Literary Analysis: “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe During the American literary movement known as Transcendentalism, many Americans began to look more deeply at the positive side of religion and philosophy in their writings. However, a group of people, known as the Dark Romantics, moved away from the positive beliefs of Transcendentalism and emphasized their writings on guilt and sin. The best known of these writers is Edgar Allan Poe. Poe was a dark romantic writer of this era, famous for his short stories and poems concerning misery and the macabre. His most famous poem is "The Raven", which follows a man who is grieving for his lost love, Lenore. In this poem, through the use of tonal shift and progression of the narrator's mood, Poe explores the idea that those who suffer will fall. Poe uses a gradual change in diction as the poem progresses. Initially, he begins the poem with melancholic diction when the narrator is falling asleep: “as I reflected, weak and tired,” “nodding, almost dozing,” and “of someone gently tapping” (1-4). The use of alliteration in these lines provides a song-like rhythm, which is soothing to the reader. This use of diction conveys a soft tone. Later in the poem, when the increasingly agitated narrator becomes angry at the crow, he lashes out at the bird. Here he states: “Return to the storm and the Plutonian shore of Night! / Leave no black feather as a sign of that lie your soul has told! / Leave my solitude intact! - put the bust away above my door! / Remove your beak from my heart and take your form from my door!” (98-101). Here he uses archaic words and phrases like "thee," "the Plutonian shore of the night," and "your soul hath." This use of unorthodox language creates a theatrical, dramatic and climactic effect, leading to a passionate tone. By presenting both tones, Poe is able to show the contrast between the two. This transformation from a gentle tone to one of frustration and anxiety represents the downward spiral of the narrator's mental state. This change in tone echoes the narrator's emotions and state of mind. At the beginning of the poem the narrator starts out a little nervous. However, in the end, he remains mad and delusional. When he hears a knock on the door, he logically deduces that it is most likely a visitor at the door.