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Poe's Poetic Imagery In "The Raven" - Papers

Poe's Poetic Imagery In "The Raven"

Edgar Alan Poe's "The Raven" (1845) tells the tale of a man lamenting his deceased mistress, Lenore. Through symbolism, and poetic language, Poe creates imagery, which takes us on a haunting journey. As narration begins, it is a late evening on a dreary night in December; a raven startles a melancholy man and repeatedly answers his questions about Lenore with the word, "Nevermore."
The most obvious symbol is, of course, the raven itself. The raven symbolizes a bird of ill omen. The only word uttered by the bird is "Nevermore." The fact that the man continues to ask the raven questions already knowing the response illustrates the self-torture to which he exposes himself.
Another ...

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verse. Both midnight and December symbolize an end of something, and the anticipation of a transition to occur. The midnight in December could possibly be New Year's eve, a date with which most connect transition.

With Poe's extensive vocabulary, he is qualified to bestow an ancient and poetic language in "The Raven" which eloquently depicts a surreal yet romantic picture of a man spending an evening in his chamber. The word "Seraphim" in the fourteenth verse, "perfumed by an unseen censer / Swung by a seraphim whose footfalls tinkled on the tufted floor" describes the way a scent spreads swiftly through a room. A seraphim is one of the angles that surround the throne of God. "Nephente," from the same verse is a potion supposed by ancient Greek to obtain forgetfulness of sorrow. "Balm in Gilead," from verse fifteen is a soothing balm made in Gilead, a mountainous region of Palestine east of the Jordan River. "Aidenn," from verse sixteen is an Arabic word for paradise. In ...

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Poe's Poetic Imagery In "The Raven". (2004, December 17). Retrieved January 22, 2025, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Poes-Poetic-Imagery-In-The-Raven/19113

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"Poe's Poetic Imagery In "The Raven"." Essayworld.com. December 17, 2004. Accessed January 22, 2025. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Poes-Poetic-Imagery-In-The-Raven/19113.

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PAPER DETAILS

Added: 12/17/2004 05:32:52 AM
Category: Poetry & Poets
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 571
Pages: 3

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