The Power Of Perception In Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven

The Raven The famous line by shakespeare will last as long as time. “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”this line makes one think differently about a rose. Edgar allan Poe also makes us think differently about a simple thing like a Raven, by changing their perception of what a raven really is. Perception can be used in a powerful was by making a simple object be viewed in ways that become blurred and distorted that creates a false illusion. The writer can use this false illusion to catch the reader 's attention by contrasting reality with a different perspective or different illusion.
Thesis statement: Edgar Allan Poe is a great writer because he uses the power of perception to portray the Raven in two opposite ways. Edgar Allan Poe starts using the power of perspective in the poem “The Raven” by simply portraying the raven as a normal and a terrifying bird. The Narrator describes it as “this ebony bird”( Poe line 43) with “thy crest be shorn and shaven( Poe line 45).” By describing the bird with this simple description of being black without any feathers on its head, the audience can easily picture a common bird.However, the perception changes

While the perception of the reader remains the same, the narrator’s perception of the bird becomes more jumbled and insane when he starts asking questions like “is there balm in Gilead? (line 89)”. His troubled mind seeks for relief from the bird . Also he is asks if there is a balm that can heal anything, and if he will ever be able to embrace Lenore again. When relief of grief doesn’t come the image of the bird changes to a prophet possibly sent from the devil. “Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn, It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore – Clasp a rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore.:( line 93-95).” He believed that a bird was a.. Edgar Allan Poe needed a “normal” to show what is not normal. If the bird was also crazy this would make both