"The Raven" and Melville's Pierre

Close reading reveals that Herman Melville alluded to Poe's "The Raven," often through verbal correspondences, throughout his novel Pierre. Furthermore, there are significant similarities between Melville's use of "The Raven" in Pierre and Nathaniel Hawthorne's use of that poem in The Blithedale Romance. Yet important differences also exist, especially in regard to Melville's not only remembering, but also renouncing—of societal norms and literary expectations, and perhaps, as well, of efforts to overcome the reserve of Hawthorne and efforts to know the secret of the universe. The varied kinds of renouncing are linked by way of the multiple allusions to Poe's most celebrated poem. In addition, Melville's interest in "The Raven" continued in subsequent years.