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Symbolism In The Raven By Edgar Allan Poe

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“The Raven” by Edgar Allen Poe is a poem published in January of 1845, that has been read for over a hundred years. One reason this poem is particularly popular is because of the story behind it. A mysterious and possibly supernatural raven comes to a distraught man who is slowly slipping into madness. The detail in this poem pulls people into the story. Poe uses lots of symbolism in this poem and the biggest symbol is the raven itself. The raven symbolizes the man’s love for Lenore. Lenore was someone who was particularly important to this man. All he ever did was think about her. He tried to escape his thoughts, but every time he did he got pulled back into them. Not only does the raven represent love but it also represents the narrator 's grief and sorrow for her and since all he did was think about her he is forever going to be miserable without her. Because he never even tried to move on, he now really doesn’t know how to. Although, Lenore is not described at all. Poe only says that she is truly missed by the narrator. Lenore herself could be a simple symbol of love in general or a hope in a better world. Poe does describe her as “rare and radiant,” (10)
At the beginning of the story, Poe gives us a quite detailed picture of what the nameless man was doing and what the night was like. “Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,” (2) describes that he is reading during the late hour of midnight

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