- Read the following excerpt from Edgar Allen Poe's "The
Raven":
Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there
wondering,
fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream
before;
But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no
token,
And the only word there spoken was the whispered word,
"Lenore!"
This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word,
"Lenore!"-
Merely this, and nothing more.
Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me
burning,
Soon again I heard a tapping something louder than
before.
"Surely," said I, "surely that is something at my window
lattice;
Let me see, then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore
Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore;
'Tis the wind and nothing more!"
Analyze the effects of Poe's use of literary devices in the
poem. In particular, explain how the excerpt's symbolism
and personification are meant to affect the reader. Provide
evidence for your analysis from the text. (10 points)
Raven":
Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there
wondering,
fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream
before;
But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no
token,
And the only word there spoken was the whispered word,
"Lenore!"
This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word,
"Lenore!"-
Merely this, and nothing more.
Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me
burning,
Soon again I heard a tapping something louder than
before.
"Surely," said I, "surely that is something at my window
lattice;
Let me see, then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore
Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore;
'Tis the wind and nothing more!"
Analyze the effects of Poe's use of literary devices in the
poem. In particular, explain how the excerpt's symbolism
and personification are meant to affect the reader. Provide
evidence for your analysis from the text. (10 points)