"The Raven" By Edgar Allen Poe

In "The Raven" Edgar Allen Poe writes about melancholy. Melancholy is a feeling that experiences two very different emotions at the same time. This emotion is very confusing for the protaginist. He is not sure whether the raven is good or bad; the raven is both "stately" and "ghastly grim and ancient" (Poe 1-2). Poe's use of rhetoric in this poem, causes the reader to understand conflicting emotions; "Eagerly I wished the morrow; - vainly I had sought to borrow" (Poe 1). He wishes for two different things, just like the raven tells him two different things. It is because these confusing emotions are acceptable and Poe is trying to tell his readers that. He is using Pathos to write this peom; he uses his own emotions through the character and the raven and his own emotions are confused. But it is okay to be confused and that is why the raven keeps telling him "nevermore" (3). There aren't always going to be clear meanings to understand. Poe's poem describes the confusion of life and interpretation and the idea of conflicing emotions.