Poes Use Of Diction Essays - Poetry By Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven

Poe's Use Of Diction Born in 1809, losing his parents and contact with his siblings before the age of three, Edgar Allen Poe had no idea that he was destined to be a great writer. Before he mysteriously died in 1849, he wrote many tales, including poems and short stories, which immortalized his name. The Raven was one of Poe's greatest poems that brought him much fame. Poe's The Raven displays his poetical prowess through the use of his method to writing, diction and literary techniques. Like others held in the spotlight, Poe's talent and works were analyzed by critics. A few critics thought his popularity was just luck; however, other critics acknowledged Poe's intellect. Poe, in response to some criticism on his construction of The Raven, wrote his Philosophy in Composition, as seen in Macdonald's book (116-128). His purpose was to prove that a standard pattern to writing existed in The Raven. Poe began The Raven with his common theme of death which is prevalent in many of his works. In the case of this poem, it is a person mourning the death of his beloved. This theme most likely originated from his unstable family life as a child and the diminishing health of his wife who gave him emotional stability. These circumstances possibly led Poe to drink alcohol and take drugs, as suggested by Braddy, and influenced him to create such a morbid theme (1-6). Next, Poe decided on a word to center the poem around; this word was nevermore. Braddy suggested that Poe devised this word because he would soon never be able to hold his wife, Virginia, again (10). Poe held steadfast to his method and needed a person or thing to say this word. He first thought of a parrot, but then moved onto the idea of a raven, which presented more of a morbid feeling. Lastly, he determined to make the raven monotonously repeat the word in order to help create the mood. Now the writer needed a character to interact with the raven and a setting for the poem to take place. Here, Poe used his theme to compose a character. The protagonist would be a man who lost his lover and has not yet stopped mourning over his beloved. The character's pain was only increased through interaction with the bird, which consistently repeated a single word (Halliburton 1). Poe further developed this by confining the man to his bedroom where everything around him reminded him of his lost lover. Poe then started to develop the body of his poem, keeping in mind the ideas he wanted to represent. Poe introduced a rapping (Macdonald 77) that drove the man crazy as he desired to see his beloved again. Soon, Poe intensified the insanity of the character with the raven, by making the man believe the raven was actually answering his questions. As the protagonist believed the monotonous raven, he grew more frustrated and saddened at the reality that he would never see his beloved again. As Braddy wrote, the refrain of the raven --'Nevermore'-- mirrored despair perfectly (10). Poe still kept every occurrence in his poem within the limits of the real (Thompson 100). By skillfully and systematically writing The Raven, Poe proved that a poem could be popular by critics and the public, simultaneously. The great poet appealed to the critics and the sophisticated with the poem's hidden meanings and by following his method. Poe attracted the public's attention because everyone could relate to the pain of a bereaved lover. In order for a poem to be effective, Poe believed that it cannot be too short or too long. With either extreme, the effectiveness of the tale is greatly diminished. (Jacobs 436-443) Poe's diction played a major role throughout The Raven. Choosing the perfect words, such as nevermore, was vital to the development of The Raven. Without the words he had chosen, Poe most likely would have lost a great amount of effect to his poem. Diction had a major part in creating the atmosphere, or mood, of the poem. He used pondered, wrought, implore and peering to replace bland synonyms that were neither as effective nor as forceful. Also, words such as lore in place of