Posted by Becca on November 10, 19103 at 23:13:21:

In Reply to: Re: The Raven posted by Kristen on July 28, 19103 at 09:55:28:

: Does Poe or the speaker in "The Raven" actually die at the end of the poem?

Hi, I'm a college student and have been writing advanced papers for three years.
I don't think it's so much that the narrator dies at the end of the poem. "And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted-nevermore!" I take this more to mean that the narrator will never feel up-lifted by anything, however, he will go on being depressed for the rest of his life. By writing that the soul is lying on the floor in a shadow Poe implies through physical fact that the sould is low is that the man is in low spirits. The shadow represents darkness or black with typically represents evil or sadness. Mourners at a funeral wear black and the "badguy" in a comic book may wear a black hat or black clothing or live in a dark apartment with bad lighting. Poe plays on the cultural taboo of darkness to emphasize the narrators extreme unhappiness and discontent. So to reiterate: No, the narrator does not die, he just depressed for ever and ever.

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