"The Raven" is a well-known narrative poem by Edgar Allan Poe, that delves into

despair, longing, and desire to meet a loved one who is already far out in the
afterlife. It is often called distinct for its writing style that no poet has ever
come close to, pulling out very unique qualities such as a talking raven, stylized
language, and overwhelming sadness with its goosebump-inducing tagline which is
used throughout the literary work itself, "Nevermore".

The poem itself is divided into 18 sestets, with each stanza increasingly showing
more despair as the narrator progresses.

In the first stanza, the narrator of the story describes the scenery as "dreary",
indicating that this significant part of midnight was indeed very depressing. As a
tap from the door disturbs the narrator from going over his past lore, and books
that bring back memories, he thinks of the tap as just some random visitor knocking
on a dreary night. "Only this and nothing more", filled the narrator's mind. Yet
the chilling tension foreshadows something more, something unusual, something..
mysterious? Which continues to the second stanza.

As the narrator recalls the events that took place in his life in the month of
December, emphasizing the dark and gloomy setting of the story, it reveals the
source of the narrator's sorrow- "Lenore" the narrator describes explicitly as a
"rare and radiant maiden". The last line of the said poem emphasizes that the one
who was named "Lenore", is now "Nameless here for evermore" indicating that this
certain loved one's presence is absent, and now nearly forgotten.

Then coming into the third stanza, as the rustling of each purple curtain unravels
fantastic terrors the narrator has never felt before, to the loud beat of the
narrator's heart, wishing to sight the lost maiden once more, his thoughts spoke
out loud. "Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door;—
This it is and nothing more.”, as the hopeful soul wishes. With those words
continuously weaving a path for disdain, the fourth stanza explores.

The narrator no longer hesitates to open the door, even asking for forgiveness as
the narrator explicitly mentions that he was taking a nap when the dear visitor
knocked. The narrator opens the door, and to the said person's surprise, it is only
"Darkness there and nothing more.", which then enhances the gloomy and mysterious
atmosphere of the story.

As the narrator quickly realizes in the fifth stanza that indeed, even deep in
darkness, Lenore is not there. The silence was left unbroken. As the narrator
clings on to loose bearings, his heart and mouth whisper sadly, "Lenore?". Of the
wide setting the narrator bothered about, an echo murmured back the word, this
time, louder, "Lenore!". As the ending line once again emphasizes the heightened
emotional state of the narrator, he disperses his feelings, and once again insists
that it is "Merely this and nothing more.".

In the sixth stanza, however, came another tapping. Back into the chamber, the
narrator went, thoughts have been expressed. "Let my heart be still a moment and
this mystery explore;— ’Tis the wind and nothing more!”, dismissing the
possibilities of there being something outside once more, the narrator insisted.

But once more, the opposite seems to have happened. The seventh stanza reveals a
cold scent of mystery, an elegant raven, a raven of calm and regal demeanor perched
upon the bust of Pallas Athena. Shocking as it may be, the visitor has finally been
seen. But the reaction of the narrator expressed it as nothing further than
unusual. Once again, the mind spoke, "Nothing more".

As things get deeper, the eighth stanza delves further. The narrator smiles upon
the presence of the raven who contains a dignified appearance, and asks, "Tell me
what thy lordly name is on the Night’s Plutonian shore!”. “Nevermore.” quoth the
raven to a delighted narrator. An odd name meaning "never again", presented to the
narrator in awe.

Once again, the suspense of recent findings heightens, and the story digs deeper as
it continues on to the 9th stanza. The narrator considers himself to be marveled at
the sound of this raven speaking but dismisses its response as meaningless. Further
on, the stanza only emphasizes the peculiarity of a raven sitting above a chamber
door, which is further supported by the raven's name, "Nevermore".

But after that, what? The 10th stanza asks and wonders. As the raven stands still
on the placid bust, it only spoke one word. It was as if it only knew one word. It
only acknowledged one word, "Nevermore". Even as the narrator has said, “Other
friends have flown before— On the morrow he will leave me, as my Hopes have flown
before.”, it only ever replied, "Nevermore". The mention of "Hopes" underscores
further the narrator's growing despair and anticipation of loneliness.

Moving onto the 11th stanza which encapsulates the curiosity of the narrator with
the regal raven. The narrator mentioned, with a condescending tone, that the raven
must have learned this word from a master full of great misfortune and sorrow for
it to say this word so much. This accentuates the theme of despair and hopelessness
once more, but this time, the narrator, mentions and even stutters the name of the
said raven, "Never-nevermore."

As the raven only continues to reply "Nevermore", the narrator is only intrigued
further, which summarizes the 12th stanza. "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 croaking
'Nevermore.'", which suggests that the narrator is increasingly getting obsessed
with the raven and its cryptic message.

And so the pondering began in the 13th stanza. "To the fowl whose fiery eyes now
burned into my bosom’s core", the raven's fiery eyes seemed to penetrate the
narrator's very soul. Suggesting once again, "She shall press, ah, nevermore!", the
word full of despair fills the narrator's mind once more. How daunting it is, the
story suggests. How daunting it is indeed to think of Nevermore, yet the only image
that pops up, is Lenore.

In the 14th stanza, the atmosphere in the room appears to change, as if

otherworldly beings are present with the narrator, particularly- angels. The
narrator described it as "denser" and "perfumed". It came to the point where the
narrator wished respite, clearly wishing for a break- to be free of chains. In the
5th line of this stanza, the narrator can be seen wishing for a "Nepenthe", which
is a mythical potion that when induced, gives forgetfulness of sorrow and pain. But
the chilling part of the stanza does not end there. Instead, the raven says
"Nevermore", once again denying the narrator any respite despite his cries full of
despair.

As a continuation, the 15th stanza now delves into deeper biblical meaning. The
narrator wonders if this dreadful raven is a prophet, a bird, or perhaps the devil?
The narrator expresses his desire for "balm in Gilead" a term that pertains and
points to spiritual and overall healing, "Is there—is there balm in Gilead?—tell me
—tell me, I implore!" the narrator begs. But once more in a cruel demeanor, a
denial is seen. Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore".

Again, with the biblical terms, in the 16th stanza, the narrator- longing for
Lenore, asks if, within the distant Aidenn, otherwise known as the afterlife, they
will be reunited. The narrator asks if it is possible for the "rare and radiant
maiden" to come back, to be with the one, to forget the longing, to not feel pain
anymore. But the raven, now looking like the manifestation of evil itself, declares
the dreadful word once more, "Nevermore", indicating the unending sorrow.

Now, with the 17th stanza, the narrator's desperation and anguish reach a climax as
they plead with the raven to depart, wishing for it to go back to the "Night’s
Plutonian shore". The narrator's yearning for solitude and escape from the raven's
torment is evident in his plea to "Leave my loneliness unbroken!" The raven's
presence has become a physical manifestation of the narrator's internalized grief,
deeply embedded in his heart and mind. His very definition of a nightmare. The
raven persists once more, for the nth time. Quoth the raven, "Nevermore."

The final stanza ensues, as the end of this dear poem nears. With all the
narrator's persistence, through narrowing and narrower lines of sorrow, the raven
is still perched on the bust of Pallas. As the narrator describes, the raven's
eyes, once looked upon to be elegant, are now looking like a demon's. This time,
with an oppressive and eerie atmosphere. "And my soul from out that shadow that
lies floating on the floor Shall be lifted—nevermore!", as the story concludes, the
narrator is shown to be trapped in the raven's shadow, suggesting that they are
forever condemned to despair and grief.

All-in-all, "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe stands to be one of the greatest eerie
and haunting poems out there to be seen. Its story seemingly connected to another
poem about Poe's wife himself, "A Paean", later on, known to be "Lenore". It
combines many unsettling atmospheres to summarize and make every single bit of the
poem as meaningful as possible. Truly one of the best masterpieces the Earth has to
offer in terms of poetry.