The Raven Mysticism

Many important events were occurring during the 1800’s, in both the world and in literature. From the 1800 to 1850 was the height of the Romantic Era. During this time, there were many social problems that influenced numerous writers. Tuberculosis was a common disease that spread rapidly due to the Industrial Revolution,along with poverty.This disease took countless lives in England, including the women in Edgar Allan Poe’s life. Edgar Allan Poe's "the Raven" portrays the narrator's state of mourning as influenced by elements of mysticism and the Romantic era. Throughout his life, Poe experienced several tragedies that would influence him greatly. Edgar Allan Poe was born in 1809 to David and Elizabeth Poe. Only two years later, he …show more content…
A primary theme in Poe's The Raven is love. The poem itself is about a man grieving the loss of his lover.The use of “Nevermore” increases the narrator’s feelings of loss because the narrator continues to ask the raven questions knowing what the answer will be (Poe, 1845). Like the narrator, Poe experienced the loss of a loved one. It is possible that Poe may have written the poem about Virginia, as it was published two years before her death. Other themes seen in his works are madness and horror. Poe's characters often faced the horror that is the loss of a loved one and the loneliness that follows. Poe's style of writing demonstrates mental instability, while entertaining readers.Themes of death and horror connected Poe`s literary career to experiences which Poe encountered. By using "emphasis and rhetorical devices “Poe was able to write grueling tales"(johnson,2010) Poe emphasized his own experiences by implicating them within is infamous poem. "Reading places The Raven as solid psychological poem` in which the speaker manages to betray his own mental instability as the cause of terrors that lead to his ultimate loss of …show more content…
Poe went through extensive thought while trying to determine the “length, the province, and the tone” of the poem(Sisler,2004). Poe tries to make the reader gain pleasure while reading by using repetition of words. One of the major driving points in his Gothic style was is constant usage of common Gothic elements such as death, illness, hopelessness and evil. “Thing of evil- prophet still, if bird or devil” is one line found within ‘The Raven’, demonstrating Poe’s Romantic self, stating that he was truly within his own