'The Raven' by Edgar Allan Poe. An Analysis of the Raven as a Symbol of Death

Essay from the year 2016 in the subject Didactics - English - Literature, Works, grade: 2,0, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, course: Proseminar I - Introduction to Colonial Literature, language: English, abstract: 'The Raven' is one of the most famous poems by Poe, published in January 1845, and will be the basis of this paper. The poet Richard Wilbur said that 'of American writers, it is Poe who most challenges the reader not only to read him but to solve him'. Based on this quote it seems to be hard work to understand Poe's poems. Nevertheless, this paper aims to 'solve' his poem 'The Raven' by analyzing it and by pointing out the significance of the raven within the poem itself, and, on an abstract level, its impact on our everyday life. At first glance, the raven seems to be a symbol of death, which holds control over the narrator within the poem, and moreover becomes a constant reminder about the inability of man to escape his ultimate fate.

09.2009 -03.2011 Universität Hannover 04.2011- 07.2017 Universität Mainz 09.2016 - 03.2017 University of Glasgow 07.2017-01.2019 Studienseminar Meppen 02.2019- Studienrat am Gymnasium