Before you continue reading, visit this site for some interesting raven trivia....
"I had gone so far as the conception of a Raven--the bird of ill omen--monotonously repeating the one word, 'Nevermore,' at the conclusion of each stanza, in a poem of melancholy tone, and in length about one hundred lines. Now, never losing sight of the object supremeness, or perfection, at all points, I asked myself--'Of all melancholy topics, what, according to the universal understanding of mankind, is the most melancholy?' Death--was the obvious reply. 'And when,' I said, 'is the most melancholy of topics most poetical?' From what I have already explained at some length, the answer, here also, is obvious-- 'When it most closely allies itself to beauty': the death, then, of a beautiful woman is, unquestionably, the most poetical topic in the world--and equally is it beyond doubt that the lips best suited for such a topic are those of a bereaved lover."
From Poe's The Philosophy of Composition, 1846. (taken from Neurotic Poets: The Raven)
The Poe Decoder was the most useful site in the journey to find meaning to Poe's famous poem, "The Raven." The Poe Decoder says, "Of all melancholy topics, Poe wanted to use the one that was universally understood, and therefore, he chose Death as his topic. Poe (along with other writers) believed that the death of a beautiful woman was the most poetical use of death, because it closely allies itself with Beauty." I never saw the parallels of Beauty with Death before reading this poem. Now, I understand that "The Raven" gives the reader a beautiful woman, who dies, for reasons unbeknownst, and expects the read to understand, "nevermore." How bleak can someone be to intersect, lively, fresh beauty with death? Then I realized that was one of the points to the poem, there is a certain beauty in death.
Poe himself, seemed to be concentrated on Beauty in poetry. The aforementioned website link elaborates: "The demands of Truth are severe. She has no sympathy with the myrtles. All that which is so indispensable in Song is precisely all that which she has nothing whatever to do. It is but making her a flaunting paradox to wreathe her in gems and flowers. In enforcing a truth we need severity rather than efflorescence of language.
The poem therefore must not follow the early Puritan confines of ramist logic. The poem should not try to pass some truth or morals but should find Beauty. Poetry for Poe is “no mere appreciation of the Beauty before us, but a wild effort to reach the Beauty above.” This means that poetry is not describing a beauty here on earth, but is trying to describe a divine Beauty. Poetry is supposed to excite the soul so that it reaches into the divine to glimpse this Beauty."
Ultimately, isn't this poem a comment that death isn't all bleak or bad? There is some shard of beauty to it? What do you think?
Posted by KatieAikins at October 4, 2004 7:46 PMHow goth!
Posted by: Dennis G. Jerz at October 5, 2004 9:14 AMOnce again the great Katie has inspired me. Death and beauty stem from the same part of the heart. Loved your research, it helped me a lot. Take a look at my blog!!
Posted by: Katie Lambert at October 5, 2004 8:33 PMKatie, I agree with what you quoted about poetry exciting the soul. I think any art whether it be dance, music, movies, literature, or a painting should excite the soul. That is the purpose of it... to bring some sort of emotion to the viewer/reader. In Poe's The Raven, it is very sad. But at the same time perhaps instead of dwelling on the gloom and "sorrow for the lost Lenore", the narrator still must see some beauty in the "painful memories". This is why the memories are so painful. If Lenore hadn't meant anything to the narrator, it would not be such a sad experience. I guess this give new meaning to the phrase "beauty is pain". On the other and the raven Is supposed to be a sign of ill-omen. http://www.poedecoder.com/essays/raven/ If Poe's intention was to represent his feelings for Lenore as beautiful why wouldn't he choose a different bird? (ie.a dove) This is supposed to represent peace and/or love. http://members.aol.com/Sabetour/Peace.html
Maybe he still loved Lenore but was not at peace with it yet.
Dear Katie
I quieston you views in some ways. i believe what you say when death is a beauty. but what you forgett is pain an ulgy side of mans pain for the love of his lenore. as i see it he is pained for useing the time he once had with Lenore, a love that knew him and loved him. But hey what do i know im only 17 and have just started an eassy on Poe, thanks for your point of view Morris. please email me if you wish to question any thing i have said. till next time Nevermore
I worked at the Morgan Library and one of the librarians there allowed me to see a Poe letter together with a daguerrotype of him, If anyone is into Poe I urge to contact the Morgan Library in NYC to see personal items of Poe, let them know you are doing research or a Paper on him. As to the discussion about melancholy, in my opinion is the confusion or sadness that emanates from this totality (death) maybe not death itself but an aspect of primordial wonder that is unexplicably horrible and awesome at the same time. If we speak in freudian terms "Death"is something that altough present at every moment in our lives it is something that needs to be boxed daily in our subconscious lest we become overtaken with fear or melancholy,
adnd thus paralyzed and cease to be sane, Poe was a little better at melancholy than van Gogh, Poe channeled his art more craftlily than Van Gogh and Poe was very confident about it his writing. Melancholy in Humans (I Think)is that sadness that comes from someone struggling against a foe that is overwhelming and final and our poorly constructed thoughts of "what is to come" afterwards, this is a struggle to understand something beyond the reality by-product of our nervous system, that we will never understand, its only upon entering the door of infinite dimension that we will be able to get it or "not want nor need to understand it", it is melancholic and tragic when the object of our loss has been the recipient of our impetus yet this for the universe this flux does not supercede any of its inmortal attributes nor does it guarantee any bending of the divine rules of life or death. Melancholy could also be that platform of a careful balance of understanding and feeling, a subconscious realization that there isn't much we can do about these matters yet we must feel it out in order to affirm our humanity or our emotional spectrum, it may be the middle ground to healing or to total deppresion or mental wry. more if I didnt have to go to work...Thanks Katie for hosting such a rich discusiion here.