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Jeff Petersik
Mr. Tatge
American Literature
18 December 2002
The Raven: A Melancholy Masterpiece
Time has not been kind to Edgar Allen Poe, partly because he is now dead, and chiefly because his works have failed to stand the test of modern literary perspectives. What measure of interest remains in Poe stems not from what his poetry and fiction tell us of an irrelevant past, but from the light they shed on a modern enlightened society.
The Raven, one of Poe’s most brilliant writing expresses some of his deepest emotions. Keep in mind that Poe was the son of the wealthy industrialist Allen Poe, who had sent the young Edgar to the finest schools and military academies, indoctrinating him in the popular mindset appropriate to the military-industrialist workplace. Armed with the tools of an elitist education, Poe set out to create authentic voices while parroting the ideology of the ruling moneyed class.
The first stanza of The Raven sets the scene. It was a dreary evening and the narrator was growing tired. During this time he is dreaming of lost memories and love. The entire basis for the poem is set up in the first two lines.
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore—
Much of the melody of "The Raven" arises from alliteration, and the studious use of similar sounds in unusual places. The use of a trochaic rhythm enhances the mood and feeling. Poe continues his ambiance of dreariness and eerie cautiousness by further enhancing the scenery throughout lines 7-36. In line 38 Poe introduces a new “character” into his somber drama.
Open here I flung the shutter when with many a flirt and flutter,
In there stepped a stately Raven of the saintly days of yore—
The Raven immediately becomes the focal point of the entire drama. Everything that occurs from this point on is directly tied to the narrator’s actions with the “bird.”
This Raven is not a bird, but it is something much more horrifying to the narrator. It is a reminder that hope is lost. He will never find rest or peace. There is no solace. All that the narrator once had is gone. All that remains is empty nothingness. Poe’s embodiment of the emotional state and spirit of the individual hooks the reader. The character shall never find peace for it lives, nevermore.
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