One could
argue that English language poetry has changed drastically in the years since 1845 whenwrote
"," and that therefore this classic piece of American poetry should no longer continue
to claim its iconic stature. In Poe's day, traditional verse forms were the accepted style among
notable poets. Poe borrowed his rhythm and meter from Elizabeth Barrett Browning, the beloved
British poet. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, an American contemporary of Poe's, wrote in
traditional forms. However, toward the end of the 1800s, Robert Browning was paving the way for
a departure from the strict rhythm and meter of poetry by heavily using enjambment and caesura,
giving his poems the rhythm of everyday speech, and in America, Walt Whitman broke from
traditional verse forms even earlier. In the early years of the 20th century, Ezra Pound sought
to transform poetry by his Imagism movement on both sides of the Atlantic, and although not all
poems adhered to the very short, succinct forms of Imagism, the movement's advocacy for
discarding traditional poetic rhythms for the rhythm or everyday speech significantly affected
the Modernist and Postmodern poets to the extent that today most poetry does not conform to the
strict poetic constructs Poe used in "The Raven."
Not only is the
format of "The Raven" outdated, but so is the Gothic genre it relies on, one might
also argue. Even in Poe's day, the Gothic was a vestige of a previous era, the Romantics having
embraced it in the late 1700s. The dark and brooding, vaguely supernatural elements used in the
poem have by now been so overused that they have lost much of their effect. Therefore, because
of its outdated traditional structure and genre, one could recommend that "The Raven"
be removed from its perch atop American poetry.
Nevertheless, making such an
argument would require casting aside not only the historic value of our literary traditions but
also an appreciation of the mastery of the poetic craft. A true classic does not diminish with
time because it reflects beauty of language, mastery of technique, and depth of meaning. Whether
the traditional verse forms are common today or not, they are nevertheless highly pleasing to
the ear. As Jerome McGann, author of a recent Poe biography, argues, "Poetry is
fundamentally a musical event using language as the instrument." Poe's skill in the use of
sound devices, such as , assonance, and consonance, is particularly admirable in "The
Raven." Not only that, but the themes dealt with in the poem, namely grief and depression,
are just as salient today as they were in 1845 because they are an immutable part of the human
experience. So, although one could argue that "The Raven" no longer deserves continued
attention, once could just as easily embrace it as a timeless classic and continue to marvel at
its beauty and relevancyas yet untainted by time.
