Melancholy Mood In 'The Raven' by Edgar Allan Poe

The first references to the Crow date back to 1844. In 1842, Edgar's beloved wife, Virginia Klemm, fell ill with consumption and was doomed to a quick death, in 1847 she died at the age of twenty-three. Anticipating an imminent tragedy, Poe writes many poems, including the poem Raven. However, the composition is not dedicated to her, but to the Victorian poetess Elizabeth Browning. It was from her poem, “Fan of Lady Geraldine,” that the author borrowed the poetic size for the future “Raven”. Edgar Poe has written a dark, melancholy, and a very tense poem that tells about the horror that a human can experience after the death of a loved one.

Since ancient times, the greatest fear of humanity has been the fear of death. But your own departure from life may not be as terrible as the death of a loved one. For the hero of the poem, Edgar Allan Poe, the loss of his beloved is more than just death: it means eternal grief, which can destroy himself. The character is afraid that he will not be able to cope with the trouble that has overtaken him, and fear has embodied in a black crow. It is noteworthy that the author allows us to perceive the poem as an event that really happened, and like a dream, something mystical. Edgar Allan Poe shows us a heartbroken man to remind us of the importance of being strong and steadfast in the face of fate. This is the main idea of ​​the poem.

Traditionally in folklore, the image of the raven is a harbinger of death. In the poem Poe, this black bird portends the lyrical hero an eternal misfortune, the inability to survive the death of his beloved. The author admits that the raven is primarily a functional image: the one who will repeat the refrain. To the hero himself, the raven no longer seems to be a living bird, but an ominous spirit - a messenger from the dark kingdom of Pluto. The mention of the Roman god of the dead is not the only religious reference. There are biblical allusions in the text: Eden is mentioned, as well as a Balm of Gilead, which could heal the emotional wounds of a heartbroken hero.

The poem is permeated with a melancholy mood, which is stated from the first lines of the work. This is indicated by the tired, exhausted state of the hero, the time of day is deep night. Soon despondency was replaced by anxiety, a premonition of trouble. The transformation of the image of the raven changes the mood in the poem, and also includes new themes as it develops. The first suggestion of the lyrical hero was that a belated guest was knocking to him. It would seem that nothing unusual, nothing to worry about. But as soon as the hero opened the door, he did not see anyone. Since then, a fear appears in the poem that will not leave the protagonist. A raven flies through an open window, which even amuses a frightened youth with its appearance. Now the theme of rock dominates the poem, and the hero, having entered into dialogue with an ominous bird, learns of imminent misfortune. The raven is seen by his victim as a demon, the messenger of Hades - the theme of death, the death of not only his beloved but all the beautiful things that happened in the life of a young man.