A LIGHT OVER AT THE FRANKENSTEIN PLACE:

Transcription

1 Serrano 1 A LIGHT OVER AT THE FRANKENSTEIN PLACE: THE OPTIMISM AND JOY IN EDGAR ALLAN POE'S THE RAVEN Jason Serrano State University of New York at New Paltz New Paltz, NY jason.antonio.serrano@gmail.com phone:

2 Serrano 2 The joy received from Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" does not lie in some human fascination with the suffering of fictional characters, but rather in exploring the human desire to believe there is still mystery and wonder in the world. As a piece of Gothic Romanticism, "The Raven" counters the notion that the world is orderly with a tale that does not directly insist the contrary, yet cleverly suggests an alternative viewpoint should not be ruled out. It is in this refusal to state the world in black-and-white terms that we find a light side to the darkness of Poe's stories -- a sense of wonder and optimism that is buried perhaps just shy of six feet. As the wheelhouse of the Gothic includes the exploration of "the nature and limits of human knowledge" and the Enlightenment takes a more staunch stance that the world is an orderly place, it was only a matter of time for a "discussion" to be had between the two -- and that place was within the confines of "The Raven" (Hoeveler and Heller, xi). Within the opening lines of "The Raven," the scene for the conflict is established: a melancholy man is about to doze off when he hears the sound of tapping. It is a sound he quickly, and repeatedly dismisses as being nothing more than a visitor ("The Raven" 3-6, 15-18). As a trademark of the genre, the speaker represents something more than himself -- he becomes the stand-in for The Enlightenment. Through his actions and speech, he attempts frequently to reason away that which cannot be understood, as a man of the Enlightenment would. His descent into madness becomes Poe's illustration of the failures of such philosophy's dismissal of emotions and simplification of the world. Within the conflict between plot and mood we discover our first taste of joy. In the second stanza of "The Raven," we run into our first clue that a conflict between

3 Serrano 3 rationale and supernatural may arise: 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 tried 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 here for evermore. (7-12) In six lines, Poe has established so many details that contribute to the mystery. The first: this was a night the speaker would remember "distinctly." The second: he references that each "dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor," an eerie selection of words that suggest supernatural events. Finally, he reveals that the speaker is deeply mourning a deceased love when an indeterminable tapping sound begins ("The Raven" 14-18). By depicting the speaker as one who does not automatically turn to supernatural reasoning for every sound he hears, while also offering us hints that events may unfold differently to his expectations, a mystery is born. At this moment, the reader does not know if the speaker will prove to be correct or if there is something otherworldly outside his front door. With the sorrow of the protagonist, our minds spring to the possibility that outside is the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore. Instead, we get a raven. The titular fowl perches himself upon the bust of Pallas to serve as our means for discussion between the two modes of thought to begin -- though the raven will contribute little to the debate vocally ("The Raven" 40-42). Despite the speaker's initial insistence on rational explanation, his heart was starting to race as the mystery of the sound's origin

4 Serrano 4 started to creep on him ("The Raven" 35). Thus, the reveal of the bird mocks this momentary mental dive into the supernatural. As both speaker and reader have become carried away, this serves as a sigh of relief. By creating this momentary relief in tension, Poe is having us re-evaluate our own impressions of the tale and leaves us juggling multiple possible truths. The raven is much like Romanticism in that it breeds possibilities with its acceptance of an emotional as well as a cerebral truth. It is important to note that the raven is not the confirmation of the supernatural, nor of the logical. He is only what the speaker desires him to be. He is the blank canvas for the speaker to pour out his thoughts and confront the limits of human knowledge. The raven is a perfect selection to create this mystery. As it is a blank canvas for the speaker, it is a blank canvas for us as well. The bird itself has been reinterpreted in various cultures ranging as everything from a symbol of death (seen variously in positive and negative lights) to a symbol of luck. In the mythology of Greece that Poe has shown fondness for the raven is associated with Apollo, Greek God of music (Rich 209). The contrast of seating a bird associated with the God of music (an art) upon the bust of the God of wisdom is a parallel set up by Poe, but in the tale it could only be a deliberate act of defiance by the bird if he is a harbinger of the supernatural. It would pit him as the instigator of this conflict between reason and feeling. Poe would rejoice in this debate about the birds stance and meaning. In "The Philosophy of Composition," he reveals that the choice of the raven was due to needing something to repeat "nevermore" with monotony. He states: "here, then, immediately arose the idea of a non-reasoning creature capable of speech" ("The Philosophy" ). Therefore, the choice of a non-

5 Serrano 5 reasoning bird was to conflict with the reason-seeking speaker of the poem. Here, the raven is what we (and the speaker) choose to associate it with. There is no definitive answer, because the important acknowledgement is the bird is the next mystery we rejoice in. He is the bringer of endless possibilities and potential -- an "embodiment of life." He could also just be a bird. This non-commitment to an answer why we enjoy what it yet to come. The raven's refrain of "nevermore" is loaded with mystery for the speaker as well. The speaker logically suggests the bird is merely parroting words that he had learned from a previous master. This enigmatic "previous owner" also serves for the speaker to express his sad state by projecting his feelings onto this unknown individual: "Doubtless," said I, "what it utters is its only stock and store, Caught from some unhappy master whom unmerciful Disaster Followed fast and followed faster--so, when Hope he would adjure, Stern Despair returned, instead of the sweet Hope he dared adjure-- That sad answer, "Nevermore!" ("The Raven" 61-66) In this emotional state, we question the speaker's belief that the raven is just a raven. In speaking his words rather than thinking them, he takes on the role of consoler to himself (with no Lenore to do it for him.) The phrase "nevermore" also mimics the previous assurances the speaker issues in the phrase "nothing more" -- a statement very indicative of the Enlightenment rejection of "emotional truths." In its philosophy, there is nothing more than intellectual truth. This is a combat of ideology. If there is "nothing more" than

6 Serrano 6 we can divine through scientific rationale, the mystery and story would be over. It is such a definitive term that it leaves no room for joy, optimism, or intrigue. The phrase "nevermore" yields mystery. What is nevermore? The questions left unanswered are what makes human existence so compelling. Poe is also not interested in telling us that the world is completely devoid of logic. In "The Philosophy of Composition" he states: It by no means follows from any thing here said... [that] truth, may not be introduced, and even profitably introduced into a poem--for they may serve in elucidation, or aid in the general effect... but the true artist will always contrive, first, to tone them into proper subservience to the predominant aim... to enveil them... in that Beauty which is the atmosphere and the essence of the poem. ( ) As such, he plays devil's advocate in "The Raven," allowing the speaker to fall prey to the polar opposite reality in which the bird is a sign of evil. In lines 69-72, the speaker begins to ponder the deeper meaning of the bird's cry. Yet, having established that he is in a mournful state and the raven is a blank canvas in which we can paint any number of meanings, we understand this as a glaring mistake. As placing complete stock in intellectual logic was an error, so will complete devotion to the concept of the bird as a villainous entity. In either situation, the mystery of the bird -- in the mind of the speaker -- is solved, and this is his greatest folly. He cannot understand that he will never know if the bird's arrival is a coincidence or divine providence, nor can he see the beauty in such mystery..

7 Serrano 7 The ending of "The Raven" is the poem's darkest moment and is responsible for an impression of Poe as void of optimism, but it is a misunderstanding. The very last note of the poem is the bleak notion that the speaker's soul "shall be lifted--nevermore" (108). It is this last impression that lingers and has colored many readers perception of Poe for decades, but it is only the speaker's reality -- not ours. If the raven is a stand-in for life, mysterious and indefinable, the speaker robs himself of joy by insisting it is an omen of doom in the final five stanzas of the poem. The reason Poe explored mental illness and death often in his works is because they are man's greatest mysteries. The human mind remains a large mystery to us, with mental illness and emotions intriguing us with their complexities and reluctance to be completely nailed down by reason. As far as death, what greater mystery is there than what happens when we cease to exist? Even in modern times, notorious atheist Richard Dawkins has stated he is only "6.9 out of 7" certain that God does not exist (Raushenbush). Poe toys with this uncertainty in all of us by introducing death, the supernatural, and the mind. He does not inject it into his tales solely because he wants us to feel dread, but rather because it is in these mysteries that we see life as complex and beautiful. The real horror of "The Raven" was never in the eerie noises or a bird's cry, but rather in the removal of mystery from one's life. The Enlightenment's philosophy is the actual terror of the piece. As Poe said of the poem: I kept steadily in view the design of rendering the work universally appreciable. I should be carried too far out of my immediate topic were I to demonstrate a point upon which I have repeatedly insisted, and which, with the poetical, stands not in

8 Serrano 8 the slightest need of demonstration--the point, I mean, that Beauty is the sole legitimate province of the poem. ("The Philosophy" 1619) This statement decries the idea that the poem has any determinable answer. The only "legitimate province" of the poem is Beauty -- Beauty that can be found in humanity's desire to have questions yet fall shy of being able to understand everything. By illustrating the deflation of the speaker's soul, Poe shows what can happen to us when we live in a world without possibilities, and by extension, "Beauty." Poe's tales often played in the shadow of human existence. However, he did so to illuminate our souls with wonder and optimism. He challenged the Enlightenment notion that the world is the summation of what our senses perceive by saying it is also a world in which what we feel matters. Since mankind has walked the earth, it has sought answers to questions in the form of religion, philosophy, art, or human companionship, and Poe is an explorer of this human experience. He asks the questions that we ourselves ask, and he places them in stories with suspense and terror not to deflate us, but to show us that it's a beautiful thing to experience uncertainty. If you look at a Poe story such as "The Raven" long enough, you will realize that within the confines of the dark castles and abbeys Poe is so fond of, he has lit a lantern for us to see by.

9 Serrano 9 Works Cited Hoeveler, Diane Long., and Tamar Heller. "Introduction to the Volume." Introduction. Approaches to Teaching Gothic Fiction: The British and American Traditions. New York: Modern Language Association of America, Xi-Xiv. Print. Poe, Edgar A. "The Philosophy of Composition." Ed. Nina Baym. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. 7th ed. Vol. B. New York: W.W. Norton, Print. Poe, Edgar A. "The Raven." Ed. Nina Baym. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. 7th ed. Vol. B. New York: W.W. Norton, Print. Rich, Anthony. A Dictionary of Roman and Greek Antiquities. 5th ed. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Books.google.com/books. Web. 6 Dec Raushenbush, Paul Brandeis. "Richard Dawkins, Famous Atheist, Not Entirely Sure God Doesn't Exist." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 24 Feb Web. 11 Dec