The Raven

By Edgar Allan Poe

‘The Raven’ is considered the best known poem by Edgar Allan Poe and can be analysed

in various ways. We can examine it from a structuralist point of view because E. A. Poe clearly

stated that he used his theories regarding the structure of literary work and illustrated the

construction of the poem in “The Philosophy of Composition”. It begins like a fictional story, as

he used some typical expressions such as: “once upon” and “then” as he wants to present

everything as a narrative.

By referring to one important structuralist figure we can illustrate some functions of

language that are to be found in this poem.

Functions of language:

- the referential function of language can be observed in the following lines:

“Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary…

Ah, distinctly, I remember it was in the bleak December.”

Its role is to set the context for the events that are to be presented. Thus, we can interpret the

poem in terms of time and setting. The syntagm “the bleak December” indicates depression,

melancholy and death. December can also be seen as a time of death and decay. Poe chooses this

setting in order to introduce the death of Lenore. The poet also reveals that “each separate dying

ember wrought its ghost upon the floor”. The dying is reminiscent of the life being blown out.

He also sets the landscape of death and darkness. The dying embers could also signify a dying

sanity as he oscillates between sanity and insanity. The narrator states that the dying embers

wrought ghosts on the floor and they can be interpreted as the reminders of sanity, and the floor

can stand for the mind, which is the foundation of thoughts.

Poe constructs the poem step by step choosing his words carefully (“If any literary work is too

long to be read at one sitting, we must be content to dispense with the immensely important

effect derivable from unity of impression”/ “, I reached at once what I conceived the proper

length for my intended poem length of about one hundred lines. It is, in fact, a hundred and

eight.”). First of all, he introduces the time when the action takes place, namely “The bleak

December”-deictic expression), the setting (a room), then the narrator and finally, Poe introduces

the raven.

Another function of language that can be analysed is the phatic one. This function can be seen in

the following lines:

“Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night’s Plutonian Shore!

Quoth the raven, ‘Nevermore’”

This function has the aim to start the conversation between the raven and the narrator and it also

has the role to maintain the contact between the interlocutors (the poet and the raven). We also

notice that the word “nevermore” becomes a keyword in the poem. Furthermore, it is a leitmotif;

as it represents the refrain of the poem, the quintessence, because it has tragic connotations. At

the narrator’s questions, the bird answers only “nevermore”. Even the poet states that the raven’s

words don’t have a clear meaning as they have a hidden meaning. The poet has to become aware

of its meaning.

We can also identify the poetic function n the following lines:

“Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,

Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dreams.

Words such as “darkness”, “fearing”, “doubting” show the melancholy of the poet and the

feelings of sadness and solitude that he is experiencing. We can clearly take notice of another

way of expressing the poetic function in the deep and complex meanings. Poe also uses

repetitions such as “dreaming dreams”, “nevermore” to create an atmosphere of illusion and to

achieve the unity of effect. We can say that the mood of the poem is influenced by its language.

The poem begins with words such as “bleak”, “weary”, “dreary” to present the poet’s sorrow and

gloom. These patterns help him create the refrain, which is the keyword ‘Nevermore’.

The poem also divides its characters and images into two opposing worlds: the world of light and

the world of darkness. Lenore, who is constantly described as “radiant” epitomizes the world of

light, the beauty. Other images of light include “the white bust of Pallas” and the lamplight that

illumines the speaker’s chamber. On the contrary, the Raven represents the seemingly larger and

more powerful forces of darkness on this bleak December midnight. Its shadow, the final image

of the poem, demonstrates his power to darken the weak and dying light of the speaker’s refuge.