How did Poe's life influence the poem The Raven?

-- Anonymous, April 28, 2001

Answers

The main character in "The Raven" saw the the raven as death and as so he starts to go mad, just like in his life.

-- Anonymous, May 20, 2001

If you know Poe, you know that his main purpose in writing is to leave the reader with an emotional effect. Poe wanted to acheive a sense of sorrow and thought the most sorrowful sounding vowel is the long "O" and the consonant "R," thus came the name "Lenor" and the word "nevermore." While contemplating the type of bird, he thought about an owl but decided that a raven would do better to represent death than an owl. Then he figured the worst possible thing that could happen to anyone is the loss of a loved one, especially a wife or fiance. Events leading to his inspiration, spurred from the horrifying news of his wife's illness, later causing her death. Poe wrote a prediction of his reaction to her loss. He put himself as the main character.

-- Anonymous, March 08, 2004