The reflection of Edgar Allan Poe`s personal experience on symbol and theme of `The Raven`.

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ABSTRACT
Jane. The Reflection of Edgar Allan Poe’s Personal Experience on Symbols and
Theme of “The Raven.” Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of
Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2015.
The background of this research is because there are so many researchers have
done their researches for “The Raven” from the psychoanalytical point of view, then
in this research the writer wants to use biographical background to prove that Edgar
Allan Poe’s work is written based on his biography or his life background. The writer
believes that Poe wrote his work based on what has happened in his life, the
experiences that the poet has in life influence him in writing and choosing the
symbols and theme that the poet use in the work. The approach used in this research
is a biographical approach. This approach used to prove that the biography or the
background of the poet can be reflected through his work.
This research is divided into three problems. The first one is to find the

symbols of the poem itself. Then, the second problem is to find the theme of the
poem from the symbols in the poem. The third problem is to find the relation between
the work and the poet based on his personal experience.
The analysis starts with the findings of symbols. The symbols used in the
poem are Lenore, Night’s Plutonian Shore, Raven, Bust of Pallas, and Nepenthe.
These symbols are used by Poe to show his feeling about the death of Lenore who in
the poem described as a beautiful maiden. After that, the researcher finds the possible
contextual interpretation of the theme then followed by the theme that the symbols
probably suggest. The possible theme of the work is the death of someone we love
may disturb our own sanity no matter how hard we try to be strong. This means that
in facing the umpteenth time of lost, Poe tried to be strong but he failed and it brought
him to the trauma and serious depression. This analysis then dealt with the poet’s
personal experience. Poe’s personal experience of death becomes the main idea of the
work that is proven in the last part of analysis.
As the results of this research, the writer proved that the poet’s personal
experience reflected through his work seen from the symbols he chose and the theme
that was revealed by the symbols. “The Raven” is the mirror Poe created to reflect his
personal experience so that people can enjoy his work and understand his experience
at the same time.

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ABSTRAK
Jane. The Reflection of Edgar Allan Poe’s Personal Experience on symbols and
theme of “The Raven.” Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of
Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2015.
Latar belakang untuk studi ini disebabkan karena banyak peneliti sebelumnya
telah menggunakan sudut pandang psikoanalisis dalam mempelajari dan meneliti
“The Raven” yang ditulis oleh Edgar Allan Poe, oleh sebab itu peneliti ingin
mencoba menggunakan pendekatan biografi yang bertujuan untuk membuktikan
bahwa karya yang ditulis oleh Edgar Allan Poe adalah berdasarkan biografi atau latar
belakang kehidupannya. Peneliti percaya bahwa apa yang ditulis oleh Poe adalah
berdasarkan dengan apa yang telah terjadi pada dirinya di masa lampau, pengalamanpengalaman pribadi ini mempengaruhi penulis dalam menulis karyanya dan memilih
symbol-simbol dan tema yang tepat untuk karyanya. Pendekatan yang digunakan
dalam penelitian ini adalah pendekatan biografis. Pendekatan ini digunakan untuk

membuktikan bahwa biografi atau latar belakang si penulis karya dapat direfleksikan
melalui karya itu sendiri.
Penelitian ini dibagi dalam 3 rumusan masalah. Rumusan masalah yang
pertama adalah pencarian symbol-simbol yang digunakan puisi tersebut. Lalu,
rumusan masalah yang kedua adalah mencari tema dari simbol-simbol yang telah
ditemukan. Rumusan masalah yang ketiga adalah keterkaitan antara simbol dan tema
dengan penulis puisi itu sendiri berdasar dengan pengalaman pribadi si penulis.
Analisa dimulai dengan penjabaran simbol-simbol dalam puisi. Simbolsimbol yang digunakan di dalam puisi tersebut adalah Lenore, Night’s Plutonian
Shore, Raven, Bust of Pallas, dan Nepenthe. Simbol-simbol ini digunakan Poe untuk
menunjukkan perasaannya terhadap kematian Lenore yang mana di dalam puisi
tersebut disebutkan sebagai seorang wanita muda yang cantik. Setelah itu, peneliti
menemukan interpretasi yang didapat ketika membaca puisi, lalu diikuti dengan tema
yang dapat disimpulkan melalui symbol-simbol yang telah ditemukan. Tema dari
karya tersebut adalah kematian orang yang kita cintai dapat mengganggu kewarasan
kita tidak peduli berapa besar usaha kita untuk tetap kuat. Maksud dari hal ini adalah,
dalam menghadapi kematian orang yang dia sayangi secara berulang-ulang, Poe
mencoba untuk kuat tetapi dia selalu gagal dan kegagalan ini membawa Poe kepada
trauma berkepanjangan dan depresi serius. Analisa ini lalu dikaitkan dengan
pengalaman pribadi si penulis itu sendiri. Pengalam pribadi Poe mengenai kematian
menjadi pikiran utama dalam analisa bagian terakhir ini.

Sebagai hasil dari penilitan ini, peneliti membuktikan bahwa pengalaman
pribadi sang penulis puisi memang dapat direfleksikan melalui karya yang
diciptakannya dilihat dari pemilihan symbol dan tema yang dapat terlihat melalui

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symbol dalam karya tersebut. “The Raven” menjadi cermin yang diciptakan Poe
untuk merefleksikan pengalaman pribadinya agar penikmat sastra dapat menikmati
karyanya dan mengerti mengenai pengalaman pribadinya dalam waktu yang
bersamaan.

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THE REFLECTION OF EDGAR ALLAN POE’S PERSONAL
EXPERIENCE ON SYMBOL AND THEME OF “The Raven”

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters

By
JANE
Student Number: 094214005

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA

2015

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THE REFLECTION OF EDGAR ALLAN POE’S PERSONAL
EXPERIENCE ON SYMBOL AND THEME OF “THE RAVEN”

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters

By
JANE

Student Number: 094214005

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2015

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LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN
PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS

Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma :
Nama

: Jane

Nomor Mahasiswa

: 094214005

Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan
Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah yang berjudul:
THE REFLECTION OF EDGAR ALLAN POE’S PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
ON SYMBOL AND THEME OF “THE RAVEN”
Beserta perangkat yang diperlukan ( bila ada ). Dengan demikian saya memberikan
kepada perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, mengalihkan
dalam

bentuk

media

lain,

mengelolanya

dalam

bentuk

pangkalan

data,

mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di internet atau media lain
untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu ijin dari saya maupun memberikan royalty
kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis.
Demikian pernyataan ini saya buat dengan sebenarnya.
Dibuat di Yogyakarta
Pada tanggal: 25 Februari 2015
Yang menyatakan,

( Jane )

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STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY

This is to certify that to the best of my knowledge, the content of this
undergraduate thesis is my own work. This thesis has not been submitted for any
degree or any purposes.
I certify that the intellectual content of this thesis is the product of my own
work and that all the assistance received in preparing this thesis and sources have
been acknowledged.
Jane.

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You ain‟t seen nothing yet, the best is yet to come
-Michael Jackson-

If I was perfect then this would be easy
-Avenged Sevenfold-

I live by „Go big or Go home.‟ That‟s with everything. It‟s like either commit and go
for it or don‟t do it at all. I apply that to everything
-Paul Walker-

No matter how many mistakes you make or how slow you progress, you are still way
ahead of everyone who isn‟t trying
-@Fact-

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For the 2 angels who are more precious than anything in my
life,
the reason I struggle this far

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Firstly, I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. F.X. Siswadi., M.A. for his
patience, supports and love towards me during the making of this research from the
very beginning until this final script. I also thank Ni Luh Putu Rosiandani S.S.,
M.Hum as my co-advisor for her advices and supports. Then to both of my parents,
Meliawati Salihin and Iwan Subagio Wirjan for their great love and powerful life, and
also to my brother, Reynaldi, who always becomes my loyal friend in the dark and in
the light.
The special thanks go to Patrick Anthonio Vespereza Andrada for the undying
love during this research and for all the helps, prayers, and also supports for me
during the process. I also thank Moses Dominick Putra for the love, support, and
smiles during the hard time. I am so glad to have both of you in my life. Also for
Alvieni M. Angelica MPsi., Psi (Mbak Alvi) for the psychological advices during the
hard times. My thanks also go to Mbak ninik, Mas Paryo, and Mbak Elis. Thank you
to Fira, Dian, Yuca, Ganis, Key, Okta, Yosi, Tjia, Sasa for all the beautiful memories.
They are the best friends I ever have. For all the names that I do not mention here, I
also would like to thank them for all the support and love. May God bless them.

Jane

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE……………………………………………………………………….. i
APPROVAL PAGE……………………………………………………………........ii
ACCEPTANCE PAGE ……………………………………………………………iii
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN
PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS………....iv
STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY………………………………………………..v
MOTTO PAGE……………………………………………………………………...vi
DEDICATION PAGE……………………………………………………………...vii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS…………………………………………………….....viii
TABLE OF CONTENTS…………………………………………………………...ix
ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………………xi
ABSTRAK…………………………………………………………………………...xii
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION………………………………………………….1
A. Background of the Study………………………………………………..........1
B. Problem Formulation………………………………………………………....5
C. Objectives of the Study………………………………………………………5
D. Definition of Terms……………………………...……………………………5
CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL REVIEW...…………………………………….7
A. Review on Related Studies…………………………………………………..7
B. Review on Related Theories………………………………………………….9
1. Theory of Theme...……………………………………………………….9
2. Theory of Symbol………………………………………………………..11
C. Literature and Biography…………………………………………………….12
D. Review on Biographical Background………………………………………. 13
E. Theoretical Framework………………………………………………………16
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY……………………………………………….19
A. Object of the Study……………………………………………………..........19
B. Approach of the Study……………………………………………………….19
C. Method of the Study…………………………………………………………20
CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS…………………………………………………….....21
A. The Symbols of The Poem………………………………………..................22
B. The Theme of The Poem The Symbols Suggest…………...………………. 31
C. The Relation of Symbol and Theme of the work with the Poet‟s Personal
Experience……………………………………………………………….......35

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CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION…………………………………………………....41
BIBLIOGRAPHY…………………………………………………………………..43
APPENDICES…........................................................................................................45

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ABSTRACT
Jane. The Reflection of Edgar Allan Poe’s Personal Experience on Symbols and
Theme of “The Raven.” Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of
Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2015.
The background of this research is because there are so many researchers have
done their researches for “The Raven” from the psychoanalytical point of view, then
in this research the writer wants to use biographical background to prove that Edgar
Allan Poe‟s work is written based on his biography or his life background. The writer
believes that Poe wrote his work based on what has happened in his life, the
experiences that the poet has in life influence him in writing and choosing the
symbols and theme that the poet use in the work. The approach used in this research
is a biographical approach. This approach used to prove that the biography or the
background of the poet can be reflected through his work.
This research is divided into three problems. The first one is to find the
symbols of the poem itself. Then, the second problem is to find the theme of the
poem from the symbols in the poem. The third problem is to find the relation between
the work and the poet based on his personal experience.
The analysis starts with the findings of symbols. The symbols used in the
poem are Lenore, Night‟s Plutonian Shore, Raven, Bust of Pallas, and Nepenthe.
These symbols are used by Poe to show his feeling about the death of Lenore who in
the poem described as a beautiful maiden. After that, the researcher finds the possible
contextual interpretation of the theme then followed by the theme that the symbols
probably suggest. The possible theme of the work is the death of someone we love
may disturb our own sanity no matter how hard we try to be strong. This means that
in facing the umpteenth time of lost, Poe tried to be strong but he failed and it brought
him to the trauma and serious depression. This analysis then dealt with the poet‟s
personal experience. Poe‟s personal experience of death becomes the main idea of the
work that is proven in the last part of analysis.
As the results of this research, the writer proved that the poet‟s personal
experience reflected through his work seen from the symbols he chose and the theme
that was revealed by the symbols. “The Raven” is the mirror Poe created to reflect his
personal experience so that people can enjoy his work and understand his experience
at the same time.

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ABSTRAK
Jane. The Reflection of Edgar Allan Poe’s Personal Experience on symbols and
theme of “The Raven.” Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of
Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2015.
Latar belakang untuk studi ini disebabkan karena banyak peneliti sebelumnya
telah menggunakan sudut pandang psikoanalisis dalam mempelajari dan meneliti
“The Raven” yang ditulis oleh Edgar Allan Poe, oleh sebab itu peneliti ingin
mencoba menggunakan pendekatan biografi yang bertujuan untuk membuktikan
bahwa karya yang ditulis oleh Edgar Allan Poe adalah berdasarkan biografi atau latar
belakang kehidupannya. Peneliti percaya bahwa apa yang ditulis oleh Poe adalah
berdasarkan dengan apa yang telah terjadi pada dirinya di masa lampau, pengalamanpengalaman pribadi ini mempengaruhi penulis dalam menulis karyanya dan memilih
symbol-simbol dan tema yang tepat untuk karyanya. Pendekatan yang digunakan
dalam penelitian ini adalah pendekatan biografis. Pendekatan ini digunakan untuk
membuktikan bahwa biografi atau latar belakang si penulis karya dapat direfleksikan
melalui karya itu sendiri.
Penelitian ini dibagi dalam 3 rumusan masalah. Rumusan masalah yang
pertama adalah pencarian symbol-simbol yang digunakan puisi tersebut. Lalu,
rumusan masalah yang kedua adalah mencari tema dari simbol-simbol yang telah
ditemukan. Rumusan masalah yang ketiga adalah keterkaitan antara simbol dan tema
dengan penulis puisi itu sendiri berdasar dengan pengalaman pribadi si penulis.
Analisa dimulai dengan penjabaran simbol-simbol dalam puisi. Simbolsimbol yang digunakan di dalam puisi tersebut adalah Lenore, Night‟s Plutonian
Shore, Raven, Bust of Pallas, dan Nepenthe. Simbol-simbol ini digunakan Poe untuk
menunjukkan perasaannya terhadap kematian Lenore yang mana di dalam puisi
tersebut disebutkan sebagai seorang wanita muda yang cantik. Setelah itu, peneliti
menemukan interpretasi yang didapat ketika membaca puisi, lalu diikuti dengan tema
yang dapat disimpulkan melalui symbol-simbol yang telah ditemukan. Tema dari
karya tersebut adalah kematian orang yang kita cintai dapat mengganggu kewarasan
kita tidak peduli berapa besar usaha kita untuk tetap kuat. Maksud dari hal ini adalah,
dalam menghadapi kematian orang yang dia sayangi secara berulang-ulang, Poe
mencoba untuk kuat tetapi dia selalu gagal dan kegagalan ini membawa Poe kepada
trauma berkepanjangan dan depresi serius. Analisa ini lalu dikaitkan dengan
pengalaman pribadi si penulis itu sendiri. Pengalam pribadi Poe mengenai kematian
menjadi pikiran utama dalam analisa bagian terakhir ini.
Sebagai hasil dari penilitan ini, peneliti membuktikan bahwa pengalaman
pribadi sang penulis puisi memang dapat direfleksikan melalui karya yang
diciptakannya dilihat dari pemilihan symbol dan tema yang dapat terlihat melalui

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symbol dalam karya tersebut. “The Raven” menjadi cermin yang diciptakan Poe
untuk merefleksikan pengalaman pribadinya agar penikmat sastra dapat menikmati
karyanya dan mengerti mengenai pengalaman pribadinya dalam waktu yang
bersamaan.

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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
In learning American English literature, people deal with so many major
poets in the world such as Robert Frost, Robert Browning, A.E Housman, W.H
Auden, Edgar Allan Poe, and many more. Each poet has their own characteristic
for their own works. For example, Edgar Allan Poe always creates his work in a
very dark tone. The diction, the story, the poem, and all of his works have this
criterion. Edgar Allan Poe divides his works into five types. In his book, Edgar
Allan Poe the Collection of Poetry and Essay, John H. Ingram stated that Poe has
his own divisions of poems: poem of later life, poem of manhood, poem of youth,
doubtful poem, and prose poem are the types of his poem. Take for an example
“Alone,” the poem that he wrote in 1830. This poem is one of the very famous
works that Edgar has written. “Alone” has the horror aura in it; from the symbols
that he used in the poem, the writer can conclude that this poem is spooky. The
writer knows this from the symbols that he used in the poem such as demon,
thunder, storm which symbolize the darkness and loneliness that the poet feels
and also from the theme that the symbols suggest in the poem that emphasizes the
state of being lonely and horrifying. Another example for this poet are “To
Isadore”, “The Forest Reverie” which are included in the doubtful poem, “The
Island of the Fay”, “The Power of words”, “Shadow-A Parable” are the examples
of the prose poem. “ The Raven”, “To My Mother”, “To Helen”, “Annabel Lee”,

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“An Enigma”, “A Dream within A Dream‟ are the examples of the poem of later
life. (1874: vi-ix)
The work of art, especially the literary work by Edgar Allan Poe is written
based on his personal experience (http://www.eapoe.org/geninfo/poeautob.htm).
The writer of this research is about to prove that Edgar Allan Poe creates the
literary works based on what he had felt before in his past. His past experience
about his mother, his Lenore, and his wife (Virginia) pushed him to make a poem
about his lost and grieve. The writer believes that this amazing poet has emotional
relation with his own works which will be proved in the analysis. The writer
intends to figure out the meaning of the poem; here in this case is “The Raven”. It
is not only the literal meaning that the writer wants to figure out but also the
deeper meaning of the poem. After understanding the meaning of the poem, the
writer wants to figure out the experiences that the author felt during his personal
life. The writer aims to find the relation between the experience and the poet‟s
work which reflected in the poem through the choice of symbols (1963: 11).
Taken from a collection of famous quotations, Friedrich Nietzsche ever
said “Poets are shameless with their experiences: they exploit them”
(http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/40009.html). It means that all poets
exploit their personal experience into their works without any exception. It is
interesting to see how the works have relation with the author. This research is
related to Poe‟s biographical background. As people know, Edgar has no perfect
family life. His biological father left him with his mother when Edgar was still
young, less than a year after Edgar was born. Edgar had one brother and a sister.

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His older brother lived with his grandfather and Edgar lived with his mother with
his younger sister. His mom died when Edgar was still 2 years old. This left Edgar
in deepest pain. His mother died because of the suffering and illness. His mother
had been a sick woman when his younger sister was born. His memories about his
mother were only her large dark eyes and the curly black hair which he, too,
possessed ( Poe, 1963 ).
“The Raven” was created in 1846. This poem is noted as the greatest poem
ever and often said as the success of his career. John H Ingram in his book stated
that “Poe became the “lion of the season” because of „The Raven‟.” “The Raven”
was translated into some different languages and from time to time read it in his
musical manner in public halls or at literary receptions. The story behind this
poem was about his beloved. Poe dated Lenore before he met Virginia (his own
cousin). Poe loved Lenore so much like he loved his mother and Jane Stanard (his
friend‟s mother). He created “The Raven” for Lenore because he also lost Lenore
from the same reason of death like his mother and Mrs. Stanard. Poe was very
sensitive to this case. This also became the reason why Edgar used the words
“Nevermore” repeated so many times in “The Raven” which means he did not
want death to grab anyone else whom he loves so much; he did not want to feel
any lost after he lost his mother, his brother (Henry), Mrs. Stanard, and Lenore
(1963: 128 ).
From Edgar‟s life timeline, the writer feels very interested and wants to
analyze more about the relation between the work and the biographical
background. The writer is sure that there must be relation between the past

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experience and the work that Edgar created. In “To My Mother” Edgar felt the
hurt because of loss; the loss of his mother and wife. Edgar felt that he much
attached to the woman in his life; his aunt, his mother, and his wife; but all the
women he lived much died because of sickness. In “The Raven” Edgar dedicated
the poem to his girlfriend. He felt that sadness when his girlfriend passed away
and left him alone forever. He felt almost the same in both poem, but the woman
that he referred to were different and that creates different meaning and relation to
the readers. The writer uses the terms of “personal” experience because the
experience that the writer uses in this research is the poet‟s own personal
experience, the experience that only felt by the poet and not felt by any other
people or the public.
The urgency of discussing symbols in this poem is that the writer of this
research believes that the choice of symbols in a work is also determined by the
past experience of the poet himself. The symbols in the work arouse the readers‟
or listeners‟ imagination. In this research, the writer does not stop at describing
the symbols only, but also reveal the theme that the symbols probably suggest and
relate it all with the poet‟s past experience. The writer wants to prove that symbol
and biography has the emotional relation. Emotional here means that the poet‟s
emotion in writing the work reflected through the symbols he used. Also, the
theme and the symbols have the relation as Stanton stated in his book An
Introduction to Fiction “this device cannot carry the theme by itself, it can help to
define and emphasizes the theme” (Stanton 1965:4). So, because of those reasons,
the writer is really sure that this research is original for the matter of study.

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B. Problem Formulation
To be able to understand this poem better, three problems were formulated
as follows.
1. What are the symbols used in the poem?
2. What is the theme of the poem the symbols suggest?
3. How do the symbols and the theme reflect the poet‟s personal experience?
C. Objectives of the Study
This research aims to find the relation between the poet and his work. The
writer believes that each literary works depends on the author and the experiences
he felt. This research has three objectives. The first objective is the writer‟s
needing to find symbols used in the poem. This aims to reveal the meaning of the
poem and to give understanding of the meaning of the poem. The second
objective is revealing the theme of the poem the symbols suggest. The third
objective is relating the poet‟s personal experience that reflected through the
choice of symbol that the poet used in the poem.
D. Definition of Terms
A work of literature is related to the author and it is possible that it has the
relation with the author‟s personal experience. The writer uses the title: The
reflection of Edgar Allan Po‟s Persona Experience on Symbol and Theme of “The
Raven”.

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1.

6

The term reflection means a sign that shows the state or nature of

something (Oxford 2005: 1223). Reflection means for the writer is the image that
a mirror creates. In this research, the image is the work and the mirror is the poet‟s
past experience. This term related to this topic because the writer wants to relate
between the symbols used by the poet and the poet‟s experience that reflected in
using particular symbols in his works.
2.

The phrase personal experience from the Oxford Advanced Learner‟s

Dictionary means the things that have happened personally to a person that
influence the way he or she thinks and behaves (2005: 513, 1084). The term
personal experience for the writer means an event or action that makes a memory
that only an individual has which is not a common thing.

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CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL REVIEW
A. Review on Related Studies
Alan Poe‟s literary works have been analyzed by many researches. In this
part, the writer compares this study with other undergraduate theses. They are the
thesis from Petra Christian University student, Heidy Adeline, a book from Lorine
Pruette, and a study from C.D. Merriman.
The first study entitled “The speaker‟s optimistic attitude towards death in
Edgar Allan Poe‟s poems “Sonnet To My Mother,” “Annabel Lee,” and “For
Annie.” In her study, Heidy analyzed those works from the psychoanalytic point
of view. She wants to state that the poet wants to say that death cannot be denied,
death brings separation between him and the people he loved (the consciousness
and the unconsciousness). She stated that:
By doing this analysis, I want to prove that the speaker‟s attitude toward
death is optimistic by his employment of figurative languages, imagery,
diction, connotation, and tone. Moreover, I also want to show that the
optimistic attitude achieved by the speaker in three poems is the result
from Poe‟s background and his innermost experience in life that initiate
his overpowering longing for peace ( 2001: 5 ).
From the quotation above, it is clear that Heidy wants to prove that
Edgar‟s works affected purely by what he had experienced.
The second study which also analyzed the same thing comes from a book
written by Lorine Pruette. Her book entitled “The Psychoanalytical Study of
Edgar Allan Poe” analyzed the poet also from the psycho-analytical point of view.
She agrees that Edgar Allan Poe wrote his works based on his sensitiveness to the

7

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effects of stimulants and temporary fits of insanity toward the last of his life. She
stated:
….with the peculiar genius of the poet himself, his sensitiveness to the
effects of stimulants and temporary fits of insanity toward the last of his
life, form fairly conclusive evidence that there was in the Poe family a
decided organic inferiority. The lesion on the brain from which Edgar
suffered in later life may have been either the result of syphilitic infection
or apoplexy, or caused by an inherited inferior brain for which, according
to Lombroso, genius is an over-compensation ( 1920: 372 ).
From the quotation above, the writer can conclude that Pruette also agrees
that Edgar wrote his works from his unconsciousness mind that affected by his
personal experience. His genius mind and his unconscious mind blend together
and urged him to create such a work that is really beautiful. He suffered in his
mental illness that haunted him for years. This happened because he received
traumatic experience that strengthens his genius mind and his unconscious part to
take a portion in his work.
Not only those, the third study which analyzed Edgar‟s work from psychoanalytical point of view comes from C.D.Merriman in his “Online Literature”
about Poe. He stated:
Poe‟s psychologically thrilling tales examining the depths of the human
psyche earned him much fame during his lifetime and after his death. His
own life was marred by tragedy at an early age (his parents died before he
was three years old) and in his oft-quoted works we can see his darkly
passionate sensibilities—a tormented and sometimes neurotic obsession
with death and violence and overall appreciation for the beautiful yet
tragic mysteries of life ( http://www.online-literature.com/poe/ ).
From the quotation above, the writer can say that Edgar Allan Poe wrote
his works based on his psychological experience he ever had. Merriman also

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stated that Poe wrote his works because of his bad experience toward life but the
writer thinks it is not the important thing that dealt with Poe‟s works.
B. Review on Related Theories
There are two theories that the writer uses in this research. The first is the
theory on theme and the second is the theory on symbol.
1. Theory of theme
In An Introduction to Fiction, X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia, stated that
“The theme of a story is whatever general idea or insight the entire story reveals”
(2010:183). This means that the theme of the story has one idea that can cover all
aspects in the story. In this book, Kennedy and Gioia considered some points to
recognize a theme in a literary work.
1.1.

The first step is to look back once again at the title of a literary work used

and to find what it indicates.
1.2.

Make sure whether or not the main character changes in any way in the
story.

1.3.

Make sure whether or not the author makes any general observation
related to life or human nature.

1.4.

Make sure whether or not the literary work contains curious objects,
repeated names and whatever that hint at meanings and larger than its ordinary
meaning.

1.5.

Make sure that the statement we use should be into general language, not
just in form of a plot summary.

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1.6.

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Make sure that the statement we have made can cover all aspects of ideas
from the whole story and not just from a single part of the story (Kennedy et
al, 2010: 185).
This definition of theme also stated by Elisabeth Memahan, Susan Day,
and Robert Frank in their book, Literature and The Writing Process, Third
Edition.
Theme has been defined in many ways: the central idea or thesis, the
central thought; the underlying meaning, either implied or directly stated;
the general idea or insight revealed by the entire story; the central truth;
the dominating idea; the abstract concept that is made concrete through
representation in person, action, and image. (Frank, 1989:122)
From the quotation above, the writer concludes that theme is the idea or

thought that is revealed by the entire story through the representation in person,
action, and image. In short, theme is the controlling idea in the work.
The same idea is taken from Robert Stanton in his book, An Introduction to
Fiction. In this book, Stanton stated that theme is like the „central meaning‟ we
usually meet or experience in our daily life. In our everyday life we sometimes
experience many feelings and they make us an impact to remember it (Stanton,
1965: 4). Stanton also said that
Usually, too, we find that such a meaning has a larger value: having
experienced grief ourselves, we can better understand any man‟s grief. A
central meaning of this short corresponds to what, in a story, we call the
“theme” or “central idea” (Stanton, 1965: 4).
In this case, Stanton wanted to say that many feelings that we experience
can bear a larger meaning and value. Hence, we can consider it as the „theme‟ or
„central idea‟. The theme of our life is just like the theme in the story; its value is
„both particular and universal‟ (Stanton, 1965: 4). The theme here gives us the

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power and „unity‟ to every event or action described and also „tells us about life in
general‟. The theme usually has value and any kinds of value it has, the theme is
still needed or necessary and it is the „integral part‟ of the reality found in the
story. This thing then brought the consequences that the theme of a story is like a
very useful thing, like a moral warning for someone. As the example is „Honesty
is the best policy‟ (Stanton, 1965: 4). A theme also generalizes life and it could
also deliver one single fact of one‟s experience.
2. Theory of symbol
Based on M.H. Abrams A Glossary of Literary Terms, symbol means
anything that signifies something. Symbols can be a word or a phrase that
contains deeper meaning of the word and the phrase (1981: 311). Symbol is
categorized into three divisions: Cultural symbol, Conventional symbol, and
Private Symbol.
Cultural symbol is a sign that belongs to a cultural group in certain area,
but understood by mostly all people. For example white flag in certain cultures are
known as the symbol of death. This kind of symbol only can be understood by
some cultures which use this symbol.
Conventional symbol is signs that are agreed, used, and mean the same to
all people in the world. For example is the traffic light‟s color. All people around
the world understand that red means stop, yellow means proceed with caution, and
green means go.

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Private symbol is a sign that is created by someone and only that person
who understands perfectly what the meaning is. This kind of symbol is usually
used in literary works (Abrams, 1981: 312).
Holman and Harmon stated that symbol is an image which evokes an
objective, concrete reality then suggests another level of meaning (1968:44). Guth
also said that symbols are images that have a meaning beyond themselves, and
Perrine states that a symbol may have more than one meaning (1974:20). In short,
the writer concludes that symbols in a literary work emphasize the meaning of the
work.
Perrine also gives some cautions for the reader to interpret literary work.
First, the story itself must furnish a clue that a detail is to be taken symbolically.
Symbol shows the existence through emphasis, repetition, or position. The reader
of a poem should be reluctant to identify a certain idea as symbolical when the
signal is absent. The second, the whole context of the story must support and
establish the symbol (Perrine 1974: 212). The meaning of the symbol lies inside
the story. The third, a symbol must suggest a meaning which is different from its
literal meaning and should be more than a representative of class or type. The
fourth, as it should be different from its literal meaning, a symbol should also
have more than one meaning. Its cluster of meaning is controlled by the context of
the story (Perrine 1974: 214).
C. Literature and Biography
Literature and biography are two inseparable things. The involvement of
the author existed within his or her literary work. This means that a literary work

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also involves the feeling, emotion, ideas, and personality of the author which refer
to his or her personal life. This also means that in order to better analyze a literary
work, it is important to put the biographical approach as it conveys the author‟s
personal life (Rohberger and Woods, 1971: 8). In this case, it could be said that a
literary work is also influenced by the personal life of the author (Wellek and
Waren, 1956:75). There is a very close relationship between the work and its
author (Rohberger and Woods, 1971: 8). E. D. Hirsch in Bleich (1978: 239) said
that the most fundamental means of understanding the literary works is to know
the originators‟ intention to it. Hawtron also has the same idea that the possible
context that can fit the analysis of a literary work is the knowledge of the author‟s
biography (Hawtron, 1987: 80). Hawtron stated that
It is characteristic of untrained or unsophisticated readers that they fail to
come to terms with author‟s use of personae and treats statements in
literary works as statement made by an author (Hawtron, 1987: 81).
This means that in order to be a sophisticated reader, one must have
knowledge on the author‟s life, his or her society and culture.
D. Review on Biographical Background of Edgar Allan Poe.
Edgar Poe was born in Boston on January 19, 1809. His parents were
David and Elizabeth Poe. David was born in Baltimore on July 18, 1784.
Elizabeth Arnold came to the U.S. from England in 1796 and married David Poe
after her first husband died in 1805. They had three children, Henry, Edgar, and
Rosalie.
Elizabeth Poe died in 1811, when Edgar was 2 years old. She was already
a sick woman when his sister, Rosalie, had been born. She had separated from her

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husband and had taken her three kids with her. Henry went to live with his
grandparents while Edgar was adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Allan. John Allan was a
successful merchant, so Edgar grew up in good surroundings and went to good
schools (Poe, 1963: 4).
His life with his foster parents was not going well, especially with his
foster father. Poe started to spend his time away from home. The old friendly
relationship with Mr. Allan that he remembered so well seemed to be
disappearing. The man he tried to think of as his father was displeased with him
often. Unhappy because of the quarreling at home, Poe visited with Rob Stanard,
Jack Mackenzie, and other friends. Rob Stanard‟s mother is a very loving figure to
Poe. He felt the pure perfect love he craves for. As a boy of 15 years, the love he
felt for the 31-year-old Mrs. Stanard was a worshipping, noble one. Mrs. Stanard
loved to hear Poe‟s poems. He was quick to accept every time she asked him to
read one of his works. From Mrs. Stanard he got both encouragement and
suggestions for improving his poetry. But during these meetings, the sensitive Poe
began to notice that Mrs. Stanard was changing in a strange way (Poe 1963: 128).
On April 28th, 1824, Mrs. Stanard died. For Poe days of deep sorrow followed. In
the death of Jane Stanard he had lost his dearest friend and the one who had given
him the help and the encouragement he needed so much. But as an imaginative
boy of 15, the greatest, unforgettable sadness was the loss of the beautiful woman
be worshipped-his perfect love.
Edgar Allan Poe went to the University of Virginia in 1826. He was 17.
Even though John Allan had plenty of money, he only gave Edgar about a third of

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what he needed. Although Edgar had done well in Latin and French, he started to
drink heavily and quickly became in debt. Edgar Allan had no money, no job
skills, and had been shunned by John Allan. Edgar went to Boston and joined the
U.S. Army in 1827. He was 18. He did reasonably well in the Army and attained
the rank of sergeant major. In 1828, Mrs. Allan died and John Allan tried to be
friendly towards Edgar and signed Edgar's application to West Point.
While waiting to enter West Point, Edgar lived with his grandmother and
his aunt, Mrs. Clemm. Also living there was his brother, Henry, and young
cousin, Virginia. In 1830, Edgar Allan entered West Point as a cadet. He did not
stay long because John Allan refused to send him any money. It is thought that
Edgar purposely broke the rules and ignored his duties so he would be dismissed.
In 1836, Edgar married his cousin, Virginia. He was 27 and she was 13. Many
sources say Virginia was 14, but this is incorrect. Virginia Clemm was born on
August 22, 1822. They were married before her 14th birthday, in May of 1836.
In 1845, Virginia's health was fading away and Edgar was deeply
distressed by it. In her five year struggle she had been near death several times,
but had always regained her strength. On January 30th, 1847 Virginia died, 10
days after Edgar's birthday. After losing his wife, Poe collapsed from stress but
gradually returned to health later that year. She was 24 years old, the same age
Edgar‟s mother and Brother Henry had been at their death. Since that time, Edgar
Allan Poe‟s mental condition was no longer healthy. He suffered from his mental
illness because of losing the people he loves for the umpteenth time
(http://www.poemhunter.com/edgar-allan-poe/biography/).

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Poe became a literary sensation in 1845 with the publication of the poem
"The Raven." It is considered a great American literary work and one of the best
of Poe's career. In the work, Poe explored some of his common themes—death
and loss. An unknown narrator laments the demise of his great love Lenore. That
same year, he found himself under attack for his stinging criticisms of his fellow
poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Poe claimed that Longfellow, a widely
popular literary figure, was a plagiarist, and this written assault on Longfellow
created a bit of backlash for Poe. With his short stories and poems, Edgar Allan
Poe captured the imagination and interest of readers around the world. His
creative talents led to the beginning of different literary genres, earning him the
nickname "Father of the Detective Story" among other distinctions. His life,
however, has become a bit of mystery itself. The lines between fact and fiction
have

been

blurred

substantially

since

his

death

(http://www.biography.com/people/edgar-allan-poe-9443160#synopsis).

E. Theoretical Framework
In order to answer the questions stated in the problem formulation, the
writer uses the theory of theme and the theory of symbol. The writer uses the
theory of the theme and symbol to analyze and to understand the theme of the
poem seen from the symbol that is analyzed in the research. After finding the
theme and the symbols, the writer uses the biographical background of the poet.
This aims to relate the personal experience that happened to the poet with the

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symbols and the theme that he used in his work. The description can be seen in
the chart below.

POEM

Theme (seen
from the
symbols in the
poem)

The Influence of the
poet‟s personal
experience to the
symbols and theme he
used.

From the chart above, the writer puts the poem as the source of this
research. From the poem, what the writer wants to analyze first is the symbol.
From the symbol, the writer then can analyze the theme. In this case, the writer
wants to analyze what theme the symbols suggest. After finding the symbols and
theme, then the writer analyzes the poet‟s personal experience related to these two
things.

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CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
A. Object of the Study
In this research, the writer uses a poem by Edgar Allan Poe as the object of
study. The poem entitled “The Raven.” This poem was published in 1845. This is
a unique poem because this poem looks more like a short story rather than a poem
because this poem has 18 stanzas and each stanza consist of 5 lines. This poem is
free in rhymes. “The Raven” is considered as the most famous work from Edgar
Allan Poe until a famous actor, Vincent Price, read it as a monologue.
Poe wrote “The Raven” because he lost his love, Lenore. Not only that,
but also he could write “The Raven” because he heard that bird like knocked on
his door at night and he associated the bird with the death of Lenore. The bird,
raven, also symbolize something else in the poem.
B. Approach of the Study
The approach that the writer uses in this research is biographical and
approach. Biographical used to analyze the poet life’s timeline and connected it
with the works. However, the timeline that the writer uses are more to the early
life and educational years of the poet. According to Reaske
Biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than
a list of basic facts (education, work, relationships, and death), biography
also portrays the subject's experience of those events. Unlike a profile or
curriculum vitae (résumé), a biography presents the subject's life story,
highlighting various aspects of his or her life, including intimate details of
experience, and may include an analysis of the subject's personality.
Biographical approach examines the literary work in relation to the
author’s life. And often a particular poem or song is subject to this kind of
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analysis simply by nature of its material in relation to the background of
the author's personal experience (Reaske : 1966).
Biography is different from curriculum vitae because biography is
concerned with the person’s life story, the experiences that happened, and
sometimes also the personality of the person that is being biographed. From the
quotation above, the writer can simply say that Biographical approach is an
approach used to understand and comprehend a literary work by studying deeper
about the life of the author himself.
The writer uses this approach because the writer thinks that this approach
is right for the work and the topic of this research.
C. Method of the Study
This research is a library research because the writer only uses some
printed and electronic sources without going to the field and collecting data using
questionnaires. The primary source the writer uses is the poem by Edgar Allan
Poe entitled “The Raven” and th