Symbolism and Poetry, Essay Example

Writers use many different literary tools to help provide the reader with a deeper understanding of the events within the work.  Poetry maintains a number of these tools, and most notably authors are using several types of adjectives and colorful phrases that implement symbolism throughout their poems.  One poem that has become one of the most famous works of poetry is “The Raven” that was written by Edgar Allan Poe.  Poe has always been known for his dark and ominous portrayal of the characters that he depicted within his collection of poems.  Through using reader-response criticism, we are able to analyze the poem’s use of symbolism and gain a deeper understanding of the actions within the story and what they truly mean to the reader.

In this highly famous poem, Poe uses several forms of symbolism to bring a much deeper understanding and appreciation for the literary work to the reader.  The clearest symbol that Poe uses in this poem is the raven that the poem is titled after.  The use of the multiple repetitions used from the Raven quoting “nevermore” is important throughout this story.  As the narrator asks questions of the events that are occurring in his life, Poe uses the raven to answer the questions by constantly repeating “nevermore.”  If Poe would have used another human being or a more cognitive animal, it would have had much less effect on the overall meaning of the story.  The raven is mindless and his continuous phrase taunts and terrifies the narrator and forces him to have much more psychological pain than he otherwise would have.  The raven is unable to properly answer the question, which forces the narrator to ask questions of his circumstances that will never truly be answered.  Although the poem is inherently dark and ominous, the symbolism of the raven provides a deeper terrifying element to the poem and adds a much greater appreciation for the reader.

Within the poem, Poe utilized another clear symbol that came in the form of a statue that was made of Pallas, the goddess of wisdom.  The raven perched on the bust of this statue, and the precise reasoning is a little unclear.  Perhaps, the symbolism was meant to imply that the raven was speaking from wisdom that was implied from his position on the statue of the goddess of wisdom.  This statue also may have shown that the narrator was highly intelligent and well-educated, which provides the reader a greater appreciation for the circumstances that he faces throughout the poem.  An educated man, or even a man that appreciates wisdom, is haunted by the presence of a mindless raven that has no answers for his myriad questions.  Likewise, the narrator could inherently believe that the raven’s words had a much deeper meaning of wisdom that he could not understand.  This adds additional terror and pain to the well-educated narrator that prides himself for his appreciation of knowledge and wisdom.  The symbolism of the statue of Pallas is a very important part of this story because it can be deeply analyzed.  Although the true meaning of this symbol within the poem is not known, it can be surmised that Poe intended to imply that wisdom and education surrounding the events and the torment that the narrator experienced.

Another source of symbolism came from the multiple meanings of words that Poe used in the early portion of the poem.  The use of the words “midnight” and “December” in the first and second verses are very interested sources of symbolism that can have multiple meanings for the poem.  First of all, both of these words imply that something is coming to an end, in the form of either a night or a year.  Likewise, as these items come to an end, something must also begin anew or change.  This could mean that the year was reaching its end as well as the night that had brought about much torment for the narrator of the poem.  As the night and year are likely to come to an end, it can provide the reader and the narrator with a source of hope for a new beginning or a change in the circumstances that have been thrust upon the character.  The reader can easily imply early in the story that the torment of the narrator is about to reach its climactic end and some element within the story is about to end, change or begin anew.

Finally, Poe uses the physical chamber that the narrator is positioned in as another source of symbolism for the reader to gain a deeper appreciation for the events and setting of this poem.  The chamber likely is meant to illustrate the loneliness that the narrator is experiencing as well as the pain and suffering he has experienced through the loss of his love, Lenore.  The chamber is still full of rich furniture that can be viewed as another source of torment for the narrator in his pain of losing Lenore.  Although the narrator wishes to recollect all of the peaceful memories that he has for Lenore, he is constantly reminded of his pain that he has for having lost her in the first place.  This is very difficult for him and continues to add to one of the major sources of torment that the narrator experiences throughout the story.

As it has clearly been shown, Poe has utilized many physical and implied elements throughout the story to provide sources of symbolism for the reader.  The use of symbolism creates a deeper understanding and more complex appreciation for the entire poem and the events that surround the main character.  The raven, the statue of Pallas, and the narrator’s chamber are all example of physical symbolism that exist throughout the actual setting of the story.  Likewise, the implications of the multiple meanings in the words “midnight” and “December” provide the reader with a much deeper understanding of the meaning behind the time and month in the poem.  Without these sources of symbolism, it is clear that Poe would never have provided the reader with an opportunity to experience the torment and pain that the narrator was suffering from throughout the poem.