The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe Poem Analysis Essay

Countless authors use the subject of grief as a motive for narrators being untrustworthy and insane. In the poem, “The Raven,” by Edgar Allan Poe, this is exactly what takes place. After losing his precious love, Lenore, the narrator of this poem is visited by a bird, a raven to be specific. Feeling curious, he starts talking to the raven. Believing that the bird is from the Underworld, he starts to ask about Lenore and if will ever get the chance to reunite with her. After receiving insufficient answers from the bird, who merely utters the word “Nevermore,” the narrator goes into a state of depression and insanity, with both his spirit and soul crushed. Considering that this poem has some events that are impossible and the narrator’s judgment is corrupted from grief, readers can assume that the narrator of “The Raven” should not be trusted for an accurate illustration of events. 

The narrator of “The Raven” by Edgar Allen Poe is unreliable because his better judgment is frequently clouded by his emotions of grief for his lost love. He can not think clearly because his mind is engrossed with delusions of seeing Lenore again in a far-flung heaven. For example, the text states, “Respite—respite and nepenthe from thy memories of Lenore;/Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore!”(Lines 82-84). A raven has landed on a bust of Pallas at his door, but his mind is still forevermore on the subject of Lenore. He is utterly and completely consumed by the grief that he feels; all the questions, remarks, and inquiries that he asks the raven are about Lenore. His body, mind, and soul have not ever set sail from this expired subject. As a result of this, his discernment of events are not reliable because his mind is frozen on the unattainable soul of the past Lenore. However, in “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allen Poe, the narrator Montresor is exceptionally reliable in his report of events because he is calm and level-headed throughout the entire story. He does not let his emotion affect his point of view or his plans, unlike the previous narrator. While leading Fortunato to his death, Montresor states, “laid the second tier, and the third, and the fourth; and then I heard the furious vibrations of the chain. The noise lasted for several minutes, during which, that I might hearken to it with the more satisfaction.” Even though he very clearly hears the struggles of Fortunato against the chain, he remains calm and is even satisfied with his work. He does not get emotional at all, unlike the narrator of “The Raven”, but instead just calmly does his task, with no vehemence tainting his pure opinion. In summary, the narrator of “The Raven” is unreliable because he often lets emotion blacken his perception of current events. 

Furthermore, another reason why the narrator is unreliable is that his story has some elements that are unrealistic and impossible. He believes this black bird, who was previously tapping on his window, has come from the Underworld where 3-headed beasts plow through rivers of immortality and the stench of the undead swarms the air. This, of course, is out of the question. To support this claim, the poem states, “Swung by Seraphim whose foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor./"Wretch," I cried, "thy God hath lent thee--by these angels he hath sent thee.”(Lines 80 and 81). He is delusional to think that angels from haven have been sent by god to help him. Angels, from “a distant Aidenn” have come to end him of his suffering. This is very questionable and shows that his state of mind and portrayal of events can surely not be trusted.  Specifically, the narrator states, “Be that word our sign of parting, bird or fiend!” I shrieked upstarting/ Get back into the tempest and the Night’s Plutonian shore!” (Lines 97-98.) The narrator believes that this bird has visited him from the underworld, which of course is unfathomable. His own reality is fragmented, and he sees things that, in reality, are really not there. Due to this, the reader can come to the conclusion that this narrator is unreliable. In conclusion, another reason why the narrator of “The Raven” can not be trusted is that he is distant from reality, and therefore can not distinguish between real and imaginary. 

Although some subjects believe that the narrator of “The Raven” is reliable because he does not kill anyone unlike the narrator of other Poe stories, that is not true. Yes, indeed, he does not initiate murder over an eye or swear to revenge over an insult, his state of mind proves that he is not a reliable narrator. The plain fact that he is imagining things from heaven and hell, as well as talking to a raven that he believes can see the future should be  enough to prove that he is disengaged from the reality presented to him. Specifically, the text states, “ Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn,/It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore--” (Lines 93-94) The narrator is asking the raven if he will ever see Lenore again, in the distant future. In asking the raven this, he must trust that the raven can foresee the future, which is out of the question considering that it is only a blackbird. There is nothing special about this raven, yet the narrator assumes that he can predict which souls will meet each other in felicity or not; the reader can then assume that this narrator is detached from the truth, and therefore can not be trusted. This is shown when the text states,“ And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, “Lenore?”/This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, “Lenore!” (Lines 28-29.) He is so delusional that he still believes that Lenore will come back to visit him even though she is dead.  This adds to the idea that he is out of touch with reality because he believes that Lenore will actually come back to visit him.  Therefore, the narrator of “The Raven”, although being the most virtuous narrator,  can not be trusted because his state of mind is invalid. 

In conclusion, the narrator of  “The Raven” by Edgar Allen Poe is unreliable and can not be trusted to depict an accurate timeline of events. The poem has some unrealistic elements, things that are too mythical to be true, which shows that the narrator does not have a firm grip on reality. He lets his imagination run wild, so therefore some parts of this poem can not be true. Additionally, he is also suffering from the loss of his once-loved Lenore. The grief he feels has consumed his mind, and he can think of no more. As a result, his mind is unfocused and hazy on the setting around him, so he must not be trusted to tell that correctly. In this poem, we are presented with an unreliable narrator of sorts. For this reason, the poem is made far more enjoyable and keeps the reader pondering the bridge between the reality inside our heads and the one we are present with.