Poe’s Poesy in “The Raven” (LeDavid Olmstead)

This edition of “The Raven” explores Edgar Allan Poe’s poetic techniques and how they’ve made this poem a masterpiece. The commentary of this edition analyzes a myriad of his poetic devices, including the meter and rhyme scheme, alliteration and assonance, symbolism, imagery, repetition, enjambment and caesura, internal rhyme, narrative structure, and melancholic atmosphere and tone, which all coalesce to create his iconic “unity of effect”—a specific and intense emotional and psychological impact on the reader. Analyzing “The Raven” along these parameters will demonstrate not only Poe’s expertise in the fundamentals of poetry but also the effects his employed techniques have on his readership—and the reader of this particular edition will, through comprehension and contemplation of the analysis, more so know how to craft poems as engaging and nuanced as the master of poetry and “The Raven” himself: E. A. Poe.

If you’re more curious about Poe’s craft moves in prose (such as imagery, syntax, pacing, and voice), check out “A Perfect Story Never Dies,” an edition of “The Masque of the Red Death,” by Link Linquist here.

The source text is:

I chose this version of “The Raven” because it includes all revisions Poe has made along with changes made by others, such as Mabbott, who worked to correct Poe’s errors.