Criticism on the Criticism of The Raven

This was probably the best criticism I have read on any literature this year. Seeing as we have done quite a few of them that is a pretty heavy comment. There were a lot of things I positively loved about this criticism. The first and foremost was how plain and upfront the author presented all of the viewpoints of critics or fans. For instance the author wrote: "Literary critics focused attention, instead, on technical concerns of verse, such as parallelism, internal rhyme, and what were termed inconsistencies or absurdities in Poe's imagery, including his reference to angelic creatures whose “foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor.”(" Rather than talking about a bunch of nonsense only professors will understand the author lays on the viewpoint in a simple way and straight up. No beating around the bush with him. Another thing I loved about the author was he FINALLY talked about ALL of the viewpoints and talked about their pros and cons. So many of the criticisms I have read this year are so biased it is painful. They so completely forgo any possibility of another viewpoint that you finish the article wondering what else there is. With this article the author talks about both view points, those for the poem and those against it. You do not get the idea he is trying to persuade you to think of something this way or the "right" way. For example: " Critics of his day also speculated somewhat unkindly on the inspiration and genesis of the poem, focusing their attention on the works of others from whom Poe was accused of lifting ideas and images...“The Raven” is generally accepted as one of Poe's most characteristic works in theme, tone, and execution, and Poe is highly regarded for his inspired, original imagination and deft command of language." From that quote it is obvious that the author attempted his best to give both view points in a scholarly way. I would have to say I really preferred this criticism over any other I have read this year. I found it a much much easier overall read than any other criticism this year. I would gladly read another article by this author. Several of the criticisms that I have read this year did things all wrong when compared to this criticism. Some of them tend to be bias and focus on one topic or view point. Some tend to over analyze the literature and ruin a simple thing with over thinking. Some even tend to alienate the reader b using literature jargon that is lost on many readers. This author did a beautiful job of not doing any of these. Granted there was a part where he talked about how the raven could represent black people and the angelic woman could represent white people. Though it was more of acknowledgement of the idea rather than a championing of it. I positively loved this criticism and it was actually a good and interesting read.


Works Cited

"Edgar Allan Poe The Raven Criticism." ENotes - Literature Study Guides, Lesson Plans, and More. Web. 23 Nov. 2010. .