Poetic Devices
This single word is repeated by the raven throughout the poem, symbolizing the narrator’s hopelessness.
What is “Nevermore”?
This emotion drives the narrator’s sorrow as he mourns the loss of Lenore.
What is grief/loss?
Poe’s personal losses inspired the main theme of “The Raven.” What emotion is at the center of this poem?
What is grief/loss?
“Swung by Seraphim whose foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor” uses which two poetic devices?
What are rhyme and rhythm?
When the narrator whispers Lenore’s name into the darkness, it shows this theme of his deep emotional attachment.
What is love?
Poe’s troubled life influenced the dark and mysterious atmosphere of his stories. Name one event from his life that contributed to this tone.
Both biological parents died
Started gambling which led to addiction
Enlisted in army
Bad relationship with foster father
In the line “And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain,” Poe builds a feeling of suspense and melancholy. What literary device is this an example of?
What is atmosphere (mood)?
“‘Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night’s Plutonian shore!’/Quote the Raven ‘Nevermore.’” What theme does this show?
What is reality vs illusion?
In “The Raven,” Poe uses the bird as a symbol. What does the raven symbolize throughout the poem?
Never ending grief, sorrow, and loss.
The phrase “Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before” uses what poetic device?
What is alliteration?
The narrator asks the raven for “respite and nepenthe”. What does this mean and what theme does this show?
The narrator wants to forget his pain. This is an example of despair.
Dark Romanticism, the movement Poe is associated with, often explores the unsettling truth within what part of human nature?
What is the dark side of the human mind?
Edgar Allan Poe’s use of imagery in the final image of the raven’s shadow lying over the narrator’s soul can be read both literally and symbolically. How does this image serve as the poem’s emotional and thematic resolution?
The imagery of the shadow represents the narrator’s total surrender to hopelessness. His soul is permanently trapped under the weight of grief and loss, symbolizing that he will never escape his sorrow or find peace.
In The Raven, the narrator whispers the name "Lenore" during a moment of intense emotion. How does it deepen the theme of lost love in the poem?
In The Raven, the narrator whispering “Lenore” deepens the theme of lost love by showing how deeply he longs for and mourns for her. It highlights his emotional pain and the emptiness left by her absence. It also emphasizes the fact that his love for her lingers painfully in memory and dominates his thoughts.
“The Raven” connects to modern life by exploring how people handle despair. Explain one way this theme still applies to individuals today.
Everyone grieves differently
People still seek answers about life and loss