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Despite the narrator's desperate pleas, the raven says nothing else than "nevermore." Moreover, the narrator now finds himself unable to get rid of the bird and states, "And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting/on the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;/and his eyes have all the seeming of a demons' that is dreaming,/and the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor:/and my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor/Shall be lifted -- nevermore!" (ln 103-108). Whether it is the bird or his grief for Lenore that triggered the narrator's insanity, he will never be able to escape the unanswered questions he posed to the bird and will forever be haunted by the memory of Lenore and by the physical presence of the raven.
The theme of the loss of a beautiful woman -- possibly rooted in the loss of his mother at an early age and the loss of his wife -- is a recurring theme in several of Poe's works, including his poem "Annabel Lee" and the short story "Ligeia." In both of these works, the narrator tries to come to terms with the loss of his lover. What is more, "Ligeia" also explores issues of good and evil as the narrator in the story attempts to reconcile the death of his lover, Rowena, and her transformation into Ligeia,...
Issues of madness are most prevalent in other Poe short stories such as "The Tell-Tale Heart" in which the narrator acts irrationally because he believes he is being haunted by his neighbor's evil eye. Like the narrator in "The Raven," the narrator in "The Tell-Tale Heart" convinces himself of the evil intent of something that does not have the capacity to be good or evil; a bird and an eye do not have the ability to reason, thus, logically, they cannot plot against an individual and any feelings or fears that do arise are a result of the narrators' subconscious anxieties overtaking them.
Because of the maddening and somber tone of Poe's works, if he were to be a drink, I believe he would absinthe. Even though Poe did not drink though he has been frequently referred to as an opium addicted drunk, the maddening hallucinogenic effects of the drink, coupled with the drink's alcohol content, appear to be reminiscent of the madness the narrator of "The Raven" feels. It has long been believed that drinking too much absinthe could drive a person to insanity. Furthermore, alcohol's depressant attributes, and its effect on mental and motor abilities, mirror the narrator's inability to properly process why the raven has been sent to him, if he has been sent at all. Absinthe's murky appearance is also reminiscent of the lack of clarity in the narrator's life as he cannot seem to get the answers he so desperately seeks from the raven.
Works Cited
Poe, Edgar Allan. "Annabel Lee." Complete Tales & Poems of Edgar Allan Poe. New York:
Vintage Books, 1975. pp. 654-666. Print.
-. Essays and Reviews. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1984. Print.
-. "Ligeia." Complete Tales & Poems of Edgar Allan Poe. New York:
Vintage Books, 1975. Print.
-. "The Raven." Complete Tales & Poems of Edgar Allan Poe. New York:
Vintage Books, 1975. Print.
-. "The Tell-Tale Heart." Complete Tales & Poems of Edgar Allan Poe. New York:
Vintage Books, 1975. Print.
Works Cited
Poe, Edgar Allan. "Annabel Lee." Complete Tales & Poems of Edgar Allan Poe. New York:
Vintage Books, 1975. pp. 654-666. Print.
-. Essays and Reviews. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1984. Print.
-. "Ligeia." Complete Tales & Poems of Edgar Allan Poe. New York:
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