The Raven Criticism

The Raven is a poem by Edgar Allen Poe. In the poem he is talking about a raven that has come to haunt him. He is also trying to get over his lost wife and lover, Lorene. I choose the write on the criticism, The Composition of "The Raven"
by Edgar Allen Poe. I think it is interesting that Edgar Allen Poe is writing on his own poem. It is a short criticism. It is cool because he talks about what was going through his mind when he was writing on this topic and he gives his ideas about the poem now that is it is published and finished. He talks about specific instances where he talks about certain topics in his poem. He talks about the bird. He he picked the bird, the Raven, because it is a bird of ill omen. This means that the bird, when it repeats the word nevermore at the end of each paragraph is setting a tone of melancholy (Poe). It does set a tone of melancholy. IT does because it makes the reader, being myself, realize that there is something that is going to never happen again. For example, he misses his wife and he is trying to forget her by reading books. The bird comes knocking on the door and the man thinks that it is his lost wife that had died earlier (The Raven). Poe and his example with the nevermore statement that the bird makes and the end of each stanza is important to the theme of the poem. The melancholy tone sets makes the word more important to the theme. It lets the reader know that the man is going through a tough time and a lot of inner conflict on never being able to see his beloved wife again. Poe says, in his criticism, that —"When it most closely allies itself to Beauty: the death, then, of a beautiful woman is, unquestionably, the most poetical topic in the world—and equally is it beyond doubt that the lips most suited for such topic are those of a bereaved lover." (Poe). I think this is what is the matter with the man in the poem. His beautiful love Lenore is gone and he does not know what to do with himself. It is true that love and death are the most talked about topics in poetry. They are because they are two very powerful forces. I believe when you love someone that anything is possible between those two people. I also believe that everyone is able to fall in love. This means that since almost everyone will fall in love that everyone has the spirit to write about it and express their feelings. Poets are the people that like to express how they feel about love. Death is also very powerful because never seeing someone again is a very heart rendering thing to through, especially if it is with someone that you love. Poe and his reflection on his poem is a very Strong feelings of love and death and fear.


Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Philosophy of Composition" (1846) in Edgar Allan Poe: Poetry, Tales, & Selected Essays (New York: Library of America, 1996): pp. 1378–80. Quoted as "The Composition of 'The Raven'" in Harold Bloom, ed. Edgar Allan Poe, Bloom's Major Poets. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishing, 1999. (Updated 2007.) Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= BMPEAP20&SingleRecord=True (accessed November 21, 2010).

Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Raven." Heise Online - IT-News, C't, IX, Technology Review, Telepolis. Web. 21 Nov. 2010. .