Ok, I do know that The Raven isn't a YA novel. I'm not an idiot. But just because you love YA, you shouldn't neglect the classics. The classics are classics for a reason. I have personally been putting off reading The Raven and A Midsummer Night's Dream, i.e., for a long time. But as I am reading a lot of these popular YA novels, like books in The Iron Fey series and in the Nevermore trilogy, I notice the references to classic literature.
Going back and reading though the classics not only gives you a deeper understanding of the characters and their backgrounds, it will also give a different understanding of the book itself. Especially when it comes to books with direct links to the classics.
Now of course this is something that I have personally seen and something I personally think. I would be surprised if everyone felt the same way. Moving along to the review.
I was surprised when I started reading The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe. First off, I thought it would be a whole lot longer than what it really was. Secondly, I thought it would be a whole lot harder to read and understand. The Raven was, in fact, short and very easy to read. Maybe this is because I am practically inexperienced when it comes to poetry or it's because I'm just shallow. I hope it isn't the second alternative. The Raven was entertaining and I have reread twice now.
In The Raven, Poe uses something called a Trochee which is the opposite of an Iambic Pentameter, the metrical line that Shakespeare used. A trochee is a metrical foot with a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable. Now I do believe that these meters are used to enhance a characters speech in narrative poetry, so disclaimer if I'm wrong.
For those of you who don't know what this would sound like, go on to youtube and search Edgar Allan Poe vs Stephen King EBR. The first few lines of that rap battle is in trochee and is inspired by The Raven.
I'll leave determining what The Raven is about to you, fellow readers.
Happy reading.
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