Blog Entry 1.3 Poetry Symbolism

The Raven By: Edgar Allan Poe

"Prophet!" said I, "thing of evil!- prophet still, if bird or devil!-
Whether Tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,
Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted-
On this home by horror haunted- tell me truly, I implore-
Is there- is there balm in Gilead?- tell me- tell me, I implore!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

The Poem that I have decided to choose is The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe. Due to the length of the poem I pick a little part from the poem. I have found some symbols in the poem such as the devil, which is a subordinate evil spirit at enmity with god, and having power to afflict humans, both with bodily disease and with spiritual corruption. Which symbolizes sin or in this case a evil source of power. Another symbol is evil, morally wrong or bad; immoral; wicked. Which symbolizes is a devious minded something that lacking integrity, feelings of hate anger. Poe calls the bird evil and a devil from its responds to him questions. A prophet is a person who speaks for god for example Moses. He calls the bird a raven because when the bird says "nevermore" it some how answers the question Poe asks the bird. The Tespest with is a windstorm and symbolizes worries about the uncertain future and has to do with stress and anxiety. The raven has to be one of the biggest objects in this poem. The black bird with a harsh call is the symbol is ideas for the future or a omen of something that could happen or could have happen, in this case would be the “balm n Gilead”. The plot of this poem is a little confusing, the word desert which is a region so arid because of little rainfall that it supports only sparse and widely spaced vegetation or no vegetation at all. The symbol for this is having no feelings, meaningless, unenjoyably, lack of respect, lack of real friendship. I really don’t know how this as to do anything to do with the poem.

To me this passage of the poem, Poe is yelling at the raven thinking it is some kind of demon or hell bird which is answering him and wondering how the raven came to him if it was some kind of storm on purpose as if someone or something made the raven came and speak to him. In his house that no one lives in where it's just him and his thoughts and then a bird comes to tease him with it's words and He begs the bird to tell him where the birds from and what is it doing here and if there "is there balm in Gilead" which seems to me to be a paradise or some kind of happy place where Poe's dead lover would be. But the Raven answers "nevermore" cause Poe to lose it.


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The Raven By: Edgar Allan Poe