Construct of “The Raven” and Poe’s Self Criticism: Observation on his style. One of the most well-known writers of short stories and detective novels focused on romanticism was Edgar Allan Poe. He was one of the first Americans to make an impact in the literary world and his work is famous for being dark and depressing. It is through his poetry and stories that we gaze into the impossible and into ourselves, his work allows for psychological analysis and development not possible otherwise. One of his most prominent works (if not the most famous) is his poem “The Raven” notorious for its dark and daunting tone. This poem created from Poe’s sorrow deals with death, beauty and tragedy or as Poe himself regarded it “The death of a beautiful woman”.
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Do not misinterpret me for his ability to speak places him in a special position above all others, but in the end he simply seeks shelter. It is the narrator with his heightened senses and fear of the future that bring meaning voice to the raven. The raven can only say one word “Nevermore” and it’s the narrator’s questions who are tailored to receive this answer that give him meaning. As I mentioned before the human mind can often betray us when we are destressed and the loss of his wife coupled with this strange event could only lead to this outcome. And while it might seem a little insane to speak to a raven outside of the context of this poem, it is with no doubt that the raven manages to some closure to the afflicted narrator. The closure is not comforting and in fact is more depressing, but after all, it’s the outcome of the narrator’s inquiry. All these factors together are part of the poem, and while not mentioned by Poe they still work to create the final effect of “The Raven”. Poe makes no mention of these components, but we must remember not all is immediately visible and maybe he wished for his reader to find them by themselves. If so it just proves why the raven is so meaningful, it holds meaning in reading and interpretation, just as poetry
Do not misinterpret me for his ability to speak places him in a special position above all others, but in the end he simply seeks shelter. It is the narrator with his heightened senses and fear of the future that bring meaning voice to the raven. The raven can only say one word “Nevermore” and it’s the narrator’s questions who are tailored to receive this answer that give him meaning. As I mentioned before the human mind can often betray us when we are destressed and the loss of his wife coupled with this strange event could only lead to this outcome. And while it might seem a little insane to speak to a raven outside of the context of this poem, it is with no doubt that the raven manages to some closure to the afflicted narrator. The closure is not comforting and in fact is more depressing, but after all, it’s the outcome of the narrator’s inquiry. All these factors together are part of the poem, and while not mentioned by Poe they still work to create the final effect of “The Raven”. Poe makes no mention of these components, but we must remember not all is immediately visible and maybe he wished for his reader to find them by themselves. If so it just proves why the raven is so meaningful, it holds meaning in reading and interpretation, just as poetry