The Raven Critical Reading Questions and Answers

"The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most well-known poems e'er written. It brought its author worldwide fame and has frequently been analyzed, performed, and parodied. But what almost this poem makes information technology and then special?

In this guide, we give you lot a complete overview of "The Raven," discussing everything from the sorry stories behind its creation and what is actually going on between the narrator and the raven, to its themes and the poetic devices it uses so effectively.

The Raven Poem: Full Text

Below is the complete text of The Raven verse form, written by Edgar Allan Poe and published in 1845. It consists of eighteen stanzas and a full of 108 lines.

In one case upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,

Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore—

While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,

As of some i gently rapping, rapping at my sleeping accommodation door.

"'Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door—

Only this and nothing more."

Ah, distinctly I recall it was in the bleak December;

And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.

Eagerly I wished the morrow;—vainly I had sought to borrow

From my books surcease of sorrow—sorrow for the lost Lenore—

For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels proper name Lenore—

Nameless here for evermore.

And the silken, distressing, uncertain rustling of each royal drapery

Thrilled me—filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;

And so that now, to notwithstanding the beating of my heart, I stood repeating

"'Tis some company entreating entrance at my bedroom door—

Some late company entreating entrance at my chamber door;—

This information technology is and nothing more."

Before long my soul grew stronger; hesitating so no longer,

"Sir," said I, "or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;

Only the fact is I was napping, so gently you came rapping,

Then faintly you lot came tapping, borer at my chamber door,

That I scarce was sure I heard you lot"—here I opened wide the door;—

Darkness there and nil more.

Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,

Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream earlier;

But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token,

And the only word there spoken was the whispered discussion, "Lenore?"

This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, "Lenore!"—

Just this and nothing more.

Back into the sleeping accommodation turning, all my soul within me burning,

Soon again I heard a borer somewhat louder than earlier.

"Surely," said I, "surely that is something at my window lattice;

Let me see, then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore—

Permit my centre be however a moment and this mystery explore;—

 'Tis the wind and nothing more!"

Open hither I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter,

In there stepped a stately Raven of the saintly days of yore;

Not the least obeisance fabricated he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;

But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door—

Perched upon a bust of Pallas just in a higher place my chamber door—

Perched, and sat, and nothing more.

Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,

Past the grave and stern decorum of the countenance information technology wore,

"Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou," I said, "art sure no craven,

Ghastly grim and ancient Raven wandering from the Nightly shore—

Tell me what thy lordly proper name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!"

Quoth the Raven "Nevermore."

Much I marvelled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse and then plain,

Though its respond picayune meaning—little relevancy bore;

For we cannot aid agreeing that no living human existence

Ever yet was blessed with seeing bird to a higher place his bedroom door—

Bird or creature upon the sculptured bust higher up his chamber door,

With such proper noun as "Nevermore."

But the Raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke simply

That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.

Nothing further then he uttered—not a feather then he fluttered—

Till I scarcely more than muttered "Other friends take flown before—

On the morrow he will leave me, as my Hopes have flown before."

And so the bird said "Nevermore."

Startled at the stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken,

"Doubtless," said I, "what information technology utters is its merely stock and shop

Caught from some unhappy chief whom unmerciful Disaster

Followed fast and followed faster till his songs 1 burden bore—

Till the dirges of his Hope that melancholy brunt bore

Of 'Never—nevermore'."

Just the Raven still fallacious all my fancy into smiling,

Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front end of bird, and bust and door;

Then, upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking

Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore—

What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt, and ominous bird of yore

    Meant in husky "Nevermore."

This I sat engaged in guessing, simply no syllable expressing

To the fowl whose fiery optics now burned into my bust'south cadre;

This and more than I sat divining, with my caput at ease reclining

On the cushion's velvet lining that the lamp-light gloated o'er,

Only whose velvet-violet lining with the lamp-lite gloating o'er,

She shall press, ah, nevermore!

And so, methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer

Swung by Seraphim whose human foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor.

"Wretch," I cried, "thy God hath lent thee—past these angels he hath sent thee

Respite—respite and nepenthe from thy memories of Lenore;

Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore!"

Quoth the Raven "Nevermore."

"Prophet!" said I, "thing of evil!—prophet still, if bird or devil!—

Whether Tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here aground,

Desolate however all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted—

On this habitation by Horror haunted—tell me truly, I implore—

Is there—is there balm in Gilead?—tell me—tell me, I implore!"

Quoth the Raven "Nevermore."

"Prophet!" said I, "matter of evil!—prophet even so, if bird or devil!

By that Sky that bends above us—past that God we both adore—

Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn,

It shall squeeze a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore—

Clasp a rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore."

Quoth the Raven "Nevermore."

"Be that word our sign of parting, bird or fiend!" I shrieked, upstarting—

"Become thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore!

Get out no blackness plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!

Leave my loneliness unbroken!—quit the bust above my door!

Take thy neb from out my eye, and take thy grade from off my door!"

Quoth the Raven "Nevermore."

And the Raven, never flitting, even so is sitting, even so is sitting

On the pallid bust of Pallas only above my bedchamber door;

And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming,

And the lamp-calorie-free o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;

And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor

Shall be lifted—nevermore!

What Is "The Raven" Nigh?

"The Raven" is a poem about a human who is heartbroken over the recent death of his love Lenore. As he passes a lonely Dec night in his room, a raven taps repeatedly on the door then the window. The man first thinks the noise is caused past a late dark visitor come to disturb him, and he is surprised to notice the raven when he opens the window shutter. After being let in, the raven flies to and lands on a bust of Pallas (an ancient Greek goddess of wisdom).

The homo is amused by how serious the raven looks, and he begins talking to the raven; however, the bird tin only respond by husky "nevermore."

The man reflects aloud that the bird will go out him soon as all the people he cared about accept left him. When the raven replies "nevermore," the human takes it equally the bird agreeing with him, although it'due south unclear if the raven actually understands what the man is maxim or is just speaking the one word it knows.

As the man continues to converse with the bird, he slowly loses his grip on reality. He moves his chair direct in front of the raven and asks it despairing questions, including whether he and Lenore volition be reunited in heaven. Now, instead of being merely amused past the bird, he takes the raven'southward repeated "nevermore" response as a sign that all his dark thoughts are truthful. He somewhen grows angry and shrieks at the raven, calling it a devil and a thing of evil.

The poem ends with the raven even so sitting on the bust of Pallas and the narrator, seemingly defeated by his grief and madness, declaring that his soul shall be lifted "nevermore."

Groundwork on "The Raven"

Edgar Allan Poe wrote "The Raven" during a difficult period in his life. His married woman, Virginia, was suffering from tuberculosis, Poe was struggling to make coin as an unknown writer, and he began drinking heavily and picking fights with coworkers and other writers. It's easy to see how he could have conjured the dark and melancholy mood of "The Raven."

It's not known how long Poe spent writing "The Raven," (guesses range from anywhere to a single twenty-four hour period to over a decade) but it's thought most likely that he wrote the poem in the summer of 1844. In his essay, "The Philosophy of Limerick," Poe stated that he chose to focus the poem on the death of a cute woman considering information technology is "unquestionably the nearly poetical topic in the world." He hoped "The Raven" would make him famous, and, in the same essay, stated that he purposely wrote the poem to appeal to both "the popular and the disquisitional taste."

"The Raven" was published in the newspaper The New York Evening Mirror on January 29, 1845 (depending on the source, Poe was paid either $9 or $15 for it). "The Raven" brought Poe instant fame, although not the financial security he was looking for. Critical reception was mixed, with some famous writers such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and William Butler Yeats expressing their dislike for the poem. Despite those initial mixed reviews, The Raven poem has continued its popularity and is now one of the nigh well-known poems in the earth. Endless parodies have been written, and the poem has been referenced in everything from The Simpsons to the NFL team the Baltimore Ravens (their mascot is fifty-fifty named "Poe").

Major Themes in "The Raven"

From The Raven summary, we know information technology'south definitely a melancholy verse form, and most of its themes circumduct around grim topics. Here are three of the near important themes.

Theme 1: Grief

Grief is the overwhelming emotion in "The Raven," and the narrator is admittedly consumed by his grief for his lost love, Lenore. At the beginning of the poem, he tries to distract himself from his sadness by reading a "volume of forgotten lore", but when the raven arrives, he immediately begins peppering it with questions almost Lenore and becomes further lost in his grief at the raven's response of "nevermore." By the end of the poem, the narrator is seemingly cleaved, stating that his soul will never over again exist "lifted" due to his sadness.

Poe stated that the raven itself was a symbol of grief, specifically, that information technology represented "mournful and never-ending remembrance." He purposely chose a raven over a parrot (a bird species better known for its ability to speak) because he thought a raven suited the dark tone of the poem better.

Edgar Allan Poe had experienced a slap-up deal of grief by the time he wrote "The Raven," and he had seen people close to him leave, fall gravely ill, or die. He would have been well enlightened of the consuming ability that grief can take and how it has the ability to blot everything else out.

Theme 2: Devotion

It'due south the narrator'due south deep love for Lenore that causes him such grief, and afterwards rage and madness. Even though Lenore has died, the narrator notwithstanding loves her and appears unable to think of anything but her. In the verse form, he speaks of Lenore in superlatives, calling her "sainted" and "radiant." In his heed, she is completely perfect, practically a saint. His love for this woman who is no longer here distracts him from everything in his current life. With this theme, Poe is showing the power of beloved and how it tin continue to be powerful even after expiry.

Theme 3: Rationality vs Irrationality

At the start of the poem, the narrator is rational plenty to understand that Lenore is dead and he will non see her again. When the raven first begins repeating "nevermore," he realizes that the respond is the bird'due south "but stock and store," and he won't get another response no matter what he asks. He seems to even find the bird vaguely amusing.

However, as the verse form continues, the narrator's irrationality increases as he asks the raven questions it couldn't possibly know and takes its repeated response of "nevermore" to be a truthful and logical answer. He and so descends further into madness, cursing the bird every bit a "devil" and "thing of evil" and thinking he feels angels surrounding him earlier sinking into his grief. He has clearly come undone by the end of the verse form.

In "The Raven," Poe wanted to show the fine line betwixt rational thought and madness and how strong emotions, such equally grief, can push a person into irrationality, fifty-fifty during mundane interactions similar the 1 the narrator had with the raven.

The 7 Key Poetic Devices "The Raven" Uses

Edgar Allan Poe makes utilize of many poetic devices in "The Raven" to create a memorable and moving slice of writing. Beneath nosotros talk over seven of the most important of these devices and how they contribute to the poem.

Alliteration

Alliteration is the repetition of a sound or letter at the beginning of multiple words in a piece of work, and it'due south mayhap the most obvious poetic device in "The Raven." The poem is full of alliteration, such every bit the phrases "weak and weary," "near napping," and "followed fast and followed faster." This poetic device helps give the poem its famous musicality and is one of the reasons people dear to recite information technology.

Innuendo

An allusion is an indirect reference to something, and Poe makes multiple allusions in "The Raven." Some fundamental ones include:

• The bust of Pallas the raven sits on refers to Pallas Athena, the ancient Greek goddess of wisdom.

• Nepenthe is a drug mentioned in Homer's ancient ballsy The Odyssey, and it is purported to erase memories.

• The Balm of Gilead is a reference to a healing cream mentioned in the Book of Jeremiah in the Bible.

• Aidenn refers to the Garden of Eden, although the narrator probable uses it to mean "heaven" in general, as he wants to know if that's where he and Lenore will reunite.

• Ravens themselves are mentioned in many stories, including Norse mythology and Ovid'southward epic poem Metamorphoses.

Many readers would be well-versed in the books and stories alluded to in the verse form, and they would have understood the references without Poe having to explicitly explain where each was derived from. Doing so would accept cleaved the tension and mood of the poem, and so Poe is able to just allude to them.

Assonance

Similar to ingemination, assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in ane or more than words constitute close together. Information technology serves the aforementioned purpose equally alliteration and appears beginning in the first line of the verse form, where the long "e" audio is repeated in the words "dreary," "weak," and "weary."

Meter

The majority of "The Raven" follows trochaic octameter, which is when there are eight trochaic anxiety per line, and each pes has ane stressed syllable followed by one unstressed syllable.

However, Poe really used several types of meter, and he is said to have based both the meter and rhyming pattern of "The Raven" off Elizabeth Barrett'southward poem " Lady Geraldine'south Courtship." Meter is very prominent in "The Raven," and, along with other poetic devices, helps brand it such a popular verse form to recite.

Repetition

Many words are repeated in "The Raven" the most famous being the word "nevermore" repeated past the bird himself throughout the poem. Other ordinarily repeated words and phrases in the poem include "Lenore," "chamber door" and "goose egg more than." These all rhyme with "nevermore" and add to the feeling of despondency in the poem by emphasizing the raven'south bleak answer to every question.

Rhyme

The rhyming pattern in "The Raven" follows the blueprint ABCBBB. The "B" lines all rhyme with "nevermore" and place additional emphasis on the final syllable of the line.

There is also quite a bit of internal rhyme within the verse form, such equally the line "Just the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token," where "unbroken" rhymes with "token."

Internal rhyming occurs in the first line of each stanza. It also occurs in the third line and part of the fourth line of each stanza. In the example "Exit no blackness plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!/Leave my loneliness unbroken!—quit the bust above my door!" "token" and "spoken" in the tertiary line of the stanza rhyme with "unbroken" in the 4th line of the stanza.

Onomatopoeia

Onomatopoeia is when the name of a word is associated with the sound it makes, and it occurs throughout "The Raven," such as with the words "rapping," "borer," "shrieked," and "whispered." It all helps add to the atmospheric quality of the poem and makes readers experience every bit though they are actually in the room with the narrator and the raven.

What'southward Adjacent?

"Ozymandias" by Percy Shelley is some other famous and often-studied poem. Larn all about this poem and its famous line "look on my works, ye mighty, and despair" in our complete guide to Ozymandias.

At that place are many more poetic devices than those included in "The Raven." Read our guide on the xx poetic devices you need to know so you can become an practiced.

Taking AP Literature? We've got yous covered! In our practiced guide to the AP Literature examination, we've compiled all the information you lot need to know about the test and how to study for it to get a top score.

Have friends who also need help with examination prep? Share this article!

About the Writer

Christine graduated from Michigan Country University with degrees in Ecology Biology and Geography and received her Master's from Duke University. In high school she scored in the 99th percentile on the Sat and was named a National Merit Finalist. She has taught English language and biology in several countries.

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Source: https://blog.prepscholar.com/the-raven-poem-summary

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