Poe's “The Raven”: Conveying Beauty Through MiseryThe idea of ​​losing a loved one is a powerful emotion and one that virtually every person can identify with. It was with this concept in mind that Edgar Allan Poe created his classic narrative poem “The Raven.” For some, poetry serves as a means to express different ideals, whether social, intellectual or philosophical. For Edgar Allan Poe, poetry was at its best when it conveyed beauty through the expression of simple yet powerful emotions. In Poe's mind there was no purer manifestation of poetic beauty than the profound emotion felt by the loss of a beloved woman. It is with this in mind that Poe uses setting, tone, and symbolism to recount the powerful emotion of endless despair to connect with his audience in the classic poem "The Raven." Edgar Allan Poe's life was often colored by tragedy. . These tragedies were a strong source of influence on his writing and probably helped to focus him on the darker aspects of life. Born in 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts, Poe's life with his biological family was short-lived. His father, David Poe, left the family just two years after his birth, and shortly thereafter, in December 1811, his mother Elizabeth Poe died of illness leaving him an orphan (Quinn 47). The death of a parent at such a young age is something that would undeniably have a profound impact on anyone's psyche. In Poe's case, his mother's death and subsequent serious illness, and the subsequent death of his wife Virginia, could be seen as one of the strongest motivations for his focus on death and obsession with loss (Quinn 496 ). This unfortunate childhood was compounded by the difficult relationship Poe had with his adoptive parents, John and Fanny Allan (Dhahir). Poe's... middle of paper... Reference center. Network. July 14, 2014.Poe, Edgar Allan. "The raven." Literature: A paperback anthology. 5th ed. R. S. Gwynn. New York: Pearson Education, Inc., 2012. 545-549. Print.Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Philosophy of Composition." Literary criticism of Edgar Allan Poe. Ed. Robert L. Hough. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, 1965. 20-32. Rpt. in Criticism of Poetry. Ed. Timothy J. Sisler. vol. 54. Detroit: Gale, 2004. Literature Resource Center. Network. July 13, 2014. Quinn, Arthur H. Edgar Alan Poe: A Critical Biography. Baltimore: John Hopkins UP, 1998. Print.Richards, Eliza. “Outsourcing “The Raven”: Retroactive Origins.” Victorian Poetry 43.2 (2005): 205-221. Reference center for poems and short stories. Network. July 14, 2014.Smith, Stephanie Ann. "The American Romantic Period". American Romantic Period (2011): 1. Reference Center for Poetry and Short Stories. Network. 16 July 2014.