An example of this is in “The Raven” when the raven constantly and only replies by saying “Nevermore”. This response just gives the reader an idea but no actual insight into what is happening. It is this simple idea of “nevermore” that is planted in the reader’s brain. Then as the poem develops this idea develops and changes depending on the reader’s opinion. For example we assume the raven is someone or something with a sense of history and authority because it is “ancient” and “lordly”. This gives us the idea that the raven is intelligent and omniscient. However we still don’t know what his intentions are and cannot actually tell them because of the lack of straight forward explanation. This is summarised in the poem when the narrator says “’Prophet!’ said I, ‘thing of evil’ – prophet still, if bird or devil!” “Prophet” links directly to a supernatural and Godly theme hence backing up the argument that the raven is “lordly” and all knowing. Also, by using “thing”, the reader is encouraged to believe that the raven isn’t just a creature but actually something we cannot contemplate, hence it is being described a “thing”. This gives a really the reader and ambiguous view of the raven and what it stands for because he has no idea what is going on and cannot contemplate why. By using the reader’s sense of disbelief in his own opinions of the poem, the poets have conveyed the macabre in their poems by using uncertainty and mystery.
To demonstrate the macabre the poets use many literary and language techniques, however the form of the poems is equally important. The form is a way of embodying the poem to manipulate the reader’s interpretation of the poem. “La Belle Dame Sans Merci” is a folk ballad because of its characteristics such as having equal length stanzas and the way the story is portrayed. The story begins abruptly and moves rapidly. We get a precipitated beginning as soon as the second word; “WHAT”. Since it is written in capitals it forces the reader to stop and observe what is happening in the story. It causes a sudden sense of panic because the reader wouldn’t be expecting this and hence it is abrupt. However this quality is only representative of a folk ballad, therefore we don’t see this in “The Kraken”. “The Kraken” has a very strange form because it has no sentence structure or rhythm. However this is only to enhance the experience of reading this poem. By not having a set pattern for the reader to follow and understand there is a sense of discomfort when reading the poem. This emphasises that the Kraken is “ancient”, “sickly” and is “slumbering”. By having equal length stanzas in “La Belle Dame Sans Merci” the reader’s perception of the poem is that it is very uniform and you can expect how something will be described next. By having a repetitive structure the reader is in a sense of comfort because he is sure of how the story is likely to be described. In a way he feels that he is in control of the poem because nothing will be unexpected for him. However in “The Kraken” the entire poem consists of two sentences and has varied rhythm this means as the reader is looking at the poem he/she won’t be able to follow a pattern and well be out of their comfort zone. Tennyson has done this because he wants the reader to feel like the Kraken and be uncomfortable. This shows a significant contrast to the abrupt start to the poem. The start of the poem grabs the reader’s attention and then it slows down almost to a halt. This resembles the story of the poem where the knight is attracted to the fairy and follows her, to her “grot”; after this sense of excitement is over he is left in one place to “sojourn”. This is how the form of the poem embodies the story of the poem.
A lot of macabre poems strongly resemble the subconscious and how it behaves. Two such poems that do this are “The Tiger” and “The Listeners”. Since macabre is to do with something of a very strange nature and potentially leading to horror, both these poems have a perplexing sense of isolation for the reader. The tiger exemplifies everybody’s subconscious and represents their deepest, most secret desires. It is described as a creature “in the forests of the night”; this image means the subconscious because a dark forest usually represents something quietly active. However at this point we don’t know whether the tiger is good or bad and this is shown when it says “what distant deeps or skies Burnt the fire of thine eyes?” In this quote the “deeps” refer to hell because hell is considered to be the land of the devil that lives underground. This would mean that the tiger could be an evil creature. However, “skies” represents heaven because heaven is considered to be the land of god who lives in the clouds. This would mean that the creature has good intentions. This ties in with the element of mystery because the reader doesn’t have an answer as to what the creature’s purpose is. Then to show the reader the authority and power of the tiger Blake uses the words “chain…furnace…anvil” these show a very solid, mechanical and bold image of the tiger. Also this links to the industrial revolution because of the link to machinery; “hammer”. By doing this Blake is showing the reader how powerful their subconscious really is and that it shouldn’t be underestimated or taken lightly. At the time this would have had more of an effect than ever because when Blake wrote this poem the industrial revolution was in full flow and the whole country was buzzing, Blake’s aim was to try to enlighten the working class people and encourage them to ask questions not only to their superiors but to themselves and what their personality really is. That is why he ends each stanza by asking if someone would “dare” to control this creature. So this gives the reader the impression that the tiger is a cataclysmic creature.
In stanza five Blake refers to the story of Lucifer. At first the reader would relate this to the tiger being evil, however Blake is trying to show how some good can come out of ‘apparent’ evil. This is why it says “And water’d heaven with their tears”. This refers to when the abolished angels cried and their tears formed beautiful stars. Blake is really trying to show people at the time of the industrial revolution that they should release their inner ‘apparently evil’ subconscious desires and realise that some good can actually come out of it. He uses the story of Lucifer as an example and the fact that beautiful stars were formed from the tears of the evil angels. There is also the imagery of slavery because of the link with the industrial revolution and the use of the word “chain”. All this is to emphasise Blake’s major point of his writing and other works, he is telling society at the time to release their inner “tiger” and fulfil their lifelong ambitions. He also says “what the hand dare seize the fire?” and who “dare frame thy fearful symmetry?” By this he is saying that people of the upper class cannot have a “dread grasp” on the working class. There is a link to society and the subconscious in “The Listeners” as well. In terms of the subconscious, the poem shows life as a journey and the horse is the physical part of the body that does all the work for the traveller sitting on it. The traveller is the soul and subconscious that thinks for the physical part of the body. This poem has a lot to do with how society accepts people depending on who they are. For example “No one descended to the traveller”; this shows the isolation of the subconscious is society hasn’t accepted it. Since the subconscious represents who you truly are, the traveller isn’t accepted by others and hence no one “descended”. However, the “horse moved, cropping the dark turf”, this shows how your body still carries on living normally even though “no one answered” the subconscious. This shows the fear that people have of revealing who they truly are because otherwise they would be risking any company whatsoever.
Macabre is all about creating a mysterious and forlorn atmosphere that shows the reader that there is more than meets the eye; especially, when trying to understand what is being described and why. This leaves the reader feeling nonplussed, almost on the verge of frustration. This seed is purely born from the reader’s desire to find out the truth behind the story of ‘The Raven’, ‘The Tiger’ and ‘La Belle Dame Sans Merci’. Poe, Blake and Keats have tied this concept fluidly into their poems and hence the reader is given a sense of disbelief after reading their poetry, which perfectly envisages the macabre.
