The Raven
BY EDGAR ALLAN POE Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore-- While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door. “’Tis some visitor,” I muttered, “tapping at my chamber door-- Only this and nothing more.” Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December; And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor. Eagerly I wished the morrow;—vainly I had sought to borrow From my books surcease of sorrow—sorrow for the lost Lenore-- For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore-- Nameless here for evermore. And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain Thrilled me—filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before; So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating “’Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door-- Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door;-- This it is and nothing more.” Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer, “Sir,” said I, “or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore; But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping, And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door, That I scarce was sure I heard you”—here I opened wide the door;-- Darkness there and nothing more. Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing, Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before; But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token, And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, “Lenore?” This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, “Lenore!”-- Merely this and nothing more. Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning, Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before. “Surely,” said I, “surely that is something at my window lattice; Let me see, then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore-- Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore;-- ’Tis the wind and nothing more!” Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter, In there stepped a stately Raven of the saintly days of yore; Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he; But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door-- Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door-- Perched, and sat, and nothing more. Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling, By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore, “Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou,” I said, “art sure no craven, Ghastly grim and ancient Raven wandering from the Nightly shore-- Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night’s Plutonian shore!” Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.” Much I marvelled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly, Though its answer little meaning—little relevancy bore; For we cannot help agreeing that no living human being Ever yet was blessed with seeing bird above his chamber door-- Bird or beast upon the sculptured bust above his chamber door, With such name as “Nevermore.” But the Raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour. Nothing farther then he uttered—not a feather then he fluttered-- Till I scarcely more than muttered “Other friends have flown before-- On the morrow he will leave me, as my Hopes have flown before.” Then the bird said “Nevermore.” Startled at the stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken, “Doubtless,” said I, “what it utters is its only stock and store Caught from some unhappy master whom unmerciful Disaster Followed fast and followed faster till his songs one burden bore-- Till the dirges of his Hope that melancholy burden bore Of ‘Never—nevermore’.” But the Raven still beguiling all my fancy into smiling, Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird, and bust and door; Then, upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore-- What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt, and ominous bird of yore Meant in croaking “Nevermore.” This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosom’s core; This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining On the cushion’s velvet lining that the lamp-light gloated o’er, But whose velvet-violet lining with the lamp-light gloating o’er, She shall press, ah, nevermore! Then, methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer Swung by Seraphim whose foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor. “Wretch,” I cried, “thy God hath lent thee—by these angels he hath sent thee Respite—respite and nepenthe from thy memories of Lenore; Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore!” Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.” “Prophet!” said I, “thing of evil!—prophet still, if bird or devil!-- Whether Tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore, Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted-- On this home by Horror haunted—tell me truly, I implore-- Is there--is there balm in Gilead?—tell me—tell me, I implore!” Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.” “Prophet!” said I, “thing of evil!—prophet still, if bird or devil! By that Heaven that bends above us—by that God we both adore-- 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.” Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.” “Be that word our sign of parting, bird or fiend!” I shrieked, upstarting-- “Get thee back into the tempest and the Night’s Plutonian shore! Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken! Leave my loneliness unbroken!—quit the bust above my door! Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!” Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.” And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door; And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon’s that is dreaming, And the lamp-light o’er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor; And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor Shall be lifted—nevermore! Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Raven." Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation, n.d. Web. 9 May 2015. <http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/178713>. |
Sonnet 64
By William Shakespeare When I have seen by Time's fell hand defaced The rich proud cost of outworn buried age; When sometime lofty towers I see down-razed, And brass eternal slave to mortal rage; When I have seen the hungry ocean gain Advantage on the kingdom of the shore, And the firm soil win of the watery main, Increasing store with loss, and loss with store; When I have seen such interchange of state, Or state itself confounded to decay; Ruin hath taught me thus to ruminate That Time will come and take my love away. This thought is as a death which cannot choose But weep to have that which it fears to lose. Shakespeare, William. "Sonnet 64." Shakespeare's Sonnets. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 May 2015. <http://www.shakespeares-sonnets.com/sonnet/64>. |
-----------------------POETIC DEVICE ANALYSIS-----------------------
Symbolism is one of the milestones of poetry. It by the definition is “the use of symbols to signify ideas and qualities by giving them symbolic meanings that are different from their literal sense.” (Symbolism) A symbol has two layers. On the outside, it has the meaning of itself, at inside it hides something deeper. Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” is based on a memory of persona facing its obsessions and fears caused by them. On the other hand, in Sonnet 64, William Shakespeare converts the feelings he has about time, his worries and fears what it is capable of showing to words written with ink. Personas faced their external and internal fears by giving a second meaning to concrete objects with symbolism.
Poe’s use of symbolism relies heavily on forming deeper meanings with usage of concrete objects to face his internal fears. Persona uses symbolism to create ideal atmosphere for him to get deep in his thoughts. In the eighth stanza of “The Raven,” persona wants to learn the name of the uninvited guest, the raven. He uses the phrase “Night’s Plutonian Shore” to symbol powerful dark of nature and fate. “Night” creates a scary and mysterious atmosphere of the poem. He uses allusion to refer Pluton The Roman God of Underworld. This allusion makes a connotation to things he will face after death in the darkness. “Shore” represents the fact that this dangerous side of nature, showing its face at dark is really powerful. Persona uses symbolism to face his fear of obsessions and fortune. The lady, whose name is everywhere throughout the poem, Lenore is a symbol for persona’s obsessions. “For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore—”Even though poem doesn’t give much clue about the history and identity of her, she has a great effect on persona’s thoughts. He always connects events to her, thinks constantly about her, suffers because of her death. At the end of the poem, it is seen that his obsession becomes his fear in a way he carries in his heart. “And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor” The biggest symbol of the poem, the raven, is a teller, teller of his past, his fortune, his sins, his fears. He comes across with answer “Nevermore” to every question he asks to it. “Nevermore” sometimes directs persona to think pessimistic, sometimes confused, sometimes contradictory. “ “Prophet!” said I, “thing of evil!—prophet still, if bird or devil!—” He starts to believe it after a while, and calls it a “prophet.” He starts to fear that it is more than a bird, and knows what it is talking about. At the end of the poem, bird becomes a sleeping demon with burning eyes, turning into a symbol of evil. Persona is scared, he is afraid of his thoughts, his fortune, and himself.
Shakespeare’s use of symbolism, in the other hand, relies on mentioning small concrete objects, to mean general facts and allegory about his external fear. The fear he is facing is “change”. Time symbolizes change in the sonnet by the effect of it on nature and history. As long as it continues to flow, it creates changes. He uses personification by saying “Time’s fell hand.” It claims that the hand of cruel time, “defaced the rich proud cost.” He also benefits from symbolic words. Defaced is a symbolic word to make connotation to power of change even defeated the power of the Church. ““defaced" was an almost technical term for the destruction of "images" in churches.” By the usage of the word, Shakespeare tells that nothing can resist to change, even the things people tied and believed strongly. He gives place to “religious reference” by saying “lofty towers” and “brass eternal”. He gives lots of examples using nature.He uses “hunger ocean” to symbolize the greatness of the effect of the change causes on nature. He says hungry ocean “gain advantage” which is a human feature, by personification. He witnessed that even change caused nature to fight within itself. He again admires the power of change. The more he witnesses the power of change, much he is scared of it. He makes a symbolism by “state” to things people say wouldn’t happen. He says he has seen the biggest states decaying and nothing can last forever. He concludes with a point by the things he has witnessed, which is change will take away his love from him someday, when “the time” comes. He says the thought of change is like death, which he “cannot choose” He fears that time will take his love and he cannot escape from this fact.
In Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven”, he discovered with his internal fears and In William Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 64” it is seen that he made a bigger understanding of his external fear by getting help from his experiences. Poe’s usage of symbolism directed to him to a point which he realized his fears are inside him, meanwhile Shakespeare’s usage of symbolism directed him to find and admit the facts about his fear of change. Both kinds of fears are revealed by usage of symbolism, which created unique and effective sights to look at kind of fears.
Works Cited:
"Symbolism - Examples and Definition of Symbolism." Literary Devices. N.p., 02 July 2013. Web. 10 May 2015. <http://literarydevices.net/symbolism/>.
Images used on this page are courtesy of House of Widow
https://instagram.com/houseofwidow/
https://instagram.com/houseofwidow/