[Drew Keaton]

Originally Posted by HumanePain

Yes, he was a symbolic writer (in his poems that is, some of his stories have a very literal manner).

The Sleeper is a glorious example of classic symbolism: Death portrayed as Sleep.

But specifically in regards to your idea of the Raven as Lenore: that is an amazing observation! I do not think Poe intentionally tried to use Freudian symbolism in his writing, BUT, being well aquainted with those ideas that invoke horror, melancholy and other feelings in the reader, he may have instinctively written that way. Analyzing The Raven, one finds support for your idea in the 13th paragraph, last line, when he says "she shall press, ah, nevermore!", when in the prior verses, he referred to the Raven as a "he". To be sure though, he does revert to calling it a "he" in the last verse. A Freudian slip perhaps!

As Freud was well after Poe's period, the application of psychoanalytical theory is a modern phenomenon of course. Freud's theories do cross over into the darker elements of life! Marie Bonaparte's book on Poe is a great place to start for this application. She was receiving analysis from Freud at the time!