The Raven and Ligeia a comparison Essay - 1391 Words

The Raven and Ligeia a comparison Although the two tales are presented in different literary forms the tales themselves deal with remarkably similar subject matter. So much so that it is possible to compare the style of each with but a little reference to the general themes of the two works. The Raven and Ligeia are both about loss. The narrators of both tales have lost the dearest thing to them, a woman of incomparable talents and beauty. That the loss of this woman has happened for different reasons does not matter for it is how this loss manifests itself in the lives of the narrators that provide the drama and the poignancy of the stories. In each we discover the narrator is dwelling upon that woman that he adored and in†¦show more content†¦Her insistence that Man doth not yield him to the angels, nor unto death utterly, save only through the weakness of his feeble will. Is the most important of these cryptic and morbid musing of the ladies deathbed. So it is that after he has moved from the country of their romance and residence he is still so obsessed with her that he makes his new home in an old abandoned abbey and even goes so far as to decorate his bedroom with the mortuary artefacts of several eastern cultures. It is not until his second, and neglected , wife takes ill that these morbid fascinations take full root. Through the veils of an opiate stupor he begins to imagine some supernatural agency that only he has perceived to be responsible for the final demise of his current wife. And after the death he begins to imagine a reviving of the corpse where in the end just as the dawn approaches he beholds his beloved Ligeia returned to him. So it is that the main themes in both of these works are those of obsession, death and the guilt of the survivor. How each approaches this and evokes the mood in the reader is remarkably different. In Ligeia the narrator begins his tale in a crumbling city on the Rhine, immediately evoking thoughts of the old world, this is emphasised almost straight away as he describes his departed love. He compares her with the goddesses of theShow MoreRelatedA Comparison Of The PoeThe Raven And Ligeia1056 Words   |  5 PagesThe Raven and Ligeia Edgar Allen Poe is known as a dark gothic writer. His stories and poems are filled with mystery, love, horror, and a melancholy vibe. The symbols found in Poe’s poem â€Å"The Raven† creates an atmosphere of doom, in â€Å"Ligeia the narrator’s thoughts show a possibility of drug abuse, these show the commonalities and differences of Edgar A. Poe reoccurring themes of pain of love, loss, and addiction. Comparing both â€Å"The Raven† and ‘Ligeia† there are many similarities and differencesRead More Edgar Allan Poes Writing Essay2378 Words   |  10 Pages In his poem, â€Å"The Raven† taunts him, repeating Never more and â€Å"Nothing more† to his pleas reflecting the despair of his soul. In the first part of the poem, the narrator cherishes hope of getting contact with his lost lover, just like Poe wishes to see all his lost loved ones especially his wife. Then in the middle of the poem, the narrator asks, â€Å"Is there--is there balm in Gilead?--tell me--tell me I implore!/ Quoth the raven, Nevermore (Poe). The narrator asks the raven if there is balm inRead More An Analysis of Edgar Allan Poes Psychological Thriller Essay3707 Words   |  15 PagesArabesque was published in two volumes. This included the famous story The Fall of the House of Usher. Plans for starting his own magazine did not lead too much and he continued to work as a magazine editor for various publications. His Tales and The Raven and Other Poems, published in 1845, did bring him some recognition but unfortunately it was not enough to sustain his family financially. Mrs. Clemms and Poes wife Virginia nearly starved to death one winter. After his wifes death in 1847 Poe becameRead More The Genius of Edgar Allan Poe Essay3688 Words   |  15 Pagesskip classes and disobey orders until he was finally court-martialed in 1831, ending his stint at West Point. Success in a Secondary Interest Poe was a man who always considered himself to be first and foremost a poet. In his preface to The Raven and Other Poems, he states, with me poetry has not a purpose, but a passion (Ketterer 26). However, his first success was to come not from poetry but rather prose. Out of money, Edgar Allan Poe moved to Baltimore, where he lived with his aunt Clemm