind soul and that proves how much he loved her. “‘Stygian’ comes to us from ‘Styx,’ the name of the principal river in Hades, the underworld of the dead in Greek mythology,” and this creates imagery and shows that the narrator is in despair from lost love (Merriam-Webster.com). There is imagery of darkness and Lenore going to …show more content…
He had a very troubled life, and hyperbole enabled enabled Poe to get his emotions across in his writings. “His life, however, has become a bit of mystery itself,” Biography.com states, describing Poe’s later years and death. Hyperbole made it extremely clear that he was depressed and in despair after Lenore, or Virginia Clemm, had contracted consumption, or tuberculosis. He knew that she was going to die. Poe exaggerates his sadness throughout the entire poem, once again establishing the theme of undying love. It is made clear that his heart is broken and that he will never stop loving
Edgar Allan Poe Have you ever lost someone whom you loved? For Edgar Allan Poe, it was an all too common event. The spread of tuberculosis killed his mother, adoptive mother, and wife, all at different times in his life. However, Poe’s “Lenore” perhaps most clearly states his emotions after his love, Virginia Clemm, was sentenced to death by consumption. This poem describes how she was beautiful and angelic, even on her journey to Heaven. In “Lenore”, Poe uses many literary devices including allusion, extensive hyperbole, and clear rhyme to depict a mournful theme of undying love that has broken his heart. First of all, Poe uses allusion many times throughout “Lenore”, Since the poem is based on Virginia Clemm and her death, along with the deaths of Frances Allan and Eliza Poe, references to Guy De Vere and the Stygian River help to make imagery. “A saintly soul floats on the Stygian River,” Poe states (stanza 1, line 2). This line describes Lenore as a kind soul and that proves how much he loved her. “‘Stygian’ comes to us from ‘Styx,’ the name of the principal river in Hades, the underworld of the dead in Greek mythology,” and this creates imagery and shows that the narrator is in despair from lost love (Merriam-Webster.com). There is imagery of darkness and Lenore going to …show more content…
He had a very troubled life, and hyperbole enabled enabled Poe to get his emotions across in his writings. “His life, however, has become a bit of mystery itself,” Biography.com states, describing Poe’s later years and death. Hyperbole made it extremely clear that he was depressed and in despair after Lenore, or Virginia Clemm, had contracted consumption, or tuberculosis. He knew that she was going to die. Poe exaggerates his sadness throughout the entire poem, once again establishing the theme of undying love. It is made clear that his heart is broken and that he will never stop loving