Edgar Allan Poe was renowned for writing incredible poems, full of darkness and mystery that horrified and shocked the people of his era, and what might be the most famous of his poems, “The Raven” was full of symbolism from his life. The raven itself, the setting, and the lost maiden he speaks of, Lenore, are all brimming with symbolism. The raven, which flies through the narrator’s window, symbolized many things such as death and grief, and it seems to be driving the narrator mad with grief and sorrow for the lost Lenore. With the line, “Take thy beak out from my heart, and take thy form from off my door!” it appears that the raven being there and reminding the narrator that he will never be reunited with Lenore is hurting him so much it
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The month it took place in was very grim. The lines, “Once upon a midnight dreary…” which is the first line in the poem, and “Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December.” Set the setting that the poem took place in, and it was very fitting for a dark poem like this one. December is the coldest month of the year. It’s considered to be a “dead month” with no harvests and low supplies of food. Not to mention that Poe’s mother died in December. It’s also the darkest time of the year and death is commonly associated with it. The whole month is very depressing overall. The month wasn’t the only dark and depressing thing in this poem, references to Lenore, or the narrator’s lost love were also everywhere and disheartening. Lenore was the maiden that the narrator lost before the poem took place. It has been debated whether Lenore was meant to symbolize Poe’s mother or his wife Virginia. What is known, however, was that the narrator loved her. This is enforced with lines like, “Respite -- respite and nepenthe from thy memories of Lenore; Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore.” She was an angel to the narrator, and it shows in this poem, he wants to drink just to forget her and be without the constant pain of her
The month it took place in was very grim. The lines, “Once upon a midnight dreary…” which is the first line in the poem, and “Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December.” Set the setting that the poem took place in, and it was very fitting for a dark poem like this one. December is the coldest month of the year. It’s considered to be a “dead month” with no harvests and low supplies of food. Not to mention that Poe’s mother died in December. It’s also the darkest time of the year and death is commonly associated with it. The whole month is very depressing overall. The month wasn’t the only dark and depressing thing in this poem, references to Lenore, or the narrator’s lost love were also everywhere and disheartening. Lenore was the maiden that the narrator lost before the poem took place. It has been debated whether Lenore was meant to symbolize Poe’s mother or his wife Virginia. What is known, however, was that the narrator loved her. This is enforced with lines like, “Respite -- respite and nepenthe from thy memories of Lenore; Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore.” She was an angel to the narrator, and it shows in this poem, he wants to drink just to forget her and be without the constant pain of her