The Raven

"The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe is a famous piece of poetry that portrays a scene of a man's life who is mourning his lost one, Lenore.  It is a story that delves deep into his emotions and how those emotions cannot rest.  Not only does Poe demonstrate the affects of losing a loved one, but the way he acknowledges it is powerful.

The story takes place on a December night in an old study from the perspective of a depressed and maddened man.  As he is falling asleep, he hears a tapping at his chamber door... but there was no one there.  He then hears another tapping from his window lattice, and as he opened it, a raven came into his chamber and rested on his chamber door.  As the raven rested there, the man wondered what this grim bird was doing in his chamber.  Suddenly, the raven spoke, saying, "Nevermore".  Was that the name of the bird?  Did his master teach the bird this one word and nothing else?

The man was confused by the raven and threw a chair cushion toward him, but failed in the quest of making the bird move.  The thought of why the raven kept saying "nevermore"whirled around in his head with no conclusion rising.  Then he suddenly realizes that the raven was speaking of his lost Lenore.  As his heart ached for his lost Lenore, he cried out to God for deliverance from the memories of his beloved.  Was the raven from God or the devil?  The man begs for answers but only receives one, "nevermore".  Finally, the man doesn't care to get answers, he just wants for the raven to leave and let him wallow in peace.  He then notices the shadows on the floor, one of the raven, and the other... of his soul.  His soul that was to be lifted "nevermore".

I feel that this poem can be interpreted many different ways.  This man obviously was depressed about losing his Lenore and I think made himself go crazy, which questions if this whole scene was real or an illusion.  The fact that there consists of a raven that randomly flies into a chamber, doesn't move, and repeats "nevermore" without the command of a master, makes me feel that it was a scene that all took place in this man's head as he thought about his lost Lenore and his lonely soul.

I think the biggest thing that I have taken away from examining this poem is how a story can be told so vividly and express raw emotion so powerfully through poetry.  Poetry has never been "my cup of tea", but I can't help but appreciate the beauty of this poem, from the wonderful rhym-scheming to the depth of character that Poe gives the man.