“The Raven” is one of the most well-known poems by Edgar Allan Poe. This work of art can be seen as a hymn to remorse and emotional distress. The story starts with a description of a man who is “weak and weary” whose negative emotions and despair intensify with every line (Poe, n.d., line 1). At the end of the poem, the man is even more miserable than he was at the beginning of his encounter with the bird.
The raven stands for the narrator’s inner self, who is trying to come to terms with the loss he has to endure. The man lost the woman he loved, Leonore, and is trying to soothe his pain and find reconciliation with himself as he asks for “nepenthe” to “forget this lost Lenore” (Poe, n.d., line 83). However, he is fixed on his grief and is unlikely to let it go. The raven is the symbol of this grief and inability to move on. The majority of verses finish with a single word “nevermore” which shows the narrator’s commitment to his sorrow and doom.
The man asks for mercy, “Take thy beak from out my heart” (Poe, n.d., line 101). He seems to be willing to start a new life, but irrespective of his attempts to recover, he chooses to surrender to desolation. Moreover, he becomes increasingly aware of this choice throughout the poem. The narrator concludes that he can recover “nevermore” (Poe, n.d., line 108). This understanding terrifies him and makes him even more miserable than he was at the beginning of his way. In conclusion, it is necessary to stress that the poem is a depiction of the path many people have to face. All people are likely to be challenged by their ravens, and many of these wretched souls may become as miserable as the narrator.
Reference
Poe, E. A. (n.d.). The raven. Web.