Posted by SONNET CLV on February 24, 19101 at 01:05:32:
"The Raven" actually presents a vision of Hell similar to that presented by Shakespeare in MACBETH. The story happens at midnight. The protagonist cannot sleep ("nearly napping"), which is also Macbeth's problem; nor can he receive any relief or satisfaction or comfort from the thing he loves most, which for Poe's narrator isreading (He is pondering "many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore" -- and the books are old, nothing new here), and for Macbeth the kingship. And then Poe's protagonist hears a noise to disturb him. (Remember the famous knocking following Macbeth's murder of Duncan?)
And that is all in the first verse!
In the second verse we learn it's December, the end of the year -- in this case, the end of life itself. We learn once again books will bring no relief. (What a terrible condition to be in -- surrounded by books you love, and unable to get any joy from them.) Poe's protagonist will never have joy again. Quoth the Raven "Nevermore!"
Notice the reference to the soul (verse three), and teh various references to angels (his lost Lenore) and of "saintly days of yore" (verse seven). The narrator was once a good man, but he has done something terrible to earn Hell. What did he do?
In verse three the "silken, sad ... purple curtains" thrill him. Could he have strangled Lenore? If he had killed his former loved one, it would explain why he is in Hell, and why she is not. Where is she? In Heaven, if we believe verse 16, where Lenore is called "a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore." She is in the "distant Aidenn" _Heaven, which is very far from where he is. And note that the opening line refers to the bird as a "devil" and the second line here (verse 16) notes that "Heaven bends above us." Of course, the God that both he and the Raven adore is not the God of Heaven at all ... but the other "God." The one who rules in Hell.
After Macbeth kills Duncan, an owl shows up. This owl is Macbeth's "familiar spirit," or the animal sent by the devil to hold the sinner's soul until such time as the soul and the sinner could be taken to Hell. (That's why the three witches in Macbeth have animals -- Paddock the toad, and Graymalkin the cat). The raven becomes the narrator's "familiar spirt."
Did you notice that this narrator is trapped in a room he can't escape? In verse four, when he opens the door, he sees only "Darkness there and nothing more." There is nothing beyond the door. He is in his own personal Hell ... forever.
In verse eight the Raven is refered to as having a name "on the NIght's Plutonian shore." Of course, Pluto is God of the Greek Underworld, a metaphor for the devil.
Notice in verse 10 -- "my hopes have flown before." Above the gate that enters into Dante's Hell (in the INFERNO) is the warning: "Abandon Hope all who enter here!"
In verse 15 the narrator wonders if there is "balm in Gilead" -- in other words, anything that can heal his sorrow and hurt. The Raven ures him there is not. Hell is permanent.
I could go on, but I'll leave you to discover other details that tell us this is about a man in Hell, for having committed a heinous crime, most likely the murder of the woman Lenore.
But I'll offer this last comment: the final verse ures us that the bird, with demon eyes, still is sitting on the bust of Pallas, goddess of judgment -- and the final line ures us that the very soul of the narrator, a soul which lies on the floor of this dungeon like place, "Shall be lifted -- nevermore!" He's in there to stay, all alone, and forever.
And this poem is here to stay, too. It is a minor poem in some ways, but because it proves so mysterious and fascinating, it will remain a reader favorite for as long as Poe and American lit survive. So enjoy it again ... and again. You may find you discover something new in every verse each time you read it.
In fact, I hope you'll look at it right now. And will you be confused about its meaning in the future?
Quoth the Raven -- Nevermore!
--SONNET CLV--