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McKenna Dean
Dr. Kerri Allen
English 1102-09
11 March 2015
The Raven: Effects of Loneliness and Grief
The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe tells a story of a man, the narrator, living in loneliness
and grief. The narrator becomes more and more unstable over the loss of his precious Lenore,
and the darkness takes over his life, resulting in his suicide. Poe uses alliteration, especially with
hard consonant sounds, to show how much more intense the grief is becoming throughout the
story. Also, he uses a specific rhyme scheme and the repetition of rhyming words and phrases to
keep the story moving quickly so that readers can understand how rapidly the events of the story
progress and how unstable the narrator is becoming. Lastly, Poe creates a very dreary setting and
uses imagery to help readers understand the darkness inside of the narrator. Poe demonstrates
how loneliness and grief can eventually consume one if he allows it to keep building up inside of
him.
Throughout the story, Poe uses alliteration to show how intense the narrators grief is
becoming. Through the alliteration, one can visualize the agony the narrator is going through and
how it is consuming him. For example, the narrator says, Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal
ever dared to dream before (26). The repetition of the hard d sound makes the reader physically
feel the intensity of the grief the narrator is experiencing. These hard consonant sounds are used
by Poe to create tension and pain in the reader himself. As the narrator becomes more unstable,
and is reaching his breaking point, the alliteration and the presence of harsh consonant sounds
become more and more frequent. For example, in the seventh from the last stanza of the poem,

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the narrator says, What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt, an ominous bird of yore (71). He
uses this line to describe how irritated he is becoming at the raven, which has been the image
used to show the level of his instability throughout the poem. As he begins to become more
unstable, the alliteration is used more and more in reference to the bird. Then, in the second to
last line of the second to last stanza, the narrator says, Take thy beak from out my heart, and
take thy form from off my door! (101). This represents the peak of his frustration, right before
he ends the struggle by killing himself.
Also, Poe uses a specific rhyme scheme and the repetition of rhyming words and phrases
to set the pace of events in the narrators life for the reader and to show the increasing instability
of the narrator. The narrator says, While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a
tapping, / As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door (3-4). With the constant
rhyming words throughout these two lines, readers tend to read the lines faster. Poe puts those
words together to force the readers to read at the pace he wants to be set in the poem. Beginning
the repetition of rhyming words and phrases so early on in the poem helps to immediately show
how fast events are going to occur later in the poem. This rapidity of pace helps readers to
automatically sense the urgency portrayed in the poem. As the story progresses, so do the rhymes
and repetition of certain phrases; such as Prophet! said I, thing of evilprophet still, if bird or
devil! (85, 91). This line refers to the raven, and is used to show how maddened he is becoming
by it. This frequency of rhyme and of certain phrases also helps the reader to view the narrators
growing instability more clearly. Also, the narrator says Quoth the raven, Nevermore. (84, 90,
96, 102). He says this at the end of four stanzas in a row, which are four out of the last five. He
says this line consistently, almost mocking the raven, as he is reaching the height of his
frustrations. This is significant because the only time in the last five stanzas that he does not end

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with this line is in the last stanza, as he is ending his life. At the end of the last stanza, the
narrator says, Shall be liftednevermore! (108). The significance of this line is that he is using
the ravens word, but instead of quoting it, he is saying it himself. The narrator uses this to end
the poem abruptly and to end his growing instability, by ending his life.
Finally, Poe creates a setting and uses imagery that both reflect the narrators feelings.
Poe shows the grief and the darkness the narrator feels by creating a mysterious, dreary setting.
The poem begins with Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary; (1).
By saying this in the first line of the poem, the reader automatically realizes this is a very dark
story. Poe even says that this took place in the bleak December; (7). Not only does Poe pick to
express a visual that is very dreary, he also picks the coldest month for it to occur in. This shows
that he wants the reader to feel the tension and the grief before he even begins the story of what
is occurring with the narrator. At the end of the story, Poe uses only a lamplight to create a
shadow of the raven onto the floor. After the shadow is cast, the narrator says And my soul from
out that shadow that lies floating on the floor/ Shall be liftednevermore! (107-108). Poe uses
this last image of darkness to show how overcome with grief the narrator is and how he chooses
to resolve it. Poe uses this shadow and the lamplight behind it to show how focused on the
darkness, not the light, the narrator is. This symbolizes the narrator giving up hope instead of
clinging to the little light that is left.
Poes way with words is used to tell the story much more clearly. Through the use of
literary devices, a world of darkness and grief is seen in the narrators words and actions. The
narrators grief over the loss of Lenore is felt by the reader because of Poes word choices. Poe
uses alliteration to portray the grief and how it is growing. He also uses rhyme scheme and the
repetition of rhyming words and phrases to quicken the pace of the story. This shows the rapid

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progression of events and the growing instability of the narrator. Finally, he uses imagery and
setting to portray the darkness for the reader. By the use of his word choice, placement, setting
and imagery, Poe shows how grief and loneliness can consume one if he does not do anything to
combat it.