“The Raven” Read by James Earl Jones
“The Raven” by Edgar Allen Poe is the first work that crossed my mind in relation to William James’ “Stream of Consciousness”. The protagonist of the poem is first shown to be on the cusp of sleep whilst studying ancient literature when he suddenly heres a noise at his door. In his dreary state, the tapping at his door reminds him of the sadness his heart held for his lost love. This memory strikes fear in the heart of the protagonist and he tries to calm his emotion through rationality that it must simply be a visitor. To support the rational thought he is trying to subdue his fears with he moves to answer the door, when upon doing so no one is there. He utters then his lost loves name and it is echoed back to him in the silence. This sends his emotions further into a frenzy because his rationality has failed him. He then hears the tapping again and then believes the noise is coming from his window. He tries to rationalize the noise as being the wind and not his lost love “Lenore” entreating him from the beyond. When he opens the window a raven flies in and perches itself above his door. The protagonist smiles to himself because reason has once again took hold and the cause of the noise was nothing more than the raven. He speaks to the bird voicing his previous ridiculous fears. To his surprise the utters “Nevermore”. This intrigues the protagonist and he marvels at this trying to combat his drifting mind. He reasons that this raven learned the words from a person whom was wrought with a grave countenance. The bird answers his thoughts with “Nevermore” and he is taken aback and begins to think that the raven was answering him. Upon further conversation with the raven the protagonist deems that the bird is not simply a beast but a demon. A demon or entity sent to further laden his heart with sadness for his lost love.
This poem relates to “Stream of Consciousness” because it exhibits the many points that James’ was detailing in his work. As explained consciousness is personal, which in “The Raven” is exhibited by the memories of “Lenore” that the tapping and raven reverberated to the protagonist. The idea of consciousness as being a “stream” or consistently moving is exhibited through the protagonists dialogue with himself and the raven. His thoughts are ever fluctuating, trying to reason with occurrences of the night. Lastly, there is also the exhibition that thoughts are entwined with emotions, for the protagonist of “The Raven” feels sadness, fear, and loss throughout his reasoning with what meaning the raven holds. He at first rationalizes it as being the cause of the noise and takes no other meaning which makes him joyous and light hearted towards his ridiculous thoughts that it could have been Lenore knocking at his door. However, the thought of Lenore as being the source of the sound was filled with the emotion of fear. His interaction with the raven brings back this fear because he thinks it is sent from a unworldly entity.