Answer:
No poem in American -- or perhaps in English--poetry exploits assonance and alliteration more than The Raven. These devices, coupled with repetition, result in an eerie, hollow, hypnotic effect throughout the poem--exactly what the poet wanted. Poe uses end rhyme AND internal rhyme AND enjambment to further contribute to flow, both of sound and 'story' (plot, if you want)
Poe does truly get carried away at times throughout the poem, carried away to the point where the rhyme itself becomes more important than the content, as in "perched" in the these lines( and note that for a bird 'perched and 'sat' are virtually synonymous:
But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door—
Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door—
Perched, and sat, and nothing more
Most of the repeated vowel sounds in the poem are rounded and OPEN, contributing significantly to the hollow, echoing effect, then sharply contrasted by the short, unaspirated vowel of 'tap, tap'. The poem is a structrural tour de force
Explanation:
