Edgar Allen Poe and Romanticism

        Edgar Allen Poe attacks romanticism in a few different ways.  They  Range from a somewhat normal way of thinking of romance to the opposite end of the spectrum where romance can be abstract. Found in things such as mourning, and supernatural occurrences; touching on other subjects along the way. Poe uses his style to portray these events in a romantic tone.  
        At first Poe’s story-lines may seem horrific or gruesome and extremely gothic and dark.  But this is one part of his writing that actually helps make it “romantic”.  These extreme circumstances and potential supernatural occurrences are things that don’t happen everyday or usually never for that matter.  For that reason they are stories that draw in readers to experience something new, different, and exciting something that will take them away from the idea of typical everyday life.  Romanticism in this case isn’t necessarily the romantic people think of when they hear that word.  But it’s romantic because it’s thought provoking, different, enticing and adventurous.
        In his poem “The Raven” this line between the natural and supernatural world is at one of it’s thinnest points.  “The Raven” plays with the idea of a persons mind playing tricks on them and the possibility of a supernatural occurrence actually taking place.  The poem starts out with the speaker beginning to nod off when he hears “…some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door, / ‘Tis some visiter,’ I muttered, ‘tapping at my chamber door– / Only this, and nothing more.’”(Line 4-6)  When reading this it paints the picture of a natural/normal occurrence.  He hears someone knocking on his chamber door nothing out of the ordinary with that.  When the speaker opens the door and hears the word “Lenore” he tells himself “Tis the wind, and nothing more!” (Line 36).  This also shows he is trying to focus on natural occurrences rather than the supernatural.
        On line 48 the raven speaks its first words; which is the turning point from natural to supernatural.  Line 49 the speaker says “Much I marveled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly, / Though its answer little meaning — little relevancy bore;” A raven that can not only speak but is present as a representation or catalyst of thought about his lost Lenore is indeed supernatural.   The thought of a ghost and a talking Raven are both supernatural and gothic.  
        The poem itself though when you look back at it is based on natural/normal events.  The speaker is tired and in a drowsy because of this he is seeing and hearing things that seem supernatural but are totally normal; while you are reading and are drawn into the story by Poe’s use of language and Gothic tone the supernatural events seem to actually occur because you take on the position and state of the speaker.  
        Poe uses his expertise of the English language to paint beautiful pictures with his words.  Of course most of the time it’s not beautiful in the way of what it’s portraying; yet it’s beautiful how he portrays the actions.  Poe uses language that provokes emotion and helps you feel the story instead of seeing it.  His words go together so well and flow from one to another, by doing this he is able to take control of the reader and touch them in a way that the feel connected to the story.  The beauty of his writing makes it romantic as well as the way he reaches into the readers imagination and emotions is also a romantic idea.
        Poe addresses romanticism through his characters.  In many occasions he approaches romance from the position of longing and remembering a lost one.  Many things his characters encounter in his stories are love driven.  For instance in “The Raven” love along with other things such as tiredness, loneliness and probably drunkenness are all factors of possible hallucinations.  Love being the number one factor because the raven and the association of the sounds lead back to the characters lost love, Lenore.  The love the man has for his lost Lenore is evident in the story, he thinks he hears his deceased love and that a raven is speaking to him of his loneliness and loss.  So he actually uses the actual action of love as another way of adding to and creating a romantic style.
        Poe’s Romantic style has many different levels to it.  Because of all the levels he has in his style and the way he puts it out there he creates an almost interactive story. A person leaves Poe’s stories having felt something rather than just being entertained.