The Raven

            Edgar Allan Poe's poem, "The Raven- portrays despair and anguish. The writing style of "The Raven- might remind one of the Demon Drop at Cedar Point. There is a slow and steady climb to the top, the climax, which is followed by a plummet to the bottom. Poe introduces a raven into the narrator's dream as a symbol of reality, the truth that the narrator struggles to face. While the narrator dreams, Poe utilizes the raven as a vehicle to express the torment and sorrow over the loss of a loved one. Poe has the narrator go through various mental stages, first relaxed, then questioning, and lastly irritation and despair to show what kind of power the raven has over the narrator. .
             Poe begins the poem having the reader believe the narrator is calm and tranquil, dozing as he reads his book. Having the narrator doze lets the reader know that he could be dreaming. A gentle tapping, possibly a branch, awakens him. The reader then learns that the narrator has lost Lenore, someone he loved deeply. "Ah, distinctly I remember it was the bleak December, and each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor-(7-8). The reader quickly feels a sense of the narrator's unrest over the loss of Lenore. "Eagerly I wished the morrow,--vainly I had tried to borrow From my books surcease of sorrow "sorrow for the lost Lenore " "(9-10). Poe has set the stage, and the narrator falling back asleep, begins his dream. .
             The gentle tapping enters his dream subconsciously, as if the tapping was Lenore returning. Poe has the tapping in his dream to act like Lenore is returning although she cannot and will not. Poe wants to make it appear that the narrator believes as though Lenore is returning, although the reality of her is returning is set in stone; she will never come back.
             And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door,.
             Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,.