The Gothic Elements In Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven (Essay Example)

Gothic literature is a style of writing that employs dark and dramatic scenery. Literature written in a gothic style creates supernatural encounters and events that are beyond explanation. A writer who shows this gothic style of writing is Edgar Allan Poe. Poe uses this style of writing to go through his life, particularly the tragic love stories. In “The Raven,” Edgar Allan Poe displays a Gothic style of writing by bringing in dark elements such as the bird, the raven, and making the setting a dark and dreary night as he is all alone in distress about losing his love, Lenore. 

One of the main elements present in Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” that helps the poem represent Gothic literature is the character of the raven. Ravens are often known to symbolize and be connected to death. The raven gives a feeling of impending doom with its presence and compels the speaker to rethink his desires. The raven can also be viewed as a stand-in for Poe himself as the raven scolds the young man for both wishing to forget Lenore and also wanting to remember her forever (“The Raven”). Poe chose the raven as the main presence in the poem to add a more dramatic and gloomy effect: “Often associated with death, the raven serves a heavy symbolic and dramatic role in the poem, its presence bringing a sense of foreboding. The raven brought distress and unease to the poem and speaker by scolding the man for being confused about his decision of Lenore. The raven was also a representation of Poe trying to forget Lenore. The raven flies into the house and lands on a statue of Pallas, Greek goddess Athena: “Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter. Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door”(Poe). These lines from “The Raven,” add more gothic elements to the poem because the raven is known as the big, scary bird of death that lands on a statue of the Greek goddess Athena, known as the Greek goddess of peace. Although the raven was a dooming presence throughout the poem, the raven was also a representation of Poe himself pertaining to his decision with Lenore. 

In “The Raven,” Poe represents Gothic literature by creating a madman characteristic of the speaker and a gloomy setting. Poe uses Gothic elements by making the speaker have homicidal and suicidal fantasies. The speaker is the “last survivor” or final participant in the drama of no end. Poe shows this in “The Raven” by making the speaker the only person left, as his love Lenore is no longer there (Frank 334-335). The speaker reflects that his whole life has been an experience of loss, and no one wants to stay with him. “Till I scarcely more than muttered, ‘Other friends have flown before, On the morrow, he will leave me, as my Hopes have flown before.”(Poe)  The speaker tells the raven that everyone has left him, and he believes the raven will leave him behind, as well. Poe adds the element of confusion and unease by having the young man open a door where noises had come from, only to see darkness: “Awakened at midnight by a sound outside his chamber, he opens the door, expecting a visitor, he only finds darkness” (Edwards 3139-3140). When the speaker opened the door he was expecting Lenore to be on the other side of the door, providing the element of uncertainty and anxiety. In the end, the madman is losing his mind and believes that a bird can talk, only making his anxiety and uncertainty worse. 

The last element of Gothic writing Poe includes in “The Raven” is the emotion of distress from a lost loved one. The speaker is torn with the grief of the loss of his love Lenore, and while weak and worn out, the speaker sought distraction from his sorrow by reading mysterious books. Around midnight, the speaker is awoken by a sound at his door and is expecting a visitor, Lenore. There is tapping at the window and a raven appears while repeating the words “Nevermore.” He had begun to get agitated, so to calm himself he tried to imagine Lenore’s presence, but it was not working. The speaker believed God had sent the raven to distract him from the loss of Lenore (Edwards 3139-3140). The young man begs the bird to inform him whether or not he will be cured of his despair: “Is there, is there balm in Gilead?-tell me-tell me, I implore!” The speaker says “is there balm in Gilead”, the balm of Gilead is a reference from the Old Testament when people had salvation through Christ; they were healed through Christ. The speaker is asking the bird if he will soon be healed from the loss of Lenore or not, as the people were healed from their sins by Christ (Poe). The speaker states how lonely and depressed he is after he loses his love, Lenore. He also tells how he tries to distract himself from the loss:  “Eagerly I wished the morrow, vainly I had sought to borrow, From my books surcease of sorrow, sorrow for the lost Lenore” (Poe). The speaker is deeply troubled and longs for sleep in the hope he may feel better the next day, but he is depressed over his loss. The speaker is trying to read to distract himself from the sorrow for his lost love, Lenore (Poe). The speaker attempts and fails to get further information from the raven, and he appears to be both frustrated and hopeful. The speaker cannot tell if the bird is a sign of wickedness or a sign from God regarding Lenore. The young man soon realizes that he is doomed to suffer the loss of Lenore indefinitely without relief (“The Raven”). The speaker believes God sent the raven to distract him from Lenore to eliminate his grief: thy God hath lent thee by these angels he hath sent thee Respite, respite, and nepenthe, from thy memories of Lenore; Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore!” (Poe) The speaker believes that God is trying to help him with his grief over the loss of Lenore by sending the bird of death to his house. The speaker is not in the right headspace to think through the situation clearly because of the distress, Lenore. As a result, the speaker’s anxiety worsens and becomes uneased from the loss of Lenore. 

Edgar Allan Poe uses a Gothic style of writing in "The Raven" by incorporating dark elements such as the raven and setting the scene on a dark and dreary night while he is alone and distraught at the loss of his love, Lenore. The raven is considered a dark element because it brought distress and unease to the poem and speaker by scolding the man for being confused about his decision of Lenore. The speaker explains that his whole life has been an experience of loss and making his life seem gloomy and dark just like the setting. The speaker is torn with grief over the loss of his love Lenore and while weak and worn out, the speaker believed God had sent the raven to distract him from this loss-making him uneasy and more anxious than before. Throughout the poem, there have been many elements of Gothic writing shown that have set the scene and brought more drama to the reader. 

Works Cited

Edwards, Clifford. “The Raven.” Masterplots II: Poetry Series, edited by Philip K. Jason, vol. 6, Salem Press, Inc., 2002, pp. 3139-3140. 

Frank, Frederick. “Edgar Allan Poe.” Gothic Writers: A Critical and Bibliographical Guide, edited by Douglass H. Thomson, Jack G. Voller, Frederick S. Frank, vol. 1, Greenwood Press, 2002, pp. 331-335, 338.

 Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Raven.” Poetry Foundation, https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48860/the-raven. Accessed 20 Jan. 2022.

"The Poetry of Edgar Allan Poe." Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism, edited by Lynn M. Zott, vol. 117, Gale, 2003. Gale Literature Resource Center, link.gale.com/apps/doc/H1410000829/LitRC?u=lap36mtcarmel&sid=bookmark-LitRC&xid=4995822c. Accessed 19 Jan. 2022. 

"The Raven.” Gale In Context Online Collection, Gale, 2019. Gale In Context: High School, link.gale.com/apps/doc/MOKISV603559429/SUIC?u=lap36mtcarmel&sid=bookmark-SUIC&xid=068fa4c6. Accessed 19 Jan. 2022.