[The Raven: Dark Romantism]
Joseph K. Kankolongo
Liberty University
Running head: THE AMERICAN RENAISSANCE/ROMANTIC PERIOD ASSIGNMENT
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THE AMERICAN RENAISSANCE/ROMANTIC PERIOD ASSIGNMENT 2
[The Raven: Dark Romantism]
Death or grief can influence a person’s mind, reactions, emotions, and ability to live.
When individuals are morning a loved one, they experience loneliness, sadness, and hopeless
which influences their behavior and how they think. Some people may experience a loss of sleep
and appetite, and others easily fall into depression. How people mourn the loss of a loved one
depends on their cultural, beliefs, and values. During the American Renaissance period, authors
wrote about dark themes rooted in Dark romanticism, and writing style is reflected in the Raven.
The literature written during this period used major narrative devices to create imagery in a
reader’s mind. Grief can hinder a person’s ability to function in the real world, and this is
portrayed throughout the poem. The author brings every word to life though rhythm, and
imagery to ensure that the reader can feel the emotion, the mood, and the circumstances of what
the narrator endured during a loss. The author brings every word to life by utilizing rhythm, and
imagery to ensure that the reader can feel the emotion, the mood, and the circumstances of what
the narrator endured during a loss. The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe explores how death can
influence a person’s emotions, mind, and reactions.
Theme: Death as a Barriers
Poe reveals the effect of death on a person’s mind, emotions, and environment and
highlights the power of death, and how it can become a barrier to someone’s personal life.
Although the loss of a loved one means that the person is gone forever, their disappearance has a
lasting effect on those who remain alive and how they adapt to a new life without them.
Throughout the poem, the narrator reveals the changes that occur through his mind, how the
memory of his wife hinders his ability to be happy and thrive, and each day he drowns himself
more profound into sadness. At the beginning of the poem, the author created a vision of an
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isolated individual who is mourning the loss of a loved one from a dark and lonely place. ‘Deep
into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering and fearing, Doubting, dreaming,
dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before (Beckman, 2012). It is evident that the narrator is
still grieving his lost love for Lenore, but death is now a barrier because he can’t fully live his
life. As he is trying to distract himself from the pain, and as he attempts to escape the pain he is
currently feeling; he begins thinking and asking the raven irrational questions about Lenore to
knowing that he cannot change the situation. The overall theme of the poem highlights the
effects of grief, and the narrator uses vivid words and the raven to symbolize grief. Throughout
the poem the narrator shows that death can create a lasting impact on those who are left behind
and are forced to move on despite their pain.
Characteristics of the Time Period
The raven was a poem published in 1845 where a shift began to occur in writing styles.
During this time, great writers like Bryant wrote nature lyrics that vividly represented the New
England scene, and others like Irving wrote in a polished, bright style(Costanza, n.d.). James
Cooper was another artist that was known all over the United States and England because of his
skill in weaving history into inventive plots and in characterizing his compatriots (Costanza,
n.d.). “Washington Irving, James Fenimore Cooper, and Charles Brockden Brown are credited
with creating distinctly American fiction, while Edgar Allan Poe and William Cullen Bryant
began writing poetry that was markedly different from that of the English tradition”(Costanza,
n.d.). The American Renaissance period was the romantic period in American literature.
American romanticism was a literary style that emphasized emotion over reason, individuality
instead of society, nature instead of industrialization, common people instead of aristocrats, and
freedom instead of authoritarian control (Costanza, n.d.). Two literary movements that were born
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out of the romantic period were: transcendentalism and anti-transcendentalism (Costanza, n.d.).
Transcendentalism was the belief in spiritual or transcendental truths beyond sense-perception
and material existence. Anti-transcendentalism explored the darker side of human nature and
thought. It is better known as dark romanticism. Common themes in anti-transcendentalism were
guilt, shame, and original sin. Anti-transcendental or dark romantic authors include Edgar Allan
Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Herman Melville(Costanza, n.d.). The characteristics of this time
period is reflected in the poem in sentences such as ‘once upon a midnight dreary”( Costanza,
n.d. ) creating a dark and cold setting. The “volume of forgotten role”( Costanza, n.d.)
foreshadows the mood throughout the poem which is consistent to the very end.
Narrative Devices
In the poem "The Raven", the author uses many poetic devices such as rhythm, meter,
internal rhyme, alliteration, and repetition to ensure the reader understands the emotions attached
to the story. The author uses alliteration with phrases such as “weak Weary,” “nearly napping” to
not only make the writing memorable as it is recited but to create its musicality. It not only grabs
the attention of the reader but also aids in creating a melody and rhythm and gives an idea of
how it should sound when someone reads it aloud. Assonance is also used at the beginning of the
poem as certain vowels sounds are repeated, emphasizing the rhythm. Some of the most repeated
words such as “nevermore” becomes the refrain of the poem and sets the tone for the mood of
the storyline. Poe makes many allusions in the poem, with lines referring to Greek gods and their
association with ravens and death. The allusion to the garden of Eden is also used to reference
himself and contrasted with pagan vocabulary to discuss his current state. To simply portray a
complex idea, Poe used biblical and cultural references to simply a complicated idea. To create
vivid imagery while using classical diction, the narrator used lines such as “his eyes have all the
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seeming of a demon that is dreaming”( Giammarco, 2013). the author strategically inputs
metaphors that create a picture in the reader's mind. The raven is personified and given the
ability to speak which creates another symbolism of death. He uses similes such as “on the
marrow, he will leave me, as my hopes have flown before”( Giammarco, 2013), and all of these
literary devices including imagery, create a picture of grief, pain, hopelessness, horror and
sorrow and support the overall theme. The devices create a picture for the theme and carry the
mood and emotion of the poem from the beginning to the end.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Edgar Allan Poe and The Raven's poetry was a success and caught the
attention of many readers as it was first published. Although some critics criticized the poem as
being void and lacking meaning, many praised it for its writing style and the imagery of emotion
that it carried. The raven which is used as a symbol of death becomes a constant reminder that he
can never escape from the reality, pain, and circumstances that he now faces. The raven shows us
the grieving process that a person can go through when losing a loved one and how it can
become worse if the pain does not diminish. The poem helps the reader understand the
importance of healing and reaching out for help, when you are in need.
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References
Beckman, T. (2012). The Tangibility of Mourning: Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven.” Lamar
Journal of the Humanities, 37(1), 33–39.
Costanza, J. (n.d.). Of ravens and romanticism edgar allan poe’s enduring legacy in american
education and the juvenile adaptations of his poetry and prose. Edgar Allan Poe
Review, 20(2), 249–268. https://doi-org.acu.idm.oclc.org/10.5325/edgallpoerev.20.2.0249
Giammarco, E. (2013). Edgar Allan Poe: A psychological profile. Personality and Individual
Differences, 54(1), 3–6. https://doi-org.acu.idm.oclc.org/10.1016/j.paid.2012.07.027
Pease, D. (1980). The rendered and the surrendered pose of Edgar Allan Poe. Cithara, 20(1), 26–
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