Analysis of “The Raven” “Annabel Lee” and “Lenore”

Edgar Allan Poe’s success as a very important figure with an eccentric and haunting style in English literature is generally related to his short stories; however, it does not mean that his poems do not seem to be related to this success. His poems haunt the readers with their dark and gothic figures like death, grief, and insanity while engraving in their hearts the themes of eternal love and endless loyalty. “The death of a beautiful woman is, unquestionably, the most poetical topic in the world.” says Poe and subjects the theme of loss in his most famous poems from “The Raven” to “Lenore.” This day, I selected my three favorite Edgar Allan Poe poems to point out how skillfully he creates a fairytale-like love with purity and loyalty and destroys it with the darkest figures such asmisery, disease, andantipathy. Such a super poet is Edgar Allan Poe that in his poems, he takes us on a journey deep into his mind where sanity slowly turns into insanity. Not only does Poe write about a couple of horrible tragedy, but also reflects his loss. For instance, Poe’s mother Elizabeth Arnold Poe, a professional actress, died when little Poewas two years old. His father David Poe Jr. abandoned him before his mother’s death. His father couldn’t live longer too.

After his parents’ death, little Poe was decided to be raised in the home of John Allan, a wealthy exporter from Richmond, Virginia. Later in his tragic life, Poegot into an argument with John Allan since Poegot a two thousand dollar gamble debt left from his college years. John Allan refused to convey to him money to settle his debt, so Poe left college and also the Allans. A few years later, his older brother, Henry died of either tuberculosis or cholera at the age of 27. His wife Virginia also died of tuberculosis at their home in the Bronx. Both of those losses made Poe an alcoholic sorrowful soul as it had been in his early years. After Virginia’s death, he met a poet named Sarah Helen Whitman. Nevertheless, their engagement ended because of poor Poe’s drinking problem. After these events, ended with disappointment, he finally got engaged to his childhood love Elmira Royster Shelton. Nevertheless, bad luck was also coming after Poe, it had been a sort of ghost that caused him nothing but loss. Shortly before their wedding, Poe found unconscious in a very gutter of Baltimore. Poor Poe was taken to the hospital and buried at Westminster Presbyterian Church before getting married to his childhood love, Elmira. What a tragedyis this! Can you expect someone to be sane after all these deaths and losses?

Considering these events, it may be said that his poems are reflections of Poe’s life. From my point of view, these tragedies influenced his gory writing style and the themes of his masterpieces. You can see those disasters’ effects on Edgar Allan Poe’s understanding of love and death in poems, following “Lenore” (1843), “The Raven” (1845), and “Annabel Lee” (1849).

LENORE

Ah, broken is the golden bowl! The spirit flown forever!

Let the bell toll! — a saintly soul floats on the Stygian river;

And, Guy De Vere, hast thou no tear? — weep now or nevermore!

See! On yon drear and rigid bier low lies thy love, Lenore!

Come! Let the burial rite be read — the funeral song be sung! —

An anthem for the queenliest dead that ever died so young —

A dirge for her the doubly dead in that she died so young.

“Wretches! Ye loved her for her wealth and hated her for her pride,

And when she fell in feeble health, ye blessed her — that she died!

How shall the ritual, then, be read? — the requiem how be sung

By you — by yours, the evil eye, — by yours, the slanderous tongue

That did to death the innocent that died, and died so young?”

Peccavimus; but rave not thus! And let a Sabbath song

Go up to God so solemnly the dead may feel so wrong

The sweet Lenore hath “göne before,” with Hope, that flew beside,

Leaving thee wild for the dear child that should have been thy bride —

For her, the fair and debonair, that now so lowly lies,

The life upon her yellow hair but not within her eyes —

The life still tere, upon her hair — the death upon her eyes.

Avaunt! — to-night my heart is light! — no dirge will I uprise,

But waft the angel on her flight with a Paean of old days!

Let no bell toll, then, — lest her soul, amid its hallowed mirth,

Should catch the noteas it doth float up from the damned Earth!

"To friends above, from fiends below, the indignant ghost is riven—

"From Hell unto a high estate far up within the Heaven—

"From grief and groan, to a golden throne, beside the King of Heaven."

“Lenore,” was first published in 1831, under the title “A Pæan.” It was not until the republication in February 1843 that the name, “Lenore” was included in the text. This masterpiecethen appeared in The Pioneer. Later, in Broadway Journal in its final form, it was published while Poe was the editor. As you will see, the name, “Lenore” was also mentioned in “The Raven” as the narrator’s love. The poem subjects an argument between Lenore’s ex-lover and a mourner. Like Annabel Lee, Lenore also died in her youth. Some have connected the poem to Poe's wife Virginia Clemm, who was married to him at a very young age. The first stanza is addressed to Guy De Vere. The mourner asks Guy De Vere, who is the would-be-husband of Lenore, why he is not crying for Lenore. Suddenly, Guy De Vere responds to the mourner that her death means nothing to him but nonsense. In the second stanza, he calls the mourner, “wretches” to underestimate and humiliate not only his economic situation -because the mourner is probably from the lower class but also his statement. Then, he states that he will not mourn as her death represents her escape from this damned and cursed earth. He believes that the mourners only care for Lenore’s wealth, not Lenore herself. During the third stanza, another speaker joins the conversation by saying that they are all sinners with the word, “peccavimus” which means sinners in Latin. However, the speaker suggests this discussion be stopped to follow the ritual, which includes singing a Sabbath song, for Lenore’s sake. Maybe this speaker tries to be forgiven by pulling his/her weight or scares of death and poetical justice. The speaker tells De Vere the reason for his anger at her is mainly because Lenore cannot marry him. The final stanza is spoken by De Vere. He restates that he will not weep for her as he believes that he will meet her again. He describes death as a holy path that goes to Heaven. He sees Lenore as a lucky person to get rid of her pain on this damned earth. She is now beside the “King of Heaven.” When it comes to literary devices, “Poe made use of internal rhyme such as;

‘Let the bell toll! —a saintly soul floats...

And, Guy De Vere, hast thou no tear?

See! on yon drear and rigid bier...’

Poe made two allusions to ancient Greek literature and mythology in the following lines;

‘A saintly soul floats on the Stygian river.’

This is a reference to the River Styx, one of the rivers that flowed through the underworld of Greek mythology,

‘No dirge will I upraise but waft the angel on her flight with a Paean of old days!’

A paean means a song of praise.”

THE RAVEN

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,

Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore—

    While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,

As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.

“’Tis some visitor,” I muttered, “tapping at my chamber door—

            Only this and nothing more.”

    Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December;

And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.

    Eagerly I wished the morrow;—vainly I had sought to borrow

    From my books surcease of sorrow—sorrow for the lost Lenore—

For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore—

            Nameless here for evermore.

    And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain

Thrilled me—filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;

    So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating

    “’Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door—

Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door;—

            This it is and nothing more.”

    Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,

“Sir,” said I, “or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;

    But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping,

    And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door,

That I scarce was sure I heard you”—here I opened wide the door;—

            Darkness there and nothing more.

    Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,

Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before;

    But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token,

    And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, “Lenore?”

This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, “Lenore!”—

            Merely this and nothing more.

    Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning,

Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before.

    “Surely,” said I, “surely that is something at my window lattice;

      Let me see, then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore—

Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore;—

            ’Tis the wind and nothing more!”

    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;

    Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;

    But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door—

Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door—

            Perched, and sat, and nothing more.

Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,

By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore,

“Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou,” I said, “art sure no craven,

Ghastly grim and ancient Raven wandering from the Nightly shore—

Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night’s Plutonian shore!”

            Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”

    Much I marvelled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly,

Though its answer little meaning—little relevancy bore;

    For we cannot help agreeing that no living human being

    Ever yet was blessed with seeing bird above his chamber door—

Bird or beast upon the sculptured bust above his chamber door,

            With such name as “Nevermore.”

    But the Raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only

That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.

    Nothing farther then he uttered—not a feather then he fluttered—

    Till I scarcely more than muttered “Other friends have flown before—

On the morrow he will leave me, as my Hopes have flown before.”

            Then the bird said “Nevermore.”

    Startled at the stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken,

“Doubtless,” said I, “what it utters is its only stock and store

    Caught from some unhappy master whom unmerciful Disaster

    Followed fast and followed faster till his songs one burden bore—

Till the dirges of his Hope that melancholy burden bore

            Of ‘Never—nevermore’.”

    But the Raven still beguiling all my fancy into smiling,

Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird, and bust and door;

    Then, upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking

    Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore—

What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt, and ominous bird of yore

            Meant in croaking “Nevermore.”

    This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing

To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosom’s core;

    This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining

    On the cushion’s velvet lining that the lamp-light gloated o’er,

But whose velvet-violet lining with the lamp-light gloating o’er,

She shall press, ah, nevermore!

    Then, methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer

Swung by Seraphim whose foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor.

    “Wretch,” I cried, “thy God hath lent thee—by these angels he hath sent thee

    Respite—respite and nepenthe from thy memories of Lenore;

Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore!”

            Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”

    “Prophet!” said I, “thing of evil!—prophet still, if bird or devil!—

Whether Tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,

    Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted—

    On this home by Horror haunted—tell me truly, I implore—

Is there—is there balm in Gilead?—tell me—tell me, I implore!”

            Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”

    “Prophet!” said I, “thing of evil!—prophet still, if bird or devil!

By that Heaven that bends above us—by that God we both adore—

    Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn,

    It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore—

Clasp a rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore.”

            Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”

    “Be that word our sign of parting, bird or fiend!” I shrieked, upstarting—

“Get thee back into the tempest and the Night’s Plutonian shore!

    Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!

    Leave my loneliness unbroken!—quit the bust above my door!

Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!”

            Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”

    And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting

On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;

    And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon’s that is dreaming,

    And the lamp-light o’er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;

And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor

            Shall be lifted—nevermore!

“The Raven,” which was published in January 1845, makes use of lots of mythological references and is noted for its unprecedented language and dark atmosphere. It affected numerous other works because of its unprecedented genre, strong language, and dark, spooky atmosphere. To give an example, Poe’s Gothic literature-inspired Paul Gauguin to draw, “Nevermore.” The poem successfully handles the narrator’s concerns with death and memory and describes memory not as something wanted but as a heavy and cursed burden from which the narrator wishes to get away but unfortunately cannot. The raven is the embodiment of the narrator’s sorrow, loss, and regret. It reminds him of his one and only love Lenore’s passing away. Lenore, on the other hand, represents the purity of love and hope. Her death makes the narrator crawl at the edge of insanity because of the unbearable and ineffable pain it gives. Whenever the narrator recalls Lenore, he realizes an unending yearning which makes him devastated. When the raven arrives at the narrator’s door, he suddenly recalls the unforgettable past and feels even more heartbroken. That’s why he describes the raven as a demonic and ill-omened being in spite of the fact that the raven actually tells the truth untold. The more the narrator tries to escape from that truth, the more he confronts with real himself. Also, the poem includes fear, melancholy, and depression in addition to loneliness and grief. When it comes to literary devices in “The Raven”, it can be seen clearly that Edgar Allan Poe used not only a metaphor, simile, and imagery but also allusion and personification. “An example of a metaphor in ‘The Raven’ can be seen in the following lines;

‘Prophet!’ said I ‘thing of evil, the prophet still, if bird or devil’

In this line, the bird is compared to a demonic thing rather than a bird. Furthermore, an example of a simile is also used in these lines;

‘On the morrow he will leave me, as my hopes have flown before’

The narrator associates his hopes for a bird’s flight. That bird’s flight means the death of his hopes.

‘And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain’ includes imagery.

‘Perched upon a bust of Pallas’ is a good example of allusion, as it is a direct reference to Greco-Roman goddess Athena, the goddess of wisdom and learning.

Last but not least, personification is used when the raven speaks like a human.

Apart from these literary devices, assonance, consonance, and alliteration are also used in order to strengthen ‘The Raven’s literary side. In addition to these methods, 18 stanzas, each of them with six lines, can also be seen in the poem with ABC BBB rhyme scheme. Internal rhymes are used in some lines as it is in, ‘dreary’ and ‘weary.’ Repetition can also be seen at the end of some lines such as quoth the raven, ‘Nevermore.’

Refrain, which is a phrase, line or group of lines repeated at intervals throughout a poem, can be seen at the end of some stanzas.” Apart from its literary devices, “The Raven” will

always be one of my favourite poems in the Gothic genre with its supernatural spooky theme and Gothic mood. It can be said that Edgar Allan Poe brought another masterpiece to English literature!

ANNABEL LEE

It was many and many a year ago,

   In a kingdom by the sea,

That a maiden there lived whom you may know

   By the name of Annabel Lee;

And this maiden she lived with no other thought

   Than to love and be loved by me.

I was a child and she was a child,

   In this kingdom by the sea,

But we loved with a love that was more than love—

   I and my Annabel Lee—

With a love that the wingèd seraphs of Heaven

   Coveted her and me.

And this was the reason that, long ago,

   In this kingdom by the sea,

A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling

   My beautiful Annabel Lee;

So that her highborn kinsmen came

   And bore her away from me,

To shut her up in a sepulchre

   In this kingdom by the sea.

The angels, not half so happy in Heaven,

   Went envying her and me—

Yes!—that was the reason (as all men know,

   In this kingdom by the sea)

That the wind came out of the cloud by night,

   Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love it was stronger by far than the love

   Of those who were older than we—

   Of many far wiser than we—

And neither the angels in Heaven above

   Nor the demons down under the sea

Can ever dissever my soul from the soul

   Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams

   Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes

   Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side

   Of my darling—my darling—my life and my bride,

   In her sepulchre there by the sea—

   In her tomb by the sounding sea.

“Annabel Lee,” which is the last poem of Edgar Allan Poe, was written in 1849 and published after Poe’s tragic death. Annabel Lee is mostly believed to reflect and symbolize Edgar Allan Poe’s life, whose wife Virginia also deceased shortly before he had written it.It subjects the death of a young and lovely woman named Annabel Lee and her lover’s grief. The lover, which is the narrator, claims that their love was so powerful that it made the world of the living and the world of the dead unite so that the lovers could be together again! Although the narrator and Annabel Lee’s love is cut short by a horrible tragedy, he insists on people that their love still lives! The narrator initiates to tell their story with a phrase like “many and many a year ago” which reminds the readers of a fairy tale entrance. Then, he exaggerates their amour by stating that even angels are jealous of them. He changes the normal definition of love by describing theirs’ limits. The angels get so envious that they kill Annabel Lee for revenge according to his claims. However, Poe still gives the message of an endless love no matter what kind of difficulties he goes through. Being dead doesn’t mean gone in this story. The loss of Annabel Lee makes the narrator even more obsessed with her. He gets so addicted and attached to this unrealistic fantasy that he wanders on the edge of madness. He gives up earthly simple things and only holds on to Annabel Lee’s memories. On the other hand, he actually falls into the sea of grief and his loyalty to this love only makes him sink to the bottom even if he gets drowned in the end. The poem also states that sometimes you have to let things go to hold on to yourself because sticking up to the past has nothing good to do with the future rather than bringing sorrow. Apart from the excellent word choice, the poem was also supported by literary devices. According to some sources;

“To give an example, visual imagery is used by Poe to make the readers imagine an isolated place in which the narrator lives with Annabel Lee, ‘In a kingdom by the sea’ and ‘In her tomb by the sounding sea’. Personification is used in the following lines;

‘The wind came out of the cloud by night, Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee’

As if the wind is a human that can kill another person. Symbolism is also made use of to

describe the sea as an evil thing. Furthermore, the moon and the stars symbolize Annabel Lee’s beauty. When it comes to allusions Poe used them to strengthen the meaning. For instance, ‘seraphs in heaven’ alludes to the Bible when it degrades the angels to the level of demons. Finally, enjambment, which refers to the continuation of a sentence without the pause beyond the end of a line/ couplet/ stanza, can be seen in these lines;

‘And this maiden she lived with no other thought; Than to love and be loved by me’”

When Poe takes a pen in his hand, regarding a fiction that pushes the limits of the mind and an unheard-of phraseology, the rest is history!