Darkness in Art
Poetry is a form of art in which language is used as an instrument of aesthetic and rhythmic qualities to evoke powerful emotions and open barriers for the reader in a deeper context. Poetry beholds deeper meaning behind every line and stanza for the reader to focus on and peel off each layer to truly understand and grasp the concept of what the poet is trying to contrive. It is an emotional and intellectual game that the reader needs to be able to decipher. One poet in particular that shows his genius throughout his work is Edgar Allen Poe.
Poe was born on January 19th, 1809, in Boston, Massachusetts. At the age of three, Poe had lost both of his parents and ended up being adopted by a man by the name of John Allen. From the …show more content…
As previously mentioned, Poe used elements of fear, gloom and horror to capture the attention of his reader. In the first line of the poem it reads, “Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary” (1), right away he introduces the darkness and the feelings of complete desolation from the speaker himself. Using the phrasing of “bleak December” (7) gives the reader a perfect visual of a cold and chilly month to set the mood for what is next to come. “The Raven” is a ballad of a nightmarish narrative of a young man who is dealing with the loss of his love, where he slowly self-destructs around a raven that only repeats “Nevermore” until the speaker disappears and wants to join his love in another world (Clifford). Two major symbols of the gothic style that Poe uses in his poem are darkness and night, specifically with “Darkness there and nothing more” (24). These symbols represent the mysterious and scary part of the story. Poe also introduces nature, something that was very common in the Renaissance era, an era in which there was a rebirth of art and helped writers of the 19th century create amazing literary works. Nature in Poe’s poem is interpreted as being quite powerful and sneaky, almost like a ghost from the underworld. The raven itself can be a symbol of death, a sinister being that does not belong on earth. In the line, “Tell me what thy loardly name is on the nights plutonian shore!”(47) …show more content…
In line 13 the reader gets a sense of the room with the curtains at the windows being “purple” and “silky”, and the cushions being “with velvet-violet lining” (77). All of this gives the reader the image of an extravagant look, but Poe does not fail to put the gloom in the room with phrases such as “lamp light gloating” (77) adding darkness into his poem. Throughout the poem Lenore is the focus of the speaker’s obsession. The reader does not get a clear visual description of how she looks like and who exactly she is. Right away in the poem Lenore is mentioned, “sorrow for the lost Lenore/For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore” (10-11). The reader can automatically imagine that she has passed away since only the angels themselves know her name now. The use of the word “radiant” also makes the reader imagine Lenore as being part of the angels, glowing bright and watching over the speaker. Poe also uses alliteration in these line when he says “rare and radiant”(11) which he used throughout the entire poem. His use of alliteration in the poem embodies beauty but also casts the darkness in his work, showing his style that was so much different than the Renaissance that embodied life and happiness. At one point the reader can see the speakers desperation in this specific line, “Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe and
Poetry is a form of art in which language is used as an instrument of aesthetic and rhythmic qualities to evoke powerful emotions and open barriers for the reader in a deeper context. Poetry beholds deeper meaning behind every line and stanza for the reader to focus on and peel off each layer to truly understand and grasp the concept of what the poet is trying to contrive. It is an emotional and intellectual game that the reader needs to be able to decipher. One poet in particular that shows his genius throughout his work is Edgar Allen Poe.
Poe was born on January 19th, 1809, in Boston, Massachusetts. At the age of three, Poe had lost both of his parents and ended up being adopted by a man by the name of John Allen. From the …show more content…
As previously mentioned, Poe used elements of fear, gloom and horror to capture the attention of his reader. In the first line of the poem it reads, “Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary” (1), right away he introduces the darkness and the feelings of complete desolation from the speaker himself. Using the phrasing of “bleak December” (7) gives the reader a perfect visual of a cold and chilly month to set the mood for what is next to come. “The Raven” is a ballad of a nightmarish narrative of a young man who is dealing with the loss of his love, where he slowly self-destructs around a raven that only repeats “Nevermore” until the speaker disappears and wants to join his love in another world (Clifford). Two major symbols of the gothic style that Poe uses in his poem are darkness and night, specifically with “Darkness there and nothing more” (24). These symbols represent the mysterious and scary part of the story. Poe also introduces nature, something that was very common in the Renaissance era, an era in which there was a rebirth of art and helped writers of the 19th century create amazing literary works. Nature in Poe’s poem is interpreted as being quite powerful and sneaky, almost like a ghost from the underworld. The raven itself can be a symbol of death, a sinister being that does not belong on earth. In the line, “Tell me what thy loardly name is on the nights plutonian shore!”(47) …show more content…
In line 13 the reader gets a sense of the room with the curtains at the windows being “purple” and “silky”, and the cushions being “with velvet-violet lining” (77). All of this gives the reader the image of an extravagant look, but Poe does not fail to put the gloom in the room with phrases such as “lamp light gloating” (77) adding darkness into his poem. Throughout the poem Lenore is the focus of the speaker’s obsession. The reader does not get a clear visual description of how she looks like and who exactly she is. Right away in the poem Lenore is mentioned, “sorrow for the lost Lenore/For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore” (10-11). The reader can automatically imagine that she has passed away since only the angels themselves know her name now. The use of the word “radiant” also makes the reader imagine Lenore as being part of the angels, glowing bright and watching over the speaker. Poe also uses alliteration in these line when he says “rare and radiant”(11) which he used throughout the entire poem. His use of alliteration in the poem embodies beauty but also casts the darkness in his work, showing his style that was so much different than the Renaissance that embodied life and happiness. At one point the reader can see the speakers desperation in this specific line, “Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe and