The Raven

POEM, EXPLANATION, AND ANALYSIS

EDGAR ALLAN POE
Highlights

 “The Raven”, by Edgar Allan Poe, is a narrative of a young man

who is grieving over the death of the woman he loved.
 The poem is a recount of a young man’s strange experience with
a mysterious black bird, or The Raven.
 The young man uncontrollably constructs self-destructive
meaning around a raven’s repetition of the word 'Nevermore',
until he finally becomes depressed and hopeless of ever being
reunited with his beloved Lenore in heaven.
 “The Raven” is a ballad of eighteen, six–line stanzas with
decidedly definite meter and rhymes.
 The Poem is narrated from the first person point of view.
Stanza 1

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered (thought about),

weak and weary,
Over many a quaint (old-fashioned) and curious volume of
forgotten lore—
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a
tapping,
As of someone gently rapping (knocking), rapping at my
chamber door.
“’Tis some visitor,” I muttered, “tapping at my chamber door—
Only this and nothing more.”
 Stanza 1 Explanation

 Poe jumps right in here and begins to create the atmosphere that is so important in this
poem.
 In the first two lines, we find out that it's late on a "dreary" night, and that our speaker is
reading weird old books and feeling "weak and weary."
 Do you get a feeling for this already? Do you know those nights where you're tired and
maybe a little depressed, but you can't quite go to sleep? You turn things over in your
mind, and as you do, you start to feel worse? Maybe you're reading a scary book or
watching a spooky movie, and suddenly the whole world seems a little dark and scary?
That's exactly where Poe wants to put us.
 In line 3, the speaker is just starting to nod off, and then…tap, tap, tap. Just a little noise,
but suddenly he's jolted awake, and he's a little nervous.
 He tries to calm himself down, telling himself that "tis some visitor" (6) who has dropped
by unexpectedly. But, just like in a horror movie, we know it won't be that easy…
Stanza 2

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

And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
Eagerly I wished the morrow;—vainly (hopelessly) I had sought to
borrow
From my books surcease (ending) of sorrow—sorrow for the lost
Lenore—
For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore—
Nameless here forevermore.
 Stanza 2 Explanation

 Just as we're wondering whom that visitor might be, as we start to feel the suspense, Poe steps
back. He almost starts the poem over again, telling us a little bit more about the speaker and
more about that already spooky atmosphere.
 In line 6, we find out that not only is this a dark, late, dreary night, but it's December too. Poe is
really piling it on here: dark, late, cold, and "bleak."
 It sure doesn't sound like anything happy is going to pop up here. Even the fire is going out, and
the last coals, the " dying embers," are making creepy, ghost-like shadows on the floor (8).
 The room almost starts to feel haunted, and in a way, it is.
 He is sitting up late, trying to distract himself with these old books.
 He's grieving for a lost woman, someone named Lenore. This woman (His wife? His girlfriend?)
is among the angels and has left him behind, alone.
 He hopes for an end to the pain, what he calls "surcease from sorrow" (10), but maybe staying
up and reading late in December isn't the best way to get your mind off of a loved one's death.
 Stanza 3

And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple

curtain
Thrilled me—filled me with fantastic terrors never felt
before;
So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood
repeating
“’Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber
door;—
Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber
 Stanza 3 Explanation

 In fact, it seems like the room and its creepy atmosphere might really be
getting to our speaker. Even the rustling sound of the curtains seems sad
to him (13).
 As he listens, he begins to really freak out, his head filling with "fantastic
terrors."
 His heart starts to beat faster too; to calm himself down, he has to tell
himself (twice) that the knocking sound he hears is just a visitor.
 The more he says it though, the more we all know that it can't just be
that, or at least not the kind of visitor he might be expecting…
Stanza 4

Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,

“Sir,” said I, “or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore (beg);
But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping,
And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door,
That I scarce (unusual) was sure I heard you”—here I opened
wide the door;—
Darkness there and nothing more.
 Stanza 4 Explanation

 Eventually, he gets a hold of himself: "presently my soul grew stronger" (19).

 He calls out to the visitor he imagines must be there, and apologizes for
taking so long.
 He explains that he was almost asleep and wasn't sure if he was just hearing
things (20-23). Then, suddenly, he throws open the door and finds…nothing.
Just the black night: "Darkness there and nothing more" (24).
 Poe is really keying up the suspense now. Again, it's hard for us not to think
of a horror movie, where the nervous main character walks up to a door,
slowly turns the knob, and finds nothing. That's always the sure sign that the
surprise is coming, and when we least expect it.
Stanza 5

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

fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream
before;
But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token,
And the only word there spoken was the whispered word,
“Lenore!”
This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word “Lenore!”
Merely this and nothing more.
 Stanza 5 Explanation

 For a while, then, he's almost hypnotized by the darkness.

 He stares out into it, "peering […] fearing" (having fun with the rhymes yet?).
 Now might be about the time that you realize that our narrator isn't in great shape.
 He could close the door and go back to his book or his nap like a normal person, but he's clearly
looking for something else. His mind is filled with strange ideas and terrible dreams (26). More
than anything, though, he's obsessed with one idea, or, we should say, with one person.
 Suddenly, out of the total dark and quiet, we hear her name, "Lenore."
 Just that name, appearing in an eerie whisper out of nowhere (28). Or at least it seems like it
comes from nowhere.
 In the next line, we find out that it is the speaker who has whispered her name, and just an echo
that has "murmured back" the word "Lenore."
 For our depressed, grief-stricken narrator, the whole world seems bleak and terrifying, and
everything, even the darkness, reminds him of his lost love.
Stanza 6

Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me

burning,
Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before.
“Surely,” said I, “surely that is something at my window
lattice;
Let me see, then, what thereat (at that place) is, and this
mystery explore—
Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore;—
’Tis the wind and nothing more!”
 Stanza 6 Explanation

 Finally, he turns away from the darkness, but it's clear that he isn't comforted at
all; in fact, he's feeling worse than ever: "all my soul within me burning" (31).
 This is a story about a guy in a room, but also about the mind: what it can do to us
when it's unbalanced and all the feelings and ideas it can create.
 Our speaker, with his burning soul, is going through some rough times here.
 Then he hears the tapping again.
 Like anyone who is near the edge, he tries to get a grip, to come up with a rational
explanation. He decides the sound is coming from the window, and he forces
himself to go take a look.
 He tells himself to calm down again: "let my heart be still a moment" (35).
 In a final effort to make things seem normal, he tells himself it's just the wind (36).
Stanza 7

Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and
flutter,
In there stepped a stately (impressive) Raven of the saintly days
of yore (long ago).
Not the least obeisance (courtesy) made he; not a minute
stopped or stayed he;
But, with mien (appearance) of lord or lady, perched (rested)
above my chamber door—
Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door—
Perched, and sat, and nothing more.
 Stanza 7 Explanation

 You knew from the title that there was a raven in here somewhere. Now, in the first two lines of this stanza, it
shows up. And not just any raven, but a really impressive one. A "stately" that makes the speaker think of
older, nobler times, "the saintly days of yore" (38).
 This important-looking raven just dances in through the window. He doesn't even stop to say hi or to make a
gesture of greeting (that's an "obeisance") to our speaker (39).
 He acts like an aristocrat ("with the mien of lord or lady") and doesn't waste any time making himself right at
home. (40). In fact, he heads straight for that chamber door we've heard so much about and sits above it, on
a statue.
 That statue is actually pretty important, and Poe definitely wants us to notice it, so let's take a moment to
check it out.
 He describes it as a "bust" which is a statue that goes from the head to the middle of the torso. It's a statue of
Pallas, another name for the ancient Greek goddess Athena. She is known primarily as a goddess of Wisdom.
 When a major symbol like this shows up, we know to be on our guard. It's a lot different from the speaker
saying, "the raven perched upon my crappy old lamp," or something like that. Poe might be trying to get us to
think about whether this bird is wise or not, whether it's a thinking thing or just a mimic.
Stanzas 1 – 7 Recap

 Establishes the setting and the narrator’s disconsolate

and vulnerable state of mind.
 The narrator is awakened at midnight by a sound outside
his chamber, he opens the door, expecting a visitor; he
finds only darkness.
 Nervous, he whispers the name Lenore and closes the
door.
 When the tapping persists, he opens a window, admitting a
raven that perches upon a bust (statue, from the head
down to the chest) of Pallas (Athena).
About the Setting

 The physical setting of the poem reflects the inner personality

or emotion of the central character or the protagonist.
 The poem begins at midnight in December…the final month of
the year. Internally and externally, it is a time of death and
decay.
 The “dying” fireplace ashes reflect the gloomy atmosphere.
 The setting is contained and restricting; the single room or
“chamber” adds to this effect.
 “Weak and weary”, he seems trapped in his richly furnished
prison.
Stanza 8

Then this ebony bird beguiling (fascinating) my sad fancy into smiling,
By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance (expression) it
wore,
“Though thy crest be shorn (trimmed) and shaven, thou,” I said, “art
sure no craven (coward),
Ghastly grim and ancient Raven wandering from the Nightly shore—
Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night’s Plutonian (Roman god of
the dead) shore!”
Quoth (said) the Raven, “Nevermore.”
 Stanza 8 Explanation

 At first, our speaker seems rather amused by his unexpected visitor.

 Poe gets a little fancy when he describes the raven, so we'll break it down: "Then this ebony [really black] bird
beguiling [distracting him, capturing his attention] my sad fancy [imagination] into smiling,/By the grave [serious]
and stern [serious again] decorum [proper way of acting] of the countenance (look on its face) it wore" (43-44).
 You're feeling down about something, and suddenly the sight of something strikes you as funny, and pulls you out of
your depression a little.
 Our speaker really gets into this feeling of amusement, talking to the raven as if it were some noble person.
 The bit in line 45 refers to the way that a cowardly (craven) knight would sometimes have his head (crest) shaven to
humiliate him. "Plutonian," in line 47, refers to the Greek god Pluto, who rules the Underworld. The adjective is meant
to make us think about dark, scary, hellish things, like this particular dark, dreary night.
 If you're keeping score, that's two Greek god references in seven lines. We're starting to feel like our speaker might
be a touch on the snobbish side.
 All he really wants to know is the Raven's name.
 Of course the really big deal in this stanza doesn't come until the last line. The speaker runs his mouth with this jokey
question and then, amazingly, the Raven answers him. He only speaks a single word: "Nevermore" (48).
Stanza 9

Much I marveled (wondered) this ungainly (droll) fowl to hear

discourse (speech) so plainly,
Though its answer little meaning—little relevancy bore;
For we cannot help agreeing that no living human being
Ever yet was blessed with seeing bird above his chamber
door—
Bird or beast upon the sculptured bust above his
chamber door,
With such name as “Nevermore.”
 Stanza 9 Explanation

 The speaker is more than a little surprised to hear this bird

talk (49), but he doesn't really see how "Nevermore" answers
his question (50). He underlines this by pointing out that no
one before him has ever had a bird (or even an animal)
named "Nevermore" sitting on a statue in his room. Pretty
tough to argue with him there.
 We're pretty sure this bird-named-Nevermore thing is a joke,
but we'll admit that maybe it's not laugh-out-loud funny.
Stanza 10

But the Raven, sitting lonely on the placid (calm) bust, spoke
only
That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.
Nothing farther then he uttered—not a feather then he
fluttered—
Till I scarcely more than muttered, “Other friends have flown
before—
On the morrow he will leave me, as my hopes have flown
before.”
Then the bird said, “Nevermore.”
 Stanza 10 Explanation

 After that one word, the bird clams up and refuses to say any more (55).
 There'ssomething mysterious and powerful about that word, though, and
the speaker has the feeling that it contains the bird's whole soul (56).
 The bird keeps quiet, and the speaker, now maybe a little bit annoyed, slips
back into his depressed mode. Now he sees the bird not as a welcome,
amusing visitor, but just one more in the long line of friends who have
abandoned him.
 So, he keeps talking to himself, reminding himself that, "Other friends have
flown before" (58). He is sure that the bird will disappear by tomorrow,
leaving him as alone and hopeless as ever (59).
 Then the bird gives him his favorite line again: "Nevermore."
Stanza 11

Startled (aghast) at the stillness broken by reply so aptly (suitably)

spoken,
“Doubtless,” said I, “what it utters is its only stock and store
Caught from some unhappy master whom unmerciful Disaster
Followed fast and followed faster till his songs one burden
bore—
Till the dirges (chants) of his Hope that melancholy (disconsolate)
burden bore
Of ‘Never—nevermore.’”
 Stanza 11 Explanation

 This time the answer is a little bit spookier. He said the bird was going to leave
and the bird said, "Nevermore."
 That actually makes sense. It's "aptly spoken," as the speaker says. Again, he's a
little freaked out, and again he looks for a reasonable explanation.
 He tells himself that this bird only knows one word ("his only stock and store")
and uses it for every situation. He even tells himself a little story about how the
raven might have learned the word.
 He imagines that the bird had a really, really depressed former owner, whose life
was such a mess that all he could say was "Nevermore."
Stanzas 8 – 11 Recap

 The narrator is fascinated by the droll (comical) image of the

blackbird in his room, and playfully asks the raven its name, as if to
reassure himself that it foreshadows nothing mysterious or
menacing.
 He is aghast to hear the raven respond, saying, “Nevermore”.
 Although the word apparently has little relevance to any
discoverable meaning at the moment, the narrator is alerted by the
bird’s word.
 He supposes that the raven’s owner, having suffered unbearable
disasters, taught the bird to imitate human speech in order to utter
the one word most expressive of the owner’s sense of hopelessness.
Stanza 12

But the Raven still beguiling (fascinating) all my fancy (imagination)

into smiling,
Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird and bust
and door;
Then, upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking
Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous (menacing) bird of
yore (old times)—
What this grim, ungainly (cumbersome), ghastly, gaunt (thin), and
ominous bird of yore
Meant in croaking (squawking), “Nevermore.”
 Stanza 12 Explanation

 For some reason he's still fascinated by the bird, and he repeats line 43, about
how it beguiles or captivates his fancy or imagination. So he pulls up a chair, sits
in front of the bird, and really lets his thoughts go to work.
 He seems like an nervous guy, and he's already pretty into this raven.
 He sinks into the chair and tries to think what this scary, ancient-looking bird
could mean with this one word.
 Even though he guesses that it's just a random word the bird has learned,
something still really grabs his attention; he can't quite let this go.
Stanza 13

This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing

To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosom’s
(heart’s) core;
This and more I sat divining (guessing), with my head at ease
reclining
On the cushion’s velvet lining that the lamp-light gloated
(shined) o’er (over),
But whose velvet violet lining with the lamp-light gloating o’er,
She shall press, ah, nevermore!
 Stanza 13 Explanation

 He sits and thinks, and sits and thinks, in silence, "not one syllable expressing" (73) or
not speaking a single word.
 He imagines the "fiery eyes" of the bird burning through into his "bosom's core" (74).
 We think it's safe to say that our narrator is an overdramatic kind of guy. So he does
some more thinking and guessing (or "divining" as he rather self-importantly calls it).
 Poe gives us some details of the room here and, as always, they are rich and
luxurious, like the velvet cushion, and a little scary even the lamp-light seems to
"gloat“ or shine (76).
 For some reason, the light and the cushion push him back to his old preoccupation.
He remembers that Lenore will never sit on this cushion again (78), and that she's
really gone forever.
Recap – Stanzas 12 & 13

 The narrator sits on a purple velvet cushioned chair in front of

the bird and is mystified by what the raven meant by
repeating a word he inevitably associated with thoughts of the
departed Lenore.
 At this point, the grieving lover, in anticipation of the raven’s
maddening repetition of “Nevermore,” begins to self-
destructively ask increasingly painful questions.
 The raven’s predictable answer provokes the doleful lover,
now almost in a state of maddened anger, to ask directly
whether his soul would ever be reunited with Lenore in heaven.
Stanza 14

Then, methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen

censer (incense globe)
Swung by Seraphim (angels) whose foot-falls tinkled (chimed) on the
tufted (woven rug) floor.
“Wretch,” (victim) I cried, “thy God hath lent thee—by these angels
he hath sent thee
Respite (stop)—respite and nepenthe (potion inducing forgetfulness) from
thy memories of Lenore;
Quaff (drink), oh quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost
Lenore!”
Quoth the Raven, “Nevermore.”
 Stanza 14 Explanation

 Now things start to get a little weird. In his grief, our speaker imagines the air filling
with perfume from an invisible censer (a globe that holds burning incense).
 To top that off, he imagines angels ("seraphim") swinging that censer. He even hears
their footsteps on the carpet (80).
 Now that he seems to have gone crazy, he starts to yell at himself, calling himself a
"wretch“ or a victim. He feels sorry for himself.
 He tells himself that this imaginary perfume thickening the air was sent from God to
help him forget Lenore. He compares this perfume to nepenthe, a mythological drink,
or potion, that was supposed to comfort grieving people.
 He tells himself to "quaff" (that just means drink) this potion and forget Lenore.
 Just as we start to really wonder what he's raving about, the raven cuts him off by
saying "Nevermore" (84).
Stanza 15

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

Whether Tempter (Satan) sent, or whether tempest (storm)
tossed thee here ashore,
Desolate yet all undaunted (fearless), on this desert land
enchanted (bewitched)—
On this home by Horror haunted—tell me truly, I implore (beg)
—
Is there—is there balm (comfort) in Gilead?—tell me—tell me, I
implore!”
Quoth the Raven, “Nevermore.”
 Stanza 15 Explanation

 Now the speaker starts to get seriously worked up and starts full-out yelling at the bird, calling him a
"Prophet" and a "thing of evil" (85).
 Well, actually he backs off on the evil thing a little, moving back and forth between assuming that
this bird has come straight from Satan (the "Tempter") or that it has just been blown in at random by
a storm (86).
 The next line emphasizes the strangeness of the bird, who is all alone, but seems unshaken
("desolate yet all undaunted").
 It also reminds us of how completely miserable our speaker is, stuck in a "desert land enchanted"
alone in a "home by Horror haunted" (88). All he really wants is a little bit of hope, some possibility
of comfort.
 So he asks the bird a typically pretentious, book-wormish question: "Is there balm in Gilead?" (89)
It's a Biblical reference, basically meaning, is there hope in my future, a possibility of comfort,
peace, etc.?
 Predictably, the bird shoots him down with "Nevermore."
Stanza 16

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

By that Heaven that bends above us—by that God we both
adore—
Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn
(heaven),
It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore
—
Clasp a rare and radiant (glowing) maiden whom the angels
name Lenore.”
Quoth the Raven, “Nevermore.”
 Stanza 16 Explanation

 Our speaker seems to be pretty slow to understand, or maybe he's starting to

enjoy the torture the bird is inflicting on him. In any case, he keeps asking the
bird another question, this one a little more to the point.
 He asks, in the name of God, if he will one day get to hug his beloved Lenore
again, in "the distant Aidenn" (i.e., Eden, or Heaven).
 The bird says, of course, "Nevermore."
Stanza 17

“Be that word our sign of parting, bird or fiend (beast)!” I

shrieked (screamed), upstarting (arrogantly)—
“Get thee back into the tempest and the Night’s Plutonian
shore!
Leave no black plume (feather) as a token (symbol) of that lie thy
soul hath spoken!
Leave my loneliness unbroken!—quit the bust above my door!
Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my
door!”
Quoth the Raven, “Nevermore.”
 Stanza 17 Explanation

 Finally, he completely loses it. That last "Nevermore" is the final

straw that broke the camel’s back, and he jumps up and tells the
bird to get lost (97).
 He directs it to get back to the storm and the evil night it came
from (98).
 He tells it not to leave any trace, not even a feather ("black
plume"), and to take its lies elsewhere and leave him to his
loneliness.
 He tells the raven to get off the statue, to take his beak out of his
heart, and, basically, to go to hell. To which the Raven says,
"Nevermore." This bird is here to stay.
Stanza 18

And the Raven, never flitting (flying), still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid (white) bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon’s that is
dreaming,
And the lamp-light 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!
 Stanza 18 Explanation

 All of a sudden, we switch to the present tense. This isn't a

story from the past, it's right now, and the raven is still there.
 He has turned into a kind of statue himself, a glowing, scary
demon statue, whose shadow is cast across the floor. That
shadow has trapped the speaker, imprisoned his soul.
 We start out hearing a story about a talking raven on a dark
night, and we end up watching a man fall into his own
personal hell.
 Recap – Stanzas 14 - 18

 The narrator tells himself that this imaginary perfume thickening the air
was sent from God to help him forget Lenore.
 We are reminded of how completely miserable our speaker is, stuck in a
"desert land enchanted" alone in a "home by Horror haunted". All he really
wants is a little bit of hope, some possibility of comfort.
 Finally, he completely loses it. That last "Nevermore" is the final straw,
and he jumps up and tells the bird to get lost.
 The speaker turns to the present tense. The raven is still there and he has
turned into a demon-like statue himself, whose shadow is cast across the
floor. That shadow has trapped the speaker, imprisoned his soul and the
man descends into his own personal hell.