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Abigail  Folmer  
Activity  3  –  The  Raven  by  Edgar  Allan  Poe  
 
Question  1  –  What  typical  gothic  motifs  are  used?  
 
‘The   Raven’   By   Edgar   Allan   Poe   is   a   distinctly   gothic   poem   that   uses   first   person  
narration  to  create  a  melancholy  tone
...
   
 
At   the   beginning   of   the   poem,   we   are   introduced   to   the   speaker’s   “sorrow   for   the   lost  
Lenore”   who   the   readers   are   led   to   believe   was   a   romantic   interest   of   his   who   is   now  
dead
...
  Lenore’s   name   reoccurs   often,   suggesting   that   the  
speaker   is   grief-­‐stricken,   which   may   be   causing   his   insanity   and   desperation   to   forget  
her
...
   The  speaker’s  loneliness  is  further  alluded  to  when  
he  says  that  “other  friends  have  flown  before”  suggesting  that  Lenore  is  not  the  only  one  
to   have   left   him   -­‐   another   possible   cause   for   his   psychological   state   (madness   being   a  
common   motif   in   other   gothic   works)
...
 
 
Poe   contrasts   light   and   dark,   as   Lenore   is   the   Greek   for   “light”;   as   well   as   this   she   is  
described  with  angelic  qualities,  which  contrast  with  the  blackness  of  the  Raven  and  the  
darkness   of   the   night
...
 When  describing  the  bird  as  uncowardly,  Poe  writes,  “thy  crest  
be  shorn  and  shaven,”  referencing  the  Medieval  tradition  of  shaving  cowardly  knight’s  
heads   to   humiliate   them
...
 The  room  itself  fits  in  with  the  Gothic;  
although   we   aren’t   given   a   lot   of   detail   about   his   “chamber”,   the   curtains   are   “silken”  
and   “purple”   and   the   cushions   have   “velvet   lining”,   creating   an   image   of   the   room   being  
quite  dark  yet  extravagant  –  like  a  lot  of  Medieval  Gothic  décor
...
  The   use   of  
“Plutonian”   as   an   adjective   leads   the   reader   to   associate   the   sinister   aspects   of   death  
with  the  sea,  creating  an  image  of  a  dark  deathly  sea
...
  “Shore”   could   be   a   metaphor   for   the  
size   of   death   –   that   it   is   vast,   and   perhaps   it   is   coming   for   the   speaker
...
 
 
Question  2  –  Look  for  these  additional  elements:  the  position  of  the  narrator;  the  
appeal  to  the  senses;  the  creation  of  tension
...
 As  the  poem  progresses,  
the  speaker’s  insanity  increases
...
 He  thinks  that  the  raven  repeats  itself  so  often  because  “Nevermore”  is  the  
only   word   it   has   learned
...
  He   starts   to   think   that   the   bird   is  
telling  him  that  Lenore  never  “shall  press”  on  his  cushions  again,  meaning  that  he  will  
never   see   her
...
  By   the   end   of   the  
poem   he   has   concluded   that   his   soul   “Shall   be   lifted   –   nevermore!”   and   that   he   will  
never  be  happy,  ending  the  poem  on  a  monotonous  note
...
 As  well  as  his  
obsession,   he   seems   to   romanticise   Lenore   by   referring   to   her   as   a   “radiant   maiden”,  
perhaps  suggesting  that  he  is  quite  disturbed   by  her  passing   –  perhaps  it  was  a  murder
...
   In  
other  works  of  Gothic  literature,  heartbreak  can  alter  one’s  mental  state,  suggesting  that  
perhaps  the  narrator  is  perhaps  imagining  the  raven  speaking
...
  This   brings   us  
back  to  a  common  theme  of  insanity  in  the  Gothic  genre
...
 In  this  case,  the  two  adjectives  rhyme,  making  the  poem  quite  musical  when  
read  aloud
...
 The  alliteration  of  certain  words  put  emphasis  on  
the  meaning  as  well  as  sounding  aurally  appealing;  “startled  at  the  stillness”  grabs  the  
reader’s  attention  abruptly  after  the  sombre  ending  of  the  previous  paragraph
...
  “Here   I   opened   wide   the  
door;   -­‐   Darkness   there   and   nothing   more”   alludes   to   the   supernatural   and   ghosts,  
instilling  a  sense  of  mystery  and  suspense  –  is  the  narrator  in  danger?  Poe  uses  imagery  
to  increase  the  ghostly  atmosphere  –  “deep  into  that  darkness  peering”  –  and  uses  the  
personification  of  the  echo  as  it  “murmured”  to  him,  to  suggest  that  perhaps  things  are  
alive  in  the  darkness  –  adding  an  element  of  fear  to  the  surroundings
...
  It   is   a   musical   ballad   that   is   written   in   trochaic   octameter:   most   lines   have  
sixteen   syllables   with   alternating   stressed   and   unstressed   syllables
...
  Additionally,   the   poem   has   an   ABCBBB   rhyme  
scheme,   this   continues   throughout   the   poem   giving   it   a   very   uniform   rhythm,   especially  

Abigail  Folmer  
since   all   B   rhymes   throughout   the   poem   are   an   “or”   sound
...
   
 
Poe  uses  internal  rhyme  throughout  the  poem,  for  example:  
 
“Ah,  I  distinctly  I  remember  it  was  in  the  bleak  December;  
And  each  separate  dying  ember  wrought  its  ghost  upon  the  floor
...
  This   adds   effect   to   the   quite   mysterious   and   ghostly   tone   of  
the  poem,  as  when  you  read  it  aloud  the  repetitive  rhyme  and  structure  could  sound  like  
possession
...
   
 



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