In the raven where is the raven?

Answer 1

First, "figurative language" is simply a way for an author to paint a picture using words, so that you can use your imagination and better understand what is being written about. Some common devices for doing this are similes (comparing two unlike things, using the words "like" or "as"-- love is like a fire) and metaphors (comparing two unlike things directly-- love is a fire). Another device is personification, where you take an inanimate object and speak about it as if it were human (the wind was angry).

In "The Raven," a famous poem by Edgar Allen Poe, the bird is personified-- he is given the ability to speak in words (quoth the Raven, "Nevermore"-- 'quoth' is an old word that today would be 'said'). Also, the poet refers to his hopes flying away-- hopes are abstract nouns-- they are things, and they do not fly, but in figurative language, the poet speaks of them as if they are able to fly. The poet also uses a number of similes-- for example, refers to each dying ember of the fire in his fireplace as a "ghost upon the floor." Edgar Allen Poe uses other symbols throughout the poem-- for example, the bust (statue) of Pallas, the Greek goddess of wisdom, also known as Athena-- the poet longs for his lost love (her name was Lenore) and struggles to find the wisdom to accept how sad and depressed he feels. And it should be noted that in literature, a raven is a symbol of death or bad news.