Romanticism and Gothicism is a subgenre that focuses on important writers such as Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, and Edgar Allan Poe. Romanticism is a type of literature or art during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries that highlighted the passions and emotions of the time. Gothicism is the use or imitation of the gothic style. This can be taken from the gothic style of architecture, literature, or art. Edgar Allan Poe wrote “The Raven,” which is his best-known poem. In that poem, Poe uses lots of symbolism, sound devices, and character analysis.
There are many symbols found in “The Raven.” The three biggest and most important symbols are Lenore, the raven and the phrase “Nights Plutonian Shore.” Lenore is an unknown character that the narrator seems obsessed with. The narrator speaks so much about her calling her “sainted.” Lenore takes on the symbol of what the narrator thinks is a perfect woman. Therefore, she stops being human and becomes like a heavenly saint. The raven symbolizes darkness and later on death because it is a reminder that all people will eventually die. “Is there—is there balm in Gilead? -tell me—tell me, I implore!” Quoth the Raven, “Nevermore” (Poe 89).
The narrator is starting to believe what the raven is saying. The constant repeating of the word Nevermore” causes the narrator to realize the inability to escape his final fate. “Nights Plutonian Shore” is a phrase with three words that symbolize three parts. The Night represents the darkness and terrifying power of nature. The Plutonian represents the Roman god of the underworld and is associated with death and darkness. The shore is a symbol of the night as a huge ocean. “Get thee back into the tempest and the Night’s Plutonian shore!” (Poe 98). The narrator clearly is saying that the bird needs to be gone. The way the narrator has become so worked up over this gives the reader the sense of how frightening and intimidating this Plutonian Night truly is.
Throughout Poe’s poem he uses many different sound devices to make it more interesting to the reader. “Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary…” (Poe 1). The “weak and weary” is a form of alliteration. Alliteration is the repetition of the same letter or sound at the start of words that are closely connected. “Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter…” (Poe 37).
This is an example of onomatopoeia. Onomatopoeia is the formation of a word by imitation of the natural sound it makes. “Eagerly I wished the morrow; –vainly I had sought to borrow…” (Poe 9). This line is representative of an internal rhyme. An internal rhyme includes a rhyme with the word in the middle of the line and another at the end of the line. All of these sound devices are used as a way to give the poem a musical rhythm when read out loud.
There are three main characters in Edgar Allan Poe’s, “The Raven.” Lenore is a character that is only learned about through the mentioning’s of the narrator. She is the departed love of the narrator. Her death has caused the raven to appear. The narrator is a sorrowful man due to the death of his love Lenore. “From my books surcease of sorrow…” (Poe 10). He spends most of his time in his chamber, reading books and not wanting to see or speak to anyone.
The raven represents a mysterious being from the underworld bringing bad news to the main character, the narrator. The raven comes to stay because the narrator is not able to let go of the memory of Lenore. Even though the raven does not say anything other than “Nevermore,” it becomes clear throughout the poem that it symbolizes the grief of the narrator. The narrator comes to learn that the sorrow the death of a love one brings will stay with him forever and she will return “nevermore.” This sorrow is represented by the raven itself.
In the poem, “The Raven,” Poe used symbolism, sound devices, and character analysis. This was the most well known poem written by Poe a major figure in American literature. He was a very important writer in the Romanticism and Gothicism time along with Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman Melville. Romanticism is a type of literature that primarily focused on passion and emotions. Gothicism incorporates the Gothic style of literature, architecture, and art.
In “The Raven,” Edgar Allan Poe included three different characters to explain his interpretation of death. He is able to do this with his very original imagination, dramatic qualities and clever use of language. Poe was able to illustrate the strong impact that the death of a loved one has on the people left behind.
