Thursday, March 19, 2015

Edgar Allen Poe

"The Raven" is probably the most famous poem known of Edgar Allen Poe. I think I've read this poem a good 3 or 4 times in all of my middle and high school life. What Poe attempts to communicate in this poem is loneliness, anger, sadness, fear, doubt, and anxiety. The Raven resembles his constant reminder of the loneliness due to the loss of his wife, Virginia, in which he re-names 'Lenore' to rhyme with "nevermore".
In "Annabel Lee", I would describe the tone as anger and remorse because of the loss of his wife. He's furious at the gods for taking her away and accuses them of being jealous of their love for each other. I think that more than hatred and anger, it's more about him being deeply depressed and sad. It opposes The Raven in the way that the raven repeats "nevermore" as in he will never again see his wife, when in Annabel Lee, he laid by her side even after she died because he thought that would never separate them and their love for one another.