The Raven

By Edgar Allan Poe

GOTHIC LITERATURE

The story is set in bleak or remote places

The plot involves macabre (grim,

horrible, gruesome) or violent incidents

Characters are in psychological and/or

physical torment

A supernatural or otherworldly element

is often present

SUMMARY

A lonely man tries to

ease his "sorrow for the

lost Lenore," by

distracting his mind

with old books of

"forgotten lore."

He is interrupted

while he is "nearly

napping," by a "tapping

on [his] chamber door."

As he opens up the

door, he finds

"darkness there and

nothing more."

Into the darkness he

whispers, "Lenore," hoping his

lost love had come back, but

all that could be heard was "an

echo [that] murmured back

the word 'Lenore!'"

With a burning soul, the man

returns to his chamber, and this

time he can hear a tapping at the

window lattice. As he "flung [open]

the shutter," "in [there] stepped a

stately Raven," the bird of ill-omen.

The raven perched on

the bust of Pallas, the

goddess of wisdom in

Greek mythology, above

his chamber door.

The man welcomes the raven, and

is afraid that the raven will be

gone in the morning, "as [his]

Hopes have flown before"; however,

the raven answers, "Nevermore."

The man smiled, and pulled up a

chair, interested in what the raven

"meant in croaking, ‘Nevermore.’"

The chair, where Lenore once sat,

brought back painful memories.

The man asks the

Raven for his name,

and surprisingly it

answers, and croaks

"Nevermore."

The man knows that the bird does

not speak from wisdom, but has

been taught by "some unhappy

master," and that the word

"nevermore" is its only "stock and

store."

The mysterious raven prompts the

speaker to ask questions about

Lenore. The raven responds to each

question -- including the answer

whether the speaker will ever see

Lenore again -- with the single word

“nevermore,” leaving the speaker

broken and devoid of hope.

The poem

explores how

grief and

loneliness can

turn to

madness.

LITERARY DEVICES

Poets use sound devices –

such as alliteration,

assonance, consonance,

repetition, internal rhyme, and

onomatopoeia – to give a

musical quality to their

writing.

Poe uses all these devices to create a

hypnotic effect that draws the reader

into the speaker’s world.

Poe persuades readers to abandon their

notions of reality and to accept the

speaker’s demented vision.

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

door.

This it is and nothing more.“

Alliteration: silken, sad, uncertain, rustling;

fantastic terrors; still …stood; ‘Tis some visitor

… entrance

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 door.

This it is and nothing more.“

Assonance: uncertain rustling; purple

curtain; terrors never felt;

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

door.

This it is and nothing more.“

Consonance: silken …uncertain; that … heart;

visitor…chamber door

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

door.

This it is and nothing more.“

Repetition: Some visitor entreating entrance

at my chamber door, some … visitor entreating

entrance at my chamber door

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

door.

This it is and nothing more.“

Internal rhyme: uncertain/curtain;

beating/repeating/entreating; thrilled/filled

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

door.

This it is and nothing more.“

Onomatopoeia: rustling

SYMBOLISMThe effect of the raven’s visit,

symbolized by its shadow, has

been to permanently darken

the speaker’s soul.

It represents the speaker’s

permanent state of madness

and despair.