Kiana Wilson

English
Period 3

Essay Prompt for Quarterly Assignment

There is no doubt that literary terms give readers better depth at analyzing and
understanding poems. Comprehending the biography behind the author also helps give
background information on the material that’s being read. For example, most poems by Edgar
Allen Poe deal with death because that’s something he was constantly worried about. Literary
terms enhance poems and help the reader feel what the writer is trying to say. There are many
reasons why literary terms help readers embrace the words of poems. It is believed that imagery
helps readers obtain information about poems. One may feel that symbols also help the reader
find a deeper meaning in poems. Lastly, poems that rhyme often stick in the reader’s mind which
helps them to better understand it.
In the poem The Raven, by Edgar Allen Poe, there are many examples of literary terms. It
is believed that imagery is among these examples. The text stated, “Once upon a midnight
dreary, weak and weary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore—While I
nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of someone gently rapping, rapping
at my chamber door—“Tis some visitor,” I mutter, “tapping at my chamber door—Only this and
nothing more.” (Poe, 298) From the quote a picture is painted into the reader’s mind of what is
going on. There are many descriptive words describing the scene. The definition of imagery is
the use of language to evoke a picture or a concrete sensation of a person, a thing, a place, or an
experience. Imagery helps readers to better understand poems because when people can picture
what the author is saying in their mind then they understand the story behind the words and they
know what the author is trying to get out in the poem. When readers can fully understand what
an author is trying to say then the information obtained in the reading sticks with the reader.
One could say that another literary term found in The Raven is symbols. For example,
Poe states, “Quoth the Raven Nevermore”. (Poe, 301) The definition of a symbol is a person,
place, a thing, or an event that has meaning in itself and that also stands for something more than
itself. When the Raven keeps replying the word “nevermore” it makes the reader think and ask
questions. They might ask why the Raven is replying nevermore each time, or why the raven is
actually talking. The Raven is the symbol of the poem, yet the context the Raven is used in
makes the Raven stand for something deeper than itself. The symbolic meaning behind the
Raven is Superstition. The author says, “Prophet!” said I, “thing of evil”—prophet still, if bird or
devil!” (Poe, 301)
It can be maintained that in order for a reader to grasp a better meaning of a poem it
should contain some rhyming. All the lines of the Raven contained rhyming. For example, “This
I sat engaging and guessing, but no syllable expressing To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burned
into my bosom’s core; This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining On the
cushion’s velvet lining that the lamplight gloated o’er, But whose velvet-violet lining with the
lamplight gloating o’er, She shall press, ah, nevermore!” Said Poe. (Poe 301) The definition of a
rhyme is the repetition of vowel sounds in accented syllables and all succeeding syllables. When
poems rhyme the words stick in a readers head longer. The longer the words stick in the readers
head, the more comprehension of a poem can be learned. In personal experiences, this has
worked effectively. The depth of a poem can be better understood when the reader knows what
the author is saying.
In summation, a reader can find better meaning, depth, and feel what the author is trying
to say when imagery, symbols and rhyme, which are literary terms are used. Also understanding
the author helps readers to know why he or she wrote about a certain way about various topics.
Imagery helps the reader see what the author is trying to say because it paints a mental picture in
their mind. Symbols create depth in poems because it helps the reader go deeper than the words
in the poem to find the meaning of it. Lastly, rhyming helps the reader obtain information that
was given in the poem. Edgar Allan Poe faced many difficult issues in his life. This is a factor to
why his poems are deep and frightening.