Questions for “The Raven”

1. In what time of the year does the poem take place? In what state of health does
the speaker seems to be, and why?
2. Why does the speaker wish for the morrow? And how is he trying to pass the
time?
3. What is the rational explanation the speaker gives at the beginning of the poem
that might account for the tapping at the door?
4. Why does Poe mention “the Night’s Plutonian shores”? Who is Pluto and why is
he associated with the bird?
5. Why is the raven “an ominous bird of yore”? And what does the speaker mean
when he says “take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my
door”?
6. What might the chamber in the poem be a symbol of?
7. What does the raven mean by croaking “nevermore”?
8. What kind of prophet is the raven? What does he represent?
9. What do you make of the fact that the raven is perched upon the bust of Pallas?
What does the goddess Pallas represent in Greek mythology?
10. What poetic devices does Poe use in this poem?
11. In Anatomy of Criticism, Northrop Frye defines “The Mythos of Winter” as: “the
mythical patterns of experience that attempt to give form to the complexities of
un-idealized existence.” What elements in the poem might suggest the reversal
of idealized mythical forms?

Questions for “Annabel Lee”

1. What are the subject and tone of this poem?
2. What literary devices does Poe use in “Annabel Lee”? Provide examples.
3. What romantic elements can you find in this poem?
4. Can you find similarities and differences between this poem and “The Raven”?