The Raven: Edgar Allen Poe (Essay Sample)

The Raven: Edgar Allen Poe
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Introduction
Numerous artifacts have their unique way of writing. However, among the ones that stand out is "The Raven," a publication by Edgar Allen Poe. The poem from 1845 earns the author immense praise as he had been a writer and journalist for many years. In this famous publication, a man grieves over the death of his love. There is a raven at the door of this man's residence, with which the man is consistently in conversation. Interestingly, the man believes that the bird is listening even though the only response from the raven is the word 'Nevermore.' Matters get worse since he only receives that specific response despite numerous questions. The nature of his conversation becomes a frustration, thus reminding him of his despair. The work is undoubtedly a masterpiece in literature, considering the author brings out tragedies that impacted his life in all his works. Edgar loses his mother at age six, and the trauma affects him any time he passes by a cemetery. In adulthood, he also has alcoholism challenges, threatening his life. Generally, Edgar realizes life is too complicated, and this aspect of his life comes out in 'The Raven.' Incidentally, some critics argue that the poem is generally deemed to adopt ethos. Others refute and state that as the reader gains a deeper understanding of the story, readers can consider the piece predominantly pathos. These controversies create the need to have a rhetorical analysis of the poem. An additional element in the paper will entail an analysis that breaks down the artifact into smaller sections and explain their significance rhetorically. The true nature of the man's despair is not brought out in his loss but in his interaction with the raven.
Rhetorical Concepts
The use of rhetorical concepts in 'The Raven' highlights their effect on the readers. Specifically, there are gothic and fantasy elements that permeate the entire work. These concepts bring out the sharp contrast between what is real and unreal. In this case, the raven is unreal, whereas the man is real. The bird is unreal since it is nothing but an amorphous representation of the man's sadness. Ideally, the man is not in a conversation with the bird. Instead, he is having a conversation with his hurt ego. The juxtaposition between the real and unreal further comes out during the conversation, where the bird gives only one similar response to every question. 'Nevermore,' which is the repetitive response from the bird, posits that it is just a figment of his imagination as the bird cannot understand him. The nature of the bird's reaction also reminds the man and the reader of the despair he is experiencing.
In telling the story, the author adopts three persuasive elements: ethos, pathos, and logos. Pathos, the appeal to the target audience's emotions, is used throughout the poem (Kiholm and Gårdemyr, 2017). The entire story reflects on a man who has lost his love. From the beginning to the end, the whole focus is despair. The raven ultimately inflates the sorrow that the man is experiencing. The man keeps questioning why the raven has come and believes it to be the devil, coming to torment him due to the loss. As a reader, one can feel the emotions the man emits from the beginning to the end. Enhancing the use of pathos is another concept' terminology.' More precisely, the language in the poem is dynamic and allows it to be viewed as per his expectations. Discussion surrounding darkness and a somber mood make the despair perceptible to the reader. At one point, the man says, "Deep into that darkness. Peering long is stood there fearing…. The silence was unbroken, and the darkness gave no token" (Poe, 2012, n.p). Generally, the terminology is a significant contributor to pathos in this poem.
The second persuasive element that comes out in Poe's artifact is ethos. It is described as the author's authenticity that confirms why the reader should trust what they are saying (Kiholm and Gårdemyr, 2017). As earlier stated, the author's life is filled with tragedy. In this poem, there is a use of pathos to make the despair more relatable to the reader. Specifically, the man is among many people who have problems letting go of their past. As a reader familiar with the author's background, the author's reality comes to mind reading the poem. Towards the end, there is the instance where Poe's voice can be felt in the outburst of the man, "Leave my loneliness unbroken" (Poe, 2012, n.p). The author's feelings of loneliness come out, and he also appears as one who has a problem with ignoring the past. Another concept that magnifies ethos in this work is symbolism. More precisely, the raven is symbolic of the author's loneliness, and there is no better way than to show it through a story with a man in similar circumstances.
An important point to note is that any literature does not make sense if the reader cannot comprehend what is being said. It brings us to the last concept in this poem, which is logos, proof that appeals to the reader's sense of reasoning (Kiholm and Gårdemyr, 2017). Death is the issue that appeals to the reader's logic since it brings darkness and distraction into the lives of the people it affects. The despair in this poem makes sense from the story of the man. He is in distress due to the loss of his loved one. In life, people have strong emotions when they desire to have their loved ones back, even though it is impossible after death. The reality of the dark effects of death is the logic that the author uses to convey his message to the reader.
Analysis
An examination of various parts of the story exemplifies the rhetorical effect that the author uses to try and convince the reader. For instance, the author writes, "Eagerly I wished the morrow;- vainly I had sought to borrow / From my books surcease of sorrow- sorrow for the lost Lenore…" (Poe, 2012, n.p). The lines evoke a sense of despair in the author, further indicating that he is losing his grasp on reality (Jung, 2012). This detachment gives the reader an ambiguous mind frame, and they can relate to the reality of detachment following the loss of a loved one. Through the narrator, the reader perceives the author's escape into the unrealistic world of books. Essentially, the rhetorical effect in the line found towards the poem's beginning is how it enables the reader to share in the narrator's hesitation. 
The second part of the story is when the bird enters the story. The raven also portrays reality versus fantasy that the author wants the reader to perceive. As earlier indicated, the bird talking reflects the unrealistic psychotic universe in which the man lies. The story confirms this when the narrator says, "This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining / On the cushion's velvet lining that the lamp-light gloated o'er, / But whose velvet violet lining with the lamp-light gloating o'er, / She shall press, ah, nevermore" (Poe, 2012, n.p). From the statement, the word 'Nevermore' also comes out as something that exists in the narrator's head but not in the bird's real-life communication. The repetition of the responses and the indication fro