"The Raven" Poem Question: Raven is driven by a thirst for self-torture. Discuss the extent to which the speaker brings his suffering on himself and the extent to which it is caused by the bird and outward events. Support your ideas with at least two details from the poem.

Answer and Explanation:

As we can see by reading the poem, The narrator is very melancholy and has dark thoughts that are caused by the death of the beloved woman. This loss makes the narrator sink more and more into sadness and does not look for any other way to get rid of it, on the contrary, he seeks ways to torture himself psychologically through the raven. This can be seen in the lines "Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December; And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor. Eagerly I wished the morrow; -vainly I had sought to borrow / From my books surcease of sorrow- sorrow for the lost Lenore / For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore- Nameless her forevermore "

The ravem tortures the narrator because when he sees that his presence causes obsession, he decides not to leave and is not tempted to bring joy to the narrator, on the contrary he is satisfied with answering the narrator's questions with "nevermore," showing that none of the narrator will be attended to.

intonation based on rhythm.