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October 09, 2005
Poe, "The Raven"
I had never read this poem before, but I did see the Halloween speacial of The simpsons when homer, marge, and bart it act out in their own version. I remember getting a weiry feeling from the episode. At the begining of reading this poem I had a weiry feeling, but at the end I just had a feeling of sadness and lonliness.
This poem is about the lonliness that you get in life. He has lost his wife, Lenore, and is suffering greatly from it. Everything in his life reminds him of her and she will not disappear. The raven stood for this constant reminder of her. The line of the poem that clearly drew a picture in my mind of this reminder of her is, "But whose velvet violet lining with the lamplight gloating o'er, She shall press, ah, nevermore." I have often been in the moment when something so little as fabic can bring back such memories. Smell has often brought back strong memories for me. Whatever emotion that it brings up inside us it is as if it will never go away. It is always there. It is a constant reminder of the past.
So, maybe Poe could have used some advice from this website.
Posted by MichelleKoss at October 9, 2005 02:52 PM
Comments
I saw that episode too! The only episode I've ever seen of that show- watched it in 10th grade English class.
"Everything in his life reminds him of her and she will not disappear." Exactly. (I blogged about this theme too.) The fact that the raven never leaves is just another reminder to the narrator that Leonore is gone, not coming back, and he is in pain. His saddness will never leave him now that he has this bird fixed in his house just as Leonore is fixed in his mind.
Posted by: Vanessa at October 9, 2005 10:46 PM