Death of Lenore: Art and Beauty in Poe's "The Raven"

Introduction: Death as the Lifeblood of Art

Edgar Allan Poe asserted that the ultimate subject for a work of art is the death of a beautiful woman — and that claim is certainly appropriate for many of the greatest works of fiction and poetry. "Romeo and Juliet," "The Awakening," and even the film "Moulin Rouge" all depend on the death of a beautiful woman to create art and texture. Death, then, can be the lifeblood of art, and Poe's poem "The Raven" is a shining example of this theme.

Edgar Allan Poe is one of America's most remarkable and recognized writers even today. His stories of death, live burial, and other macabre topics also make him a memorable early horror writer. Death is a common topic in his work, and "The Raven" is no exception. The death of the beautiful Lenore is both tragic and memorable, and it makes the poem even more heartbreaking. The poem's dark, sinister aspects are magnified by her death, leaving the reader to wonder what is more tragic — the death of Lenore or the life of the man left behind. This is one of the most important aspects of the death of a beautiful woman in art: she always leaves behind a miserable and morose lover. This reliance on death to create lasting art is not new; it is a common and recurring theme in fiction, drama, and poetry. Beautiful women who die are always sympathetic and heartrending to the reader, and so this literary device clearly works. It worked for Shakespeare, and it works for Poe. But what are the implications of this type of tragic death?

Lenore and the Power of Absence

There is no doubt that "The Raven" is one of Poe's most well-known works and certainly an unforgettable work of art. Who has not seen a raven and thought "Nevermore"? Many critics agree. Literary experts Richard Kopley and Kevin J. Hayes write, "If it [the poem] does not have the cachet of modernist or postmodernist poetry, it does have an alluring mix of accessibility and mystery that earns it enduring affection. It is a remarkable poem about remembering — and a work that readers never forget" (Kopley and Hayes 191). Yet the prime character in this poem no longer even exists, and that is one of its most memorable aspects.

Lenore is constantly on the narrator's mind, as these lines indicate: "'Wretch,' I cried, 'thy God hath lent thee — by these angels he hath / Sent thee respite — respite and nepenthe from thy memories of Lenore! / Quaff, O quaff this kind nepenthe, and forget this lost Lenore!' / Quoth the raven, 'Nevermore!'" (Poe). Just as the narrator can never forget his lost Lenore, neither can the reader. Her loss makes the reader want to know more. How did she die? How long ago? Who was she really? The author never addresses these questions, and so the poem seems incomplete — just as the narrator's life is incomplete without Lenore. This indicates how important her death is to the poem. There is something missing from the poem just as there is something missing from the narrator's own life.

Poe's Style and the Macabre

Poe wrote "The Raven" in 1845, close to the end of his life in 1849. His own life was a tragic blend of art, success, failure, and addiction. He died young at 40, leaving behind a legacy of strange tales, a tortured life, and a great talent shut down too soon. Nevertheless, "The Raven" remains one of his most celebrated works. Schoolchildren study and recite it, and just about anyone recognizes the reference to "Nevermore." Even the Baltimore Ravens professional football team takes its name from the poem.

Poe's work is memorable for several reasons, including his unique style of writing, which creates distinctive alliteration and rhyme sequences. Kopley and Hayes note that the poem "is generally trochaic octameter. That is, the lines of each work are built of a series of paired syllables (feet), the first syllable of which is stressed and the second unstressed; there are eight feet to each line" (Kopley and Hayes 192). This, along with the rhyming scheme ABCBBB, makes the poem difficult to forget, because all the meter and rhyme lead to the haunting refrain "Nevermore." Nevermore will the narrator see Lenore, and nevermore will the raven leave the narrator's door. Poe's style is often as macabre as his subject matter, and this poem is no exception. He also employs a fair amount of alliteration to keep the meter and rhyme coherent and notable. Somehow, because of the style and meter, there is something sinister about the raven and something sinister about the narrator in his grief. The style of the poem adds to the mystery and the questions, just as the death of Lenore adds to the overall tone.

Conclusion: Immortalizing Lenore

Finally, Poe's work may be sexist and may rely on common literary devices, but it is still a fine work of art. It proves that even some of the greatest and most enduring writers are not above using device and emotion to reach their readers. Many famous and successful authors have employed the same literary device to make their works memorable and interesting. Poe's style, his horrific qualities, and his ability to reach readers all contribute to his artistic stature, but his use of the death of a beautiful woman in this poem may be its most important quality. It distinctly illustrates how death and art are intertwined, and how grief, loneliness, and passion strike a chord in just about every reader. There is a saying that art often imitates life, and this poem graphically illustrates that truth. It is tragic when a beautiful young woman dies, and it makes the art even more remarkable and dreadful. It is also quite a successful way to make a work of art live on long after both the writer and the young woman have disappeared. Some of the greatest artistic works revolve around the death of a beautiful woman, and most of them are still popular, readable, and emotionally powerful today. "The Raven" is a great work of art for a number of reasons, and Poe was a great writer for equally compelling reasons. He knew a good literary device and when to use it with the greatest effect.

In conclusion, Poe's haunting poem "The Raven" would not be quite so haunting or memorable if it did not refer to and immortalize the death of the beautiful Lenore. Her presence with "the angels" lends a lingering and tragic note to the poem that would not exist otherwise. Poe alludes to so much throughout the poem — from loneliness and lost love to the perfection of Lenore herself. Without lost love, the poem would not be nearly as tragic, and perhaps would not even be as frightening. The poem is a clear and lasting testament that death is essential to certain types of art. Without the death of Lenore, "The Raven" would simply be another of Poe's works — not nearly as memorable or as distinctive.