Please re-write the attached essay in your own words. Do not change or exclude any content from the essay. Simply re-phrase the entire essay in your own words. I have received the essay from a from a former student who had already done this assignment. Please be sure to view the attached requirements also.Symbols of Depression
All types of literature from stories, poems, and even lyrics have to have some sort of
theme to centralize, control and dominate its idea. Many different artists, poets, and writers
utilize symbols to grasp the reader to focus on a certain theme from their work. Some symbols
can be subtle, but others can be tricky to find. In the poem of “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe,
there are many different symbols that are used to focus on the theme of depression. The poem
starts off by introducing us to a character who is mourning his loss of his beloved, Lenore. He is
then encountered with a raven that swoops in from his window door and from there on is caught
up in an vocal argument with it. Through the argument the reader is able to put together the facts
that the narrator is going through depression and is also losing his sanity.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, depression can be defined as “ Frequently a
sign of psychiatric disorder or a component of various psychoses, with symptoms of misery,
anguish, or guilt accompanied by headache, insomnia, etc” (“Depression”). Depression is a very
sorrowful topic as it affects many people to this day. People that suffer depression experience a
mood that no one can ever experience and have a hard time trying to feel pleasure. They also
have a hard time trying to maintain an interest in life. People that are suffering from major
depressive episodes can tend to imagine certain things and be fatigued to the point of death. The
reader can grasp knowledge of what the narrator is feeling, through Poe’s techniques of using
symbols to express the theme of depression.
One of the most iconic symbols of depression in Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “The Raven”
would have to be Lenore. The connection with depression and Lenore is about how the narrator
feels after her passing. He is mourning for her and without her he feels lonely and depressed.
Lenore is the main focus of our narrator and when he does attempt to bring up other topics, he
always returns back to thinking about her. In the poem of “The Raven” it reads, “From my books
surcease of sorrow–sorrow for the lost Lenore–/For the rare and radiant maiden whom the
angels name Lenore–/Nameless here for evermore” (Poe, 10-12). Poe describes the attributes of
the narrator as he is grieving for his lost Lenore. He attempts to end the pain of sorrow, but as he
keeps on reading books, he keeps on getting reminded about Lenore. The constant reminding of
Lenore, begins to breakdown the narrator into depression, as he begins to hear tapping on the
window door.
The second most iconic symbol of depression in Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “The Raven”
would have to be the raven itself. The raven actually has many different symbolic reasons, but
the reason for the symbol of depression is because it is the embodiment of grief caused by
loneliness and separation. As our narrator is in the state of being depressed, he begins to conflict
with the raven throughout the poem. In the poem of “The Raven” it states, “Be that word our
sign of parting, bird or fiend!” I shrieked, upstarting –/“Get thee back into the tempest and the
Night’s Plutonian shore!/Leave no black plume as a token that lie thy soul hath spoken!/Leave
my loneliness unbroken!–quit the bust above my door” (Poe, 97-100). The narrator finally loses
his temper and begins to rage at the raven. He tells the the raven not to leave a trace of its
existence in his chamber and to leave him alone with his loneliness. Instead of grieving for
Lenore, the narrator begins to show his grief of depression towards the raven.
The third symbol of depression in Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “The Raven” would have to
be darkness. The poem begins with, “Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and
weary,/ Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore–” (Poe, 1-2). Poe begins with
the description of the time of day as it gives the reader a chance to think about what the narrator
is going through. Darkness can be symbolized as being evil, or having the feels of being down.
Darkness also has the relation with the color black which can be described to perceive death,
sorrow and mourning. The narrator is aroused from his “weak and weary” state of mind as he
hears a tapping on the window door, which terrifies him as he is wishing for Lenore, but finds
nothing but darkness and calm night. This time of the day, is set throughout the entire poem,
which gives the poem a sorrowful imagination, hence having some connection with our narrators
depression.
The fourth symbol of depression in Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “The Raven” would have to
be the chamber. The chamber is where our narrator is placed, throughout the entire poem. It is
used to signify the loneliness of the narrator and the sorrow he feels for his lost Lenore. The
chamber also has a connection between itself and darkness as both give the reader the
imagination of a man grieving about his lost love in a dark cold room, all by himself. The room
itself is richly furnished, which brings back memories of his lost love Lenore. In the poem of
“The Raven” it states, “And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain/ Thrilled
me– filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before” (Poe, 13-14). The quote explains how the
chamber has been richly furnished with purple curtains. Also it shows how the rustling of the
curtains begin to sadden our narrator. Poe does a great job of isolating the character in the
chamber and adding surrounding details that create that lonely feeling of the narrator, for the
reader.
The fifth symbol of depression in Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “The Raven” would have to
be the nepenthe. Nepenthe is a drug that is described is to banish grief or trouble from a person’s
mind. Our narrator is stuck in so much sorrow he begins to hallucinate and imagines that the
room is being filled up with some sort of perfume that he claims to be sent by God. In the poem
of “The Raven” it states, “Respite – respite and nepenthe, from thy memories of Lenore;/ Quaff,
oh quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore” (Poe, 82-83). The quote explains, how
the narrator is viewing the situation as being a job done by god to make sure that he forgets about
Lenore. Also he then tells himself to just drink this potion and to forget Lenore.
The final symbol of depression in Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “The Raven” would have to
the use of punctuation used by Poe, for the narrators responses to the raven. When we began the
novel, the reader felt a steady calm tone from the narrator as the punctuation marks weren’t
exclamation points, but periods which show the sign of normal talking. As the narrator and the
raven began to get into an argument the punctuation began to change, which gave the reader the
idea that the narrator is getting mad. An example from the poem “The Raven” would be,
“Prophet! Said I, “thing or evil!” prophet still, if bird or devil!” (Poe, 85). The narrator can be
seen having a certain breakdown as he keeps yelling towards the raven as it keeps repeating the
word “nevermore”. Through all the sorrow he felt and how depressed the narrator was, he finally
broke out and had a mental breakdown. He began to let all of this thoughts about the raven out,
but still got the same negative response of “nevermore”, which grew him angrier and angrier.
In conclusion, like many other writers, poets and artists that use symbols to express their
themes ideas, Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “The Raven” has many symbolic themes that a reader can
portray as he is reading the poem. Poe uses great techniques to show how symbols can control
the real meaning on certain themes and ideas. Depression being the main theme of “The Raven”,
can be found through simple symbols like, Lenore, the raven itself, darkness, the chamber,
nepenthe, repetition of words, and even the punctuation of the poem. The poem can connect to
many different readers as the topic of depression is one of the most talked about to this date.
Work Cited
“Depression, n.” OED Online, Oxford University Press, March 2018,
www.oed.com/view/Entry/50451. Accessed 14 April 2018.
Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Raven.” Readings for RHT 102. Bedford/St. Martin, Apr 2018. p. 11.
Symbol Essay (100 pts.) *
*Must pass essay with a D or better to pass Rht 102
Page length:
Source requirement:
In text quote requirement:
Length of each quotation
No use of:
6 (5 text, 1 works cited) -10 for each ½ page missing
2 lit choice, dictionary
5-6 (includes definition) follow ICE
1-2 lines within your paragraph
1st person pronouns, Wikipedia, quotes in intro &
conclusion, more than one quote per paragraph
FOLLOW OUTLINE FORMAT
Directions
1. Use the following theme:
Depression
2. Use the short story we have gone over in class.
The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe
3. Using symbols show how the work reflects the theme
❖ Define theme using dictionary
❖ Use symbols from text to link to thesis
❖ How does this story show the truth of society at the time
Reminder:
Symbols can be anything, refer to class notes for ideas
Never refer to the author as the speaker or the author’s life in the essay
Late Essays will not be accepted
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