Poetic Analysis of the Raven

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Critical Analysis of the Raven Edgar Allen Poe is considered to be one of the best writers of his time, from his mysterious stories to his beautiful poems. When he was alive he was a renowned literary critic after he died he became famous as a writer and a poet. He wrote many short stories and poems but no one paid much attention to him while he was alive. A couple of years before his death, he wrote The Raven. The Raven was his most famous poem and is possibly one the best poems of all time, if not the best. His use of many poetic devices such as repetition, rhyme and alliteration in this poem helps the reader truly understand the theme, while still entertaining the reader. He also utilizes symbolism to its full extent through the symbols of the raven and Lenore. To conclude, The Raven is such a strong and well written poem that it is clear to see that it is the best poem in the world. To begin, Poe litters his poems with useful poetic devices that help the reader understand the theme and make it an interesting poem. He uses repetition in the last line of every stanza whether it be nothing more or nevermore. This repetition of these specific words at the end of every stanza stresses to the reader that the speaker’s life is bleak and has nothing more to offer and he will nevermore be happy. He also uses alliteration to stress the importance of the words in the case of “whispered word, “Lenore?””(Poe 28). This gives the reader the idea that the speaker is amazed and can’t believe what he is seeing as he thinks a raven is his lost love, Lenore. Obviously, the raven is not Lenore and the speaker is losing his mind. The combination of the two poetic devices exemplified above helps the reader understand that the theme of how the loss of loved ones leads to madness. The repetition points out the desolate life the speaker is living while the alliteration stresses how
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