THE RAVEN

The rhyme scheme used by Poe in his poem “The Raven” is described as ABCBBB. Every stanza in “The Raven” follows this rhyme scheme to create a very structured poem. Poe also uses internal rhyme where two words in the third rhyme will rhyme with each other and with another word in the fourth line. In the second stanza the word morrow in line three rhymes with the word borrow also in line three and sorrow in line four. Poe also uses repetition to not only conformto his rhyme scheme, but to emphasize the word as well. “’Wretch,’ I cried, ‘thy God hath lent thee – by these angels he hath sent thee” (Raven: 81) is anexample of Poe using repetition to rhyme. Poe used trochaic octameter for his poem. Poe used many other devices in his poem such as alliteration andconsonance. “Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before;”(Raven: 26) is an example of alliteration and consonance. Poe used alliterationto increase the effect of the line. “The silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain” (Raven: 13) is an example of an onomatopoeia used by Poe in his poem.

« Frankenstein EssayPicture of a Generation »The tone of “The Raven” is morbid

and depressing. Poe used a man who had lost his lost Lenore to deepen the

melancholy feeling, because losing a loved one is the grimmest subjects there

is. Poe had a raven, an already grim animal, to repeat the word “nevermore”

whenever the narrator would speak to it. One other way Poe increased the

melancholy effect is the torture of the narrator. The answer the narrator

received each time was already predetermined and both the reader and the

narrator knew what the reply was going to be; therefore, continuously torturing

the narrator.

Poe also used many similes, metaphors, and examples of personification. “Quoth

the Raven ‘Nevermore’” (Raven: 48) is an example of personification found in

Poe’s poem ;“The Raven”. Since birds cannot really talk, the raven was given a

human characteristic of speech. “And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon’s

that is dreaming,” is an example of a metaphor used in “The Raven” by Poe to

compare the raven’s eyes to a demon’s; therefore, comparing the raven to a

demon. “That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.” (Raven:

56) is an example of a simile that Poe used to compare the raven’s reply to the

narrators state of grief.

Sergio Calle Llorens