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Bradyn Nelson
Professor Manix
5/2/2017
Canvas Journal- Poe’s The Raven
In Poe’s Philosophy of Composition, length is important to how the reader may retain the poem.
According to the Philosophy of Composition, “… if two sittings be required, the affairs of the world
interfere, and everything like totality is it once destroyed.” And later continues with, “It appears evident,
then, that there is a distinct limit, as regards length, to all works of literary art- the limit of a single
sitting- and that, although in certain classes of prose composition, such as “Robinson Crusoe”
(demanding no unity), this limit may be advantageously overpassed, it can never properly be overpassed
in a poem.” Poe followed this rule in his poem, The Raven, “… I conceived the proper length for my
intended poem- a length of about one hundred lines. It is, in fact, a hundred and eight.” By having one
hundred and eight lines in Poe’s poem, it meant he reached the perfect amount of time to read in one
sitting and followed his rule.
Another rule introduced in Poe’s Philosophy of Composition and followed within The Raven is
the continuous use of one word. The Philosophy of Composition states, “The sound of the refrain being
thus determined, it became necessary to select a word embodying this sound, and at the same time in
the fullest possible keeping with that melancholy which I had pre-determined as the tone of the poem.
In such a search is would have been absolutely impossible to overlook the word “Nevermore.” Poe
follows this rule by using the word “Nevermore” as the last word of each prose ¼ of the way into the
poem. He made the Ravens name Nevermore and that was the only word the Raven ever said.
