The Raven
by Edgar Allan Poe
The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe is a poetic narrative that follows the tormented mind of a grieving man as he is visited by a talking raven. The poem explores themes of grief, loss, and the eternal presence of sorrow.
Poe utilizes rhyme and meter to further immerse the reader in the poem. The Raven's rhythmic structure contributes to its musical quality and haunting atmosphere, effectively capturing the poem's dark and melancholic tone. Beyond this mesmerizing rhythm lies Poe's artistry in his strategic use of internal and end rhymes.
The second challenge was to take the structure I had designed and push it.
Taking advantage of the natural pauses that occur when reading, jumping the gutter or turning a page, listening to where famous readers took pauses. I had lines break from their stanzas and the page, to force the reader to pause, to build suspense.
The challenge of laying out this particular poem is finding a way to express the tone of the poem while maintaining the structural integrity. The meter and rhyme contribute immensely to the style and musicality of the poem, emphasizing the dark and ominous nature of the content.
Experimenting with various techniques such as line breaks, spacing, and indentation, controls the pace and pulse of the poem. Used intentionally as to only emphasize the very poetic techniques that Poe utilizes so deliberately.
