"The Raven"

     "The Raven" was written by Edgar Allan Poe. Edgar wrote the poem in a gothic way, since he was known for his mysterious, scary, and frightening tone. Gothic literature was common during his era, and it consisted of four main aspects. The aspects were: Set in a bleak and remote place;characters are in a psychological/physical torment; a supernatural element has to be present;plot involves macabre, or violent incidents. Gothic literature would not be called gothic if it did not consist of these aspects.
     The setting of "The Raven" was in a humongous house, during December, at midnight. It was set in a bleak place, so it has an aspect of the Gothic literature. Violent incidents were not common in the poem, but it can give hints to what happened to Lenore, and what he wanted to do to the bird since it was annoying him. The macabre can be symbolized by the raven itself, because it was dark and scary. Psychological torment means when a soul or a mind is troubled, like the narrators. He was having problems with accepting the fact that Lenore is gone. The narrator actually believes that the raven is speaking to him and trying to tell him something important. The mysterious events that happened in "The Raven" include the stuffiness of the room, the narrator thinking there are ghosts in it, and him trying to think nothing is wrong. The bird, for the narrator, was a way of trying to turn him away from Lenore, and all the thoughts he had about her. He had lost Lenore, and was in utter grief. When he asks the raven if he will ever see Lenore in Heaven, the bird responds "Nevermore", and that drives him crazy. The ending ended with him full of sorrow that the bird never leaves, and the shadow of sorrow that will never leave.