The Raven A Poem by Edgar Allan Poe
The Raven A Poem by Edgar Allan Poe The poem features a mysterious bird that speaks only one word…
…a grieving narrator… … and a lost love.
The Basic Plot: A raven visits a distraught student who descends into madness. The student is lamenting the loss of his love, Lenore. The raven, sitting on a bust of Pallas, seems to further instigate the student’s distress by repeating one word, "Nevermore".
THE NARRATOR • A student who grieves for his dead love • He longs to be reunited with her in Heaven… • But obsesses over whether he will see her again • Wants to be left alone
THE RAVEN • Enters and won’t leave • Speaks one word to the narrator: “NEVERMORE” • The narrator at first sees him as a wise creature… but then believes that the Raven is evil for telling him that he will “NEVERMORE” be reunited with his lost love.
LENORE • Dead before the poem begins • The narrator has undying devotion and love for her; he misses her • Could she represent Poe’s wife who died 2 years before this was published?
POEM SUMMARY It is midnight on a cold evening in December in the 1840 s. In a dark and shadowy bedroom, a man laments the death of Lenore, a woman he deeply loved. To occupy his mind, he reads.
But a tapping noise disturbs him. When he opens the door to the bedroom, he sees nothing– only darkness. When the tapping continues, he opens the shutter of the window and discovers a raven.
The raven flies into the room and lands above the door on a statue of Pallas Athena, the goddess of wisdom and war in Greek mythology.
The Raven says only “Nevermore. ” Does the Raven mean the man he will never again ("nevermore") see his beloved, never again hold her– not even in heaven ?
Why won’t he be reunited with Lenore? Is the narrator not bound for heaven? Is he not meant to ever leave the room?
The Raven & the narrator’s placement when the story begins / ends. **The Raven has already landed when the poem begins. **
Symbols Raven: evil, mournful, unending rememberance Bust of Pallas: wisdom Winter / December: things coming to an end
TONE: Mournful / depressed MOOD: Eerie / creepy SUBJECT: Death THEME: If you don’t move on, you’re really stuck. / Love doesn’t die. / What we think is wise might be evil.
Remember… Poe chose to use a raven for a reason… Ravens are scary, dark, they don’t sing, & they haven’t been tamed as pets… not like…
The End.
- Slides: 16