Unveiling Death and Desire: A Psychoanalytic Criticism of Lenore by Edgar Allan Poe
Psychoanalysis; Death Drive; Mourning and Melancholia; Sublimation; Desire; Gothic Literature
This article offers a psychoanalytic interpretation of Lenore by Edgar Allan Poe, examining how the poem reconfigures death, mourning, and desire within a complex psychological framework. Drawing upon the theories of Sigmund Freud and Jacques Lacan, the study explores the tension between mourning and its denial, highlighting how the speaker’s rejection of grief functions as a form of repression rather than resolution. The analysis demonstrates that Poe transforms loss into aesthetic transcendence through mechanisms such as sublimation, idealization, and symbolic reconstruction. Lenore, as a figure, emerges as an unattainable object of desire whose absence generates meaning while resisting closure. The article further examines the role of the death drive (Thanatos) in shaping the poem’s fascination with mortality, revealing how destructive impulses are redirected into poetic creation. Additionally, the study addresses issues of gender and objectification, showing how Lenore’s idealization comes at the cost of agency. Through its focus on language, repetition, and symbolism, the paper argues that Lenore represents grief as fragmented and unresolved. Ultimately, the poem is interpreted as a site of unconscious conflict where death and desire remain intricately intertwined.
"Unveiling Death and Desire: A Psychoanalytic Criticism of Lenore by Edgar Allan Poe", JETNR - JOURNAL OF EMERGING TRENDS AND NOVEL RESEARCH (www.JETNR.org), ISSN:2984-9276, Vol.4, Issue 4, page no.c312-c320, April-2026, Available :https://rjpn.org/JETNR/papers/JETNR2604302.pdf
Volume 4
Issue 4,
April-2026
Pages : c312-c320
Paper Reg. ID: JETNR_233981
Published Paper Id: JETNR2604302
Downloads: 00022
Research Area: Languages
Country: Bankura, West Bengal (Other than Kolkata - Howrah area), India
ISSN: 2984-9276 | IMPACT FACTOR: 9.87 Calculated By Google Scholar | ESTD YEAR: 2023
An International Scholarly Open Access Journal, Peer-Reviewed, Refereed Journal Impact Factor 9.87 Calculate by Google Scholar and Semantic Scholar | AI-Powered Research Tool, Multidisciplinary, Monthly, Multilanguage Journal Indexing in All Major Database & Metadata, Citation Generator
Publisher: RJPN (IJPublication) Janvi Wave
