Rhetorical Analysis of The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe

“The Raven” is a poem of horror and grief about a raven and grief over his never-to-return love, Lenore. It is illustrated by American writer Edgar Allen Poe. First published in January of 1845 and upon the publication of his piece, he was met with great praise and critical success, despite having been a published author and journalist for many years. “The Raven” is one of Poe’s greatest poems. In his poem, Edgar Allen Poe uses many different rhetorical devices that draw the reader in and adds interest to his writing, such as alliteration, symbolism, rhyme scheme, language, etc.

Since “The Raven” is a poem and not a more formal piece of writing, Poe only utilizes pathos as a way of connecting with the reader. Poe’s artwork is completely an emotional appeal. In the beginning, Poe helps the reader identify with the protagonist through the description of the emotions that the bereaved lover is experiencing. He portrays the protagonist as lacking sleep and filled with pain and sorrow over his loss. The lover is “weak and weary” but is still awake at midnight in “bleak December” examining Lenore’s book collection. This forms a picture of a man that is very heart broken. Furthermore, when the protagonist opens his chamber door, hoping to see Lenore on the other side, Poe displays the longing that the lover has for his deceased maiden.

Poe utilizes ethos to make the story more relatable, Poe’s audience is people who can’t let go of their loved ones, but also people who try and ignore or forget their past. He also uses repetition. Repetition is a literary device that repeats the same words or phrases. The words “Nevermore” and “Nothing More” are used many times, both words creating a melancholy tone to the poem. Both words have a negative connotation, showing the reader the sadness of the protagonist. It also represents the feeling of something that won’t leave the mind. By ending the poem with “And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor/ Shall be lifted - nevermore,” Poe is showing that there is nothing you can gain from ignoring or obsessing over your past. Poe also made this poem stand out more by using winter as the tone of the beginning setting and using bleak December as a use of a setting. Poe knew how to create a setting using time and place to interpret death.

“The Raven” is also an example of Symbolism. Symbolism is the use of symbols to signify ideas and quantities by giving them symbolic meanings that are different from their literal sense. Poe illustrated ravens because they often represent death or sadness, which shows in the poem. Ravens, also thought to be a messenger bird, could have also been giving a message that will not leave the reader's mind such as “Evermore”. Another rhetorical device in “The Raven” is his use of rhyming in his poem. “Eagerly I wished the morrow; - vainly I had sought to borrow” even though it seems interesting it gives the poem a musical tone to the audience. He creates a dark musical tone to his poem to make the poem seem more sad and depressing.

Edgar Allen Poe includes many examples of alliteration. Alliteration is used throughout the poem to add rhythm to his writing, as well as influence the mood from the reader. “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…” Poe uses alliteration “weak and weary,” two words that have related meanings. Both of the words sound good together and flow nicely when read.

Despite using these tactics Poe manages to appeal to a larger audience than he could have ever imagined. Due to his emotional, sad storyline. Emotions occur from the loss of his wife Lenore, but also from the insanities in which he goes through because of his loss.

Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “The Raven” was about a young man who mourned the death of his wife. But what really made this poem stand out was the use of setting. By using winter as the tone of the beginning setting and using bleak December as a use of a setting. Poe knew how to set a scene using time and place to interpret death.

There’s a lot that goes into these dark gothic poems and they’re a great example of rhetoric. The rhetoric is fairly easy to spot as the point of dark poems is to get someone to feel emotional or scared. Although we typically think of rhetoric used in argumentative pieces of writing or media such as political elections and/or in advertisements. They’re both great examples of rhetoric as the point is to persuade the reader to feel some type of emotion or feeling. This poem did a great job of using its rhetorical devices and to make the reader more intrigued by the writing.