Popularity of The Raven

Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven became very popular in the 1840s and is still popular today because of its fluid rhyme scheme and ominous, controversial storyline. After listening to Christopher Walken eloquently read the poem, I realized how smoothly each rhyme and repetition flow between each line and each stanza. Many of his stanzas contain lines that are virtually the same with the exception of one or two words. For instance, in lines 76 and 77 Poe writes, "On the cushion's velvet lining that the lamp-light gloated o'er/ But whose velvet violet lining with the lamp-light gloating o'er". The end of these phrases almost repeat exactly, making both of the lines easier to say. Saying it out loud also naturally feels poetic. Some poems are disjointed and feel like simply reading random words or phrases. However, Poe's work can be read with more emotion; since so many words and lines repeat, you feel the need to change your voice when you say the same word so as not to be monotonous. In addition, Poe sometimes adds emphasis to a word to build of the emotional impact of the story. For example, in lines 63 and 64, he states, "Caught from some unhappy master whom unmerciful Disaster/ Followed fast and followed faster till his songs one burden bore". The "fast" and "faster" indicate a buildup of suspense and emotion, making the poem more exciting.
This leads into my second point about why the poem was and still is popular. In the 1840s, not many authors were writing such dark content as Poe. In the biographical note in the Heath Anthology, it says that Poe spoke to "the darker side of nineteenth-century American culture, probing the limits of scientific method...and defilement endemic to a democracy that practiced and accommodated slavery". For America in the late 19th-century, Poe's The Raven was bold and different, which I think caught many people's attention. A lot of times, people like a thrill; they enjoy being scared. This poem gave readers a spooky mystery. In addition, those who looked beyond the literal meaning of the poem may have seen a controversial statement about America keeping slaves. Because the controversy referenced was slavery, the poem held relevance for a long time, and still holds relevance today for historical purposes. I don't want to go into much more detail because this is partly what we will be discussing in our presentation Friday.