Is there symbolism in Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven?

Question

I was just wondering if there was any symbolism in his poem. I know it's about him going insane over the death of Lenore, but is there symbolism too?

Answer 1

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Answer 2

Symbolism In The Raven

Answer 3

Raven Symbol

Answer 4

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RE:
Is there symbolism in Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven?
I was just wondering if there was any symbolism in his poem. I know it's about him going insane over the death of Lenore, but is there symbolism too?

Answer 5

As you can tell from other answers, the Raven is indeed loaded with symbolism. However, if you really want to understand what went into the poem, you need to understand how it was written. Poe wrote the poem "backwards". In other words, he wrote the last stanza first, and the first stanza last. He indicated that he knew how it wanted to the poem to end, but wasn't sure how to get there, so he simply started from the end and worked forward. He inserted symbolism that was more readily apparent to a classically educated person of his era; "Pallas" referes to Pallas Athena, which would have been a common figure in a library of the time, plus, as previously noted, a stark contrast to the ebon raven who decided to perch atop "wisdom" and repeat "nevermore"...as if providing a voice to wisdom and a constant reminder that his lost love (who was really his cousin) would be gone forever and that he'd see her nevermore. The other symbols in the poem were not meant to be obscure to a 19th century educated person, but today you may have to look up the references to get to the real meaning that was originally intended to be quite apparent.

Hope this helps,

Answer 6

the raven symbolizes more than death. he symbolizes the speaker's inability to grasp death. the universal uncertainty as to what happens to us after we die.

1. the raven is black while the bust of pallas (the goddess of wisdom and knowledge) is pallid, i.e. pale (and therefore white).

2. the poem opens up with the reader trying to read (i.e. gain knowledge) in the aftermath of losing lenore. he's trying to come to terms with it. the raven shows up and sticks around and doesn't say anything but nevermore, which could mean a whole lot of things, but all of which point to nothing. he's never going to leave. you'll never understand death. and you'll never get lenore back and you'll never know why.

in this way, the raven is scarier. if he was death, you'd die and figure out what only dead people know. since the speaker still lives, he's stuck with not knowing but always wanting to know. and that just plain sucks.

Answer 7

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In this poem, one of the most famous American poems ever, Poe uses several symbols to take the poem to a higher level. The most obvious symbol is, of course, the raven itself. When Poe had decided to use a refrain that repeated the word "nevermore," he found that it would be most effective if he used a non-reasoning creature to utter the word. It would make little sense to use a human, since the human could reason to answer the questions (Poe, 1850). In "The Raven" it is important that the answers to the questions are already known, to illustrate the self-torture to which the narrator exposes himself. This way of interpreting signs that do not bear a real meaning, is "one of the most profound impulses of human nature" (Quinn, 1998:441).

Poe also considered a parrot as the bird instead of the raven; however, because of the melancholy tone, and the symbolism of ravens as birds of ill-omen, he found the raven more suitable for the mood in the poem (Poe, 1850). Quoth the Parrot, "Nevermore?"

Another obvious symbol is the bust of Pallas. Why did the raven decide to perch on the goddess of wisdom? One reason could be, because it would lead the narrator to believe that the raven spoke from wisdom, and was not just repeating its only "stock and store," and to signify the scholarship of the narrator. Another reason for using "Pallas" in the poem was, according to Poe himself, simply because of the "sonorousness of the word, Pallas, itself" (Poe, 1850).

A less obvious symbol, might be the use of "midnight" in the first verse, and "December" in the second verse. Both midnight and December, symbolize an end of something, and also the anticipation of something new, a change, to happen. The midnight in December, might very well be New Year's eve, a date most of us connect with change. This also seems to be what Viktor Rydberg believes when he is translating "The Raven" to Swedish, since he uses the phrase "ets sista natt var inne, " ("The last night of the year had arrived"). Kenneth Silverman connected the use of December with the death of Edgar's mother (Silverman, 1992:241), who died in that month; whether this is true or not is, however, not significant to its meaning in the poem.

The chamber in which the narrator is positioned, is used to signify the loneliness of the man, and the sorrow he feels for the loss of Lenore. The room is richly furnished, and reminds the narrator of his lost love, which helps to create an effect of beauty in the poem. The tempest outside, is used to even more signify the isolation of this man, to show a sharp contrast between the calmness in the chamber and the tempestuous night.

The phrase "from out my heart," Poe claims, is used, in combination with the answer "Nevermore," to let the narrator realize that he should not try to seek a moral in what has been previously narrated (Poe, 1850).

good luck

Answer 8

Raven symbolism, including Native American, Greco-Roman, Celtic and Jungian thoughts on the symbolic meaning of ravens.

Answer 9

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Poe is best remembered for his new technique of mysterical symbolism throughout his works. Raven symbolizes the inner feeling of the narrator.

Answer 10

Asking if there's symbolism in "The Raven" is like asking if there's water in the ocean. Here's a HUGE hint: the raven ITSELF is symbolism.
Many lines are rife with allusions and metaphors; it's a very rich poem, in that regard.