Can the untimely death of someone you love drive you insane? Generally, people are able to keep their mental stability after a person they loved passed away; only some individuals will lose their grip on reality. In fact, many characters in Edgar Allan Poe’s works had mental ailments that lead to hallucinations and insanity; The Raven is a superb example of this tendency. It’s entire theme is the depression and mental instability that confronting mortality brings.
In the first stanza, we learn of the speakers feelings due to Poe’s use of organic imagery on line one when he states, “”Once pon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,”. Then it goes on to explain that he begins to hear a tapping at his chamber door but dismisses it, saying “‘Tis some visiter, ‘I muttered, ‘tapping at my chamber door – Only this and nothing more. ‘ ” (Lines 5-6). The tapping is meant to represent the feelings of dread and how humans generally dismiss that feeling as mere sadness, but it is much more.
In the second stanza, he begins to use visual imagery and a metaphor to create a depressing aura by declaring “Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December; And each separate dying ember wrought ts ghost upon the floor. ” (Lines 7-8). The narrator then begins fondly thinking of a woman named Lenore and we do not know his connection to this lady but the way he remembers her fondly indicates a strong bond.
Moving on to stanza three, we know he stands and moves towards the door but is still being dismissive and apprehensive by asserting “‘ Tis some visiter entreating entrance at my chamber door -Some late visiter entreating entrance at my chamber door;-This it is and nothing more. “” Although he is being lured into the feeling of dread, he again denies it. Poe wants the readers to know that denying death is natural for humans, even though we are effected by it.
Now we enter the fourth stanza and in this stanza he opens the door only to find “Darkness there and nothing more. ” (Line 24). Naturally, he was expecting a person to be there but only finds void. When humans finally face the inevitability of death, it is difficult for us to grasp onto the thought that there might be nothing in the afterlife so we begin looking for more logical answers. Just like the speaker logically anticipated another human, referring to the visitor, to knock on his door. In the next stanza, he peers into the darkness and feels both wonder and fear.
The darkness is quiet, not giving a hint of what it contains and Poe uses personification to describe this by stating, “But the silence was unbroken, the darkness gave no token” (Line 27) Then, the narrator breaks the silence, “the only word there spoken was the whispered word, ‘Lenore? ‘ This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, ‘Lenore! ” (Lines 28-29). The darkness, or the afterlife in a symbolic sense, begins to echo the name of his loved one, as if darkness breeds darkness. No atter how many times he calls her name and wants her back, he will always find that the void simply echoes.
In stanza six, he heard the same tapping but it becomes louder. He uses auditory imagery to let the reader feel the very slight build up and tension when he says, “Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before. ” (Line 32). Again, he denies the fact the nothingness could knock and looks elsewhere for answers, so he opens the window. In the seventh stanza, the raven flies in and the raven is often seen as a bad omen in western society. The raven is simply, Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door” (Line 41) and this ebony bird represents the bringer of death; an angel of death.
The speaker starts communing with this angel of death, asking what its name is. It answered, “Quoth the Raven ‘Nevermore. ” (Line 48). This is the first time we see the repeated word, which keeps asserting the fact that Lenore will never come back from the dead and that mortality is finite. Also, this solidifies the assumption that the speaker is losing a grip on reality since sane people know that ravens cannot speak. He then expresses his joyful shock and says that he can carcely believe that another human has met a bird with such a name as Nevermore.
In other words, he doesn’t believe that any other human has confronted death like he has. In the tenth stanza, the narrator says something very important, “Other friends have flown before -On the morrow he will leave me, as my Hopes have flown before. ” (Lines 58-59) When he mentions other friends flying, he is referring to the fact that other people around him have died. Next, he makes the assumption that the raven’s master beat him and that he was trained to say one word. Again, he tries to ake death logical and puts on a brave face, but the raven still stays perched upon the bust.
Now, in the twelfth stanza, he pulls out a chair and tries to decipher what the bird truly meant; “What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt, and ominous bird of yore, Meant in croaking ‘Nevermore”(Line 71-72). Poe obviously wants his readers to know that the human mind has a great need to understand, even the things we cannot fully grasp. As he stares at the dark bird, he begins to remember more of Lenore and the velvet cushion he sits upon is an odd connection but a connection to her nonetheless. He says, “She shall press, ah, nevermore! (Line 78), meaning she will never sit on the cushion again. After calling her name into the darkness of the afterlife, he stares death in the face and finally realizes death is forever. In stanza fourteen more hallucinations set in since he believes that he begins smelling her perfume, and now he begins accusing the bird that God has sent it to aid him in forgetting Lenore; “Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore! ” (Line 83) When translated to modern English, he likely means “Drink, oh drink this kind anti-depressant and forget this ost Lenore”“.
When the bird responds negatively by saying “Nevermore”, the speaker then says that the bird could be a demon and finally asks the raven what it is. He begs for an answer, but the raven simply says “Nevermore”. Again, he asks about Lenore but now, stanza sixteen, he inquires if the raven if here to let him have her again; ” ‘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. ” (Lines 93-95) The bird utters the same word, “Nevermore”, telling him that he will ever have Lenore ever again.
Becoming enraged and sorrowful, he tells the bird to leave and let him be alone forever; he is telling death to never return. The bird repeats, “Nevermore”. In the eighteenth and last stanza, he declares that the bird remains on his bust and casts a shadow on him; “And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor, nevermore! ” (Lines 107-108). The raven, or death, has taken over his psyche and is causing him to live in the shadow of depression. Edgar Allan Poe let his readers know that death is eternal and he afterlife is something the living will never know.
He knows we cannot fully understand death and that if we do, we would end up losing our grips on reality. Poe actually dealt with many deaths in his life, especially the deaths of women. What if he actually experienced this and looked into the eyes of what he believed was the essence of mortality? We may never know, but we all know the pain of losing someone we love and there are a significant number of people who hope to find comfort in the thought of an afterlife. Even if you do not wish to believe, you cannot understand the void.
