View source for The Raven

{{short description|1845 narrative poem by Edgar Allan Poe}}
{{about|the poem by Edgar Allan Poe}}
{{featured article}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox poem
| name              = The Raven
| image             = Raven Manet C2.jpg
| image_size        = 
| caption           = "The Raven" depicts a mysterious raven's midnight visit to a mourning narrator, as illustrated by [[Édouard Manet]] (1875), digitally restored.
| subtitle          = 
| author            = [[Edgar Allan Poe]]
| original_title    = 
| original_title_lang = 
| translator        = 
| written           =
| first             = ''[[New York Evening Mirror]]''
| illustrator       = 
| cover_artist      = 
| country           = United States
| language          = English
| series            = 
| subject           = 
| genre             = 
| form              = 
| meter             =
| metre             =
| rhyme             = 
| publisher         =
| publication_date  = January 29, 1845
| media_type        = Newspaper
| lines             = 
| pages             = 
| size_weight       = 
| isbn              = 
| oclc              = 
| preceded_by       = 
| followed_by       = 
| wikisource        = The Raven (Poe)
}}
{{Listen|type=speech
 |title = "The Raven"
 |filename = Edgar_Allan_Poe's_The_Raven.ogg
 }}
"'''The Raven'''" is a [[narrative poem]] by American writer [[Edgar Allan Poe]]. First published in January 1845, the poem is often noted for its musicality, stylized language and [[supernatural]] atmosphere. It tells of a distraught lover who is paid a visit by a mysterious [[Common raven|raven]] that repeatedly [[Talking bird|speaks]] a single word. The lover, often identified as a student,<ref name=Meyers163>Meyers, 163</ref><ref name=Silverman239>Silverman, 239</ref> is lamenting the loss of his love, Lenore. Sitting on a [[Bust (sculpture)|bust]] of [[Athena#Pallas Athena|Pallas]], the raven seems to further antagonize the protagonist with its repetition of the word "[[wikt:nevermore|nevermore]]". The poem makes use of [[folklore|folk]], [[mythological]], [[Religion|religious]], and [[Classical antiquity|classical]] references.

Poe stated that he composed the poem in a logical and methodical manner, aiming to craft a piece that would resonate with both critical and popular audiences, as he elaborated in his follow-up essay in 1846, "[[The Philosophy of Composition]]". The poem was inspired in part by a talking raven in the 1841 novel ''[[Barnaby Rudge]]'' by [[Charles Dickens]].<ref name=K&H192>Kopley & Hayes, 192</ref> Poe based the complex rhythm and [[Meter (poetry)|meter]] on [[Elizabeth Barrett]]'s poem "Lady Geraldine's Courtship" and made use of [[internal rhyme]] as well as [[alliteration]] throughout.

"The Raven" was first attributed to Poe in print in the ''[[New York Evening Mirror]]'' on January 29, 1845. Its publication made Poe popular in his lifetime, although it did not bring him much financial success. The poem was soon reprinted, [[parodied]], and illustrated. Critical opinion is divided as to the poem's literary status, but it nevertheless remains one of the most famous poems ever written.<ref name=Silverman237>Silverman, 237</ref>

== Synopsis ==

<div style="margin-right: -1em">
{{Quote box|border=1px|align=left|title=The Raven<ref>
{{cite web
  | title = Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore&nbsp;– Works&nbsp;– Poems&nbsp;– The Raven
  | publisher = Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore
  | date = December 28, 2007
  | url = http://www.eapoe.org/works/poems/ravent.htm}}
</ref>|quote=<poem style="margin-left: 4px; margin-bottom: -1.5em; margin-top: -1.5em">

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore—
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
{{" '}}Tis some {{not a typo|visiter|reason=original spelling}}," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door—
            Only this and nothing more."

</poem>
{{hidden begin}}<poem>

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 I had sought to borrow
From my books surcease of sorrow—sorrow for the lost Lenore—
For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore—
            Nameless here for evermore.

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 {{not a typo|visiter}} entreating entrance at my chamber door—
Some late {{not a typo|visiter}} entreating entrance at my chamber door;—
            This it is and nothing more."

Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,
"Sir," said I, "or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;
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 was sure I heard you"—here I opened wide the door;—
            Darkness there and nothing more.

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.

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 is, and this mystery explore—
Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore;—
            'Tis the wind and nothing more!"

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

Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,
By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore,
"Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou," I said, "art sure no craven,
Ghastly grim and ancient Raven wandering from the Nightly shore—
Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!"
            Quoth the Raven "Nevermore."

Much I marvelled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse 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."

But the Raven, sitting lonely on the placid 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."

Startled at the stillness broken by reply so aptly 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 of his Hope that melancholy burden bore
            Of 'Never—nevermore'."

But the Raven still beguiling my sad fancy 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 bird of yore—
What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt, and ominous bird of yore
            Meant in croaking "Nevermore."

This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing
To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosom's core;
This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining
On the cushion's velvet lining that the lamp-light gloated o'er,
But whose velvet-violet lining with the lamp-light gloating o'er,
            She shall press, ah, nevermore!

Then, methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer
Swung by seraphim whose foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor.
"Wretch," I cried, "thy God hath lent thee—by these angels he hath sent thee
Respite—respite and nepenthe, from thy memories of Lenore;
Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore!"
            Quoth the Raven "Nevermore."

"Prophet!" said I, "thing of evil!—prophet still, if bird or devil!—
Whether Tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,
Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted—
On this home by Horror haunted—tell me truly, I implore—
Is there—is there balm in Gilead?—tell me—tell me, I implore!"
            Quoth the Raven "Nevermore."

"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,
It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore—
Clasp a rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore."
            Quoth the Raven "Nevermore."

"Be that word our sign of parting, bird or fiend!" I shrieked, upstarting—
"Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore!
Leave no black plume as a token 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."

And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid 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!</poem>
{{hidden end}}
|salign=right|source=—Edgar Allan Poe}}
</div>
[[File:Paul Gustave Dore Raven14.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|"Not the least [[wikt:obeisance|obeisance]] made he" (7:3), as illustrated by [[Gustave Doré]] (1884)]]
"The Raven" follows an unnamed narrator on a dreary night in December who sits reading "forgotten lore" by the remains of a fire<ref name="Poe, 773">Poe, 773</ref> as a way to forget the death of his beloved Lenore. A "tapping at [his] chamber door"<ref name="Poe, 773"/> reveals nothing, but excites his soul to "burning".<ref name="Poe, 774">Poe, 774</ref> The tapping is repeated, slightly louder, and he realizes it is coming from his window. When he goes to investigate, a raven flutters into his chamber. Paying no attention to the man, the raven perches on a [[bust (sculpture)|bust]] of [[Athena#Pallas Athena|Pallas]] above the door.

Amused by the raven's comically serious disposition, the man asks that the bird tell him its name. The raven's only answer is "Nevermore".<ref name="Poe, 774"/> The narrator is surprised that the raven can talk, though at this point it has said nothing further. The narrator remarks to himself that his "friend" the raven will soon fly out of his life, just as "other friends have flown before"<ref name="Poe, 774"/> along with his previous hopes. As if answering, the raven responds again with "Nevermore".<ref name="Poe, 774"/> The narrator reasons that the bird learned the word "Nevermore" from some "unhappy master" and that it is the only word it knows.<ref name="Poe, 774"/>

Even so, the narrator pulls his chair directly in front of the raven, determined to learn more about it. He thinks for a moment in silence, and his mind wanders back to his lost Lenore. He thinks the air grows denser and feels the presence of angels, and wonders if God is sending him a sign that he is to forget Lenore. The bird again replies in the negative, suggesting that he can never be free of his memories. The narrator becomes angry, calling the raven a "thing of evil" and a "[[prophet]]".<ref name="Poe, 775">Poe, 775</ref> Finally, he asks the raven whether he will be reunited with Lenore in Heaven. When the raven responds with its typical "Nevermore", he is enraged, and, calling the bird a liar, commands it to return to the "[[Pluto (mythology)|Plutonian]] shore"<ref name="Poe, 775"/>—but it does not move. At the time of the poem's narration, the raven "still is sitting"<ref name="Poe, 775"/> on the bust of Pallas. The raven casts a shadow on the chamber floor, and the despondent narrator laments that out of this shadow his soul shall be "lifted 'nevermore{{' "}}.<ref name="Poe, 775"/>

== Analysis ==
Poe wrote the poem as a narrative, without intentional [[allegory]] or [[didacticism]].<ref name=Silverman239>Silverman, 239</ref> The main theme of the poem is one of undying devotion.<ref>Cornelius, Kay. "Biography of Edgar Allan Poe" in ''Bloom's BioCritiques: Edgar Allan Poe'', Harold Bloom, ed. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 2002. p. 21 {{ISBN|0-7910-6173-6}}</ref> The narrator experiences a [[The Imp of the Perverse|perverse conflict]] between desire to forget and desire to remember. He seems to get some pleasure from focusing on loss.<ref name=K&H194>Kopley & Hayes, 194</ref> The narrator assumes that the word "Nevermore" is the raven's "only stock and store", and, yet, he continues to ask it questions, knowing what the answer will be. His questions, then, are purposely self-deprecating and further incite his feelings of loss.<ref>Hoffman, 74</ref> Poe leaves it unclear whether the raven actually knows what it is saying or whether it really intends to cause a reaction in the poem's narrator.<ref>Hirsch, 195–196</ref> The narrator begins as "weak and weary", becomes regretful and grief-stricken, before passing into a frenzy and, finally, madness.<ref>Hoffman, 73–74</ref> Christopher F. S. Maligec suggests the poem is a type of [[elegiac]] [[paraclausithyron]], an ancient Greek and Roman poetic form consisting of the lament of an excluded, locked-out lover at the sealed door of his beloved.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Maligec |first=Christopher F. S. |title='The Raven' as an Elegiac Paraclausithyron |journal=Poe Studies |volume=42 |year=2009 |pages=87–97 |doi=10.1111/j.1947-4697.2009.00015.x |s2cid=163043175 }}</ref>

=== Allusions ===
[[File:Raven Manet D2.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.9|The raven perches on a bust of [[Athena#Pallas Athena|Pallas Athena]], a symbol of wisdom meant to imply the narrator is a scholar. Illustration by [[Édouard Manet]] for [[Stéphane Mallarmé]]'s translation, ''Le Corbeau'' (1875).]]
Poe says that the narrator is a young [[student|scholar]].<ref name=Sova208>Sova, 208</ref> Though this is not explicitly stated in the poem, it is mentioned in "[[The Philosophy of Composition]]". It is also suggested by the narrator reading books of "lore" as well as by the bust of [[Pallas Athena]], Greek goddess of wisdom.<ref name=Meyers163>Meyers, 163</ref>

He is reading in the late night hours from "many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore".<ref name="Poe, 773"/> Similar to the studies suggested in Poe's short story "[[Ligeia]]", this lore may be about the [[occult]] or [[black magic]]. This is also emphasized in the author's choice to set the poem in December, a month which is traditionally associated with the forces of darkness. The use of the raven—the "devil bird"—also suggests this.<ref>Granger, 53–54</ref> This devil image is emphasized by the narrator's belief that the raven is "from the Night's Plutonian shore", or a messenger from the afterlife, referring to [[Pluto (mythology)|Pluto]], the [[Roman god]] of the [[underworld]].<ref name=K&H194/>

Poe chose a raven as the central symbol in the story because he wanted a "non-reasoning" creature capable of speech. He decided on a raven, which he considered "equally capable of speech" as a parrot, because it matched the intended tone of the poem.<ref name="Hirsch, 195">Hirsch, 195</ref> Poe said the raven is meant to symbolize "''Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance''".<ref>Silverman, 240</ref> He was also inspired by [[Grip (raven)|Grip]], the raven in ''[[Barnaby Rudge|Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of Eighty]]'' by [[Charles Dickens]].<ref>Meyers, 162</ref> One scene in particular bears a resemblance to "The Raven": at the end of the fifth chapter of Dickens's novel, Grip makes a noise and someone says, "What was that—him tapping at the door?" The response is, {{" '}}Tis someone knocking softly at the shutter."<ref name="Staford Cremains / Ravens">{{cite web|title=Cremains / Ravens|url=http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/byform/mailing-lists/exlibris/1999/07/msg00399.html|website=palimpsest.stanford.edu|access-date=April 1, 2007|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080223052351/http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/byform/mailing-lists/exlibris/1999/07/msg00399.html |archive-date = February 23, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> Dickens's raven could speak many words and had many comic turns, including the popping of a champagne cork, but Poe emphasized the bird's more dramatic qualities. Poe had written a review of ''Barnaby Rudge'' for ''[[Graham's Magazine]]'' saying, among other things, that the raven should have served a more symbolic, prophetic purpose.<ref name="Staford Cremains / Ravens"/> The similarity did not go unnoticed: [[James Russell Lowell]] in his ''[[A Fable for Critics]]'' wrote the verse, "Here comes Poe with his raven, like ''Barnaby Rudge''{{nbsp}}/ Three-fifths of him genius and two-fifths sheer fudge."<ref>Cornelius, Kay. "Biography of Edgar Allan Poe" in ''Bloom's BioCritiques: Edgar Allan Poe'', Harold Bloom, ed. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 2002. p. 20 {{ISBN|0-7910-6173-6}}</ref> The [[Free Library of Philadelphia]] has on display a taxidermied raven that is reputed to be the very one that Dickens owned and that helped inspire Poe's poem.<ref>{{cite web|title=Poe's Raven Stuffed at Free Library|url=http://www.phillymag.com/news/2011/10/31/poes-raven-stuffed-free-library/|work=Philadelphia Magazine|last=Goodtimes|first=Johnny|date=October 31, 2011|access-date=January 30, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203003057/https://www.phillymag.com/news/2011/10/31/poes-raven-stuffed-free-library/|archive-date=February 3, 2014}}</ref>

[[File:Tenniel-TheRaven.jpg|thumb|upright=0.85|alt=|Rendition of "The Raven" as illustrated by [[John Tenniel]] (1858)]]
Poe may also have been drawing upon various references to ravens in [[mythology]] and [[folklore]]. In [[Norse mythology]], [[Odin]] possessed two ravens named [[Huginn and Muninn]], representing thought and memory.<ref name="Adams, 53">Adams, 53</ref> According to [[Hebrews|Hebrew]] folklore, [[Noah]] sends a white raven to check conditions while on the [[Noah's Ark|ark]].<ref name="Hirsch, 195"/> It learns that the floodwaters are beginning to dissipate, but it does not immediately return with the news. It is punished by being turned black and being forced to feed on [[carrion]] forever.<ref name="Adams, 53"/> In [[Ovid]]'s ''[[Metamorphoses]]'', a raven also begins as white before [[Apollo]] punishes it by turning it black for delivering a message of a lover's unfaithfulness. The raven's role as a messenger in Poe's poem may draw from those stories.<ref name="Adams, 53"/>

Poe mentions the [[Balm of Gilead]], a reference to the [[Book of Jeremiah]] (8:22) in the Bible: "Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?"<ref>[[s:Bible (King James)/Jeremiah#8:22|Jeremiah 8:22]]</ref> In that context, the Balm of Gilead is a [[resin]] used for medicinal purposes (suggesting, perhaps, that the narrator needs to be healed after the loss of Lenore). In 1 Kings 17:1–5 [[Elijah]] is said to be from [[Gilead]], and to have been fed by ravens during a period of drought.<ref>[[wikisource:Bible (King James)/1 Kings#17:1-5|1 Kings 17:1–5]]</ref>

=== Poetic structure ===
The poem is made up of 18 [[stanza]]s of six lines each. Generally, the meter is [[trochaic octameter]]—eight trochaic feet per line, each foot having one stressed syllable followed by one unstressed syllable.<ref name=K&H192/> The first line, for example (with '''´''' marking stressed syllables and '''˘''' marking unstressed):

{| class="wikitable"
|+Syllabic structure of a verse<ref name="Poe, 773"/>
|- style="text-align:center;"
! Stress
| ´
| ˘
| ´
| ˘
| ´
| ˘
| ´
| ˘
| ´
| ˘
| ´
| ˘
| ´
| ˘
| ´
| ˘
|-
!Syllable
| Once
| up-
| on
| a
| mid-
| night
| drea-
| ry,
| while
| I
| pon-
| dered
| weak
| and
| wea-
| ry
|}

Poe, however, claimed the poem was a combination of [[octameter]] [[acatalectic]], [[heptameter]] [[catalectic]], and [[tetrameter]] catalectic.<ref name=Sova208/> The [[rhyme scheme]] is ABCBBB, or AA,B,CC,CB,B,B when accounting for [[internal rhyme]]. In every stanza, the "B" lines rhyme with the word "nevermore" and are catalectic, placing extra emphasis on the final syllable. The poem also makes heavy use of [[alliteration]] ("Doubting, dreaming dreams&nbsp;...").<ref>Kopley & Hayes, 192–193</ref> Twentieth-century American poet [[Daniel Hoffman]] suggested that the poem's structure and meter is so formulaic that it is artificial, though its mesmeric quality overrides that.<ref>Hoffman, 76</ref>

Poe based the structure of "The Raven" on the complicated rhyme and rhythm of [[Elizabeth Barrett]]'s poem "Lady Geraldine's Courtship".<ref name=Sova208/> Poe had reviewed Barrett's work in the January 1845 issue of the ''[[Broadway Journal]]''<ref>Thomas & Jackson, 485</ref> and said that "her poetic inspiration is the highest—we can conceive of nothing more august. Her sense of Art is pure in itself."<ref name=Meyers160>Meyers, 160</ref> As is typical with Poe, his review also criticizes her lack of originality and what he considers the repetitive nature of some of her poetry.<ref>Peeples, 142</ref> About "Lady Geraldine's Courtship", he said "I have never read a poem combining so much of the fiercest passion with so much of the most delicate imagination."<ref name=Meyers160/>

== Publication history ==
[[File:The raven poe 1845.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|''The Raven and Other Poems'', [[Wiley and Putnam]], New York, 1845]]

Poe first brought "The Raven" to his friend and former employer [[George Rex Graham]] of ''[[Graham's Magazine]]'' in Philadelphia. Graham declined the poem, which may not have been in its final version, though he gave Poe $15 ({{Inflation|US|15|1845|fmt=eq}}) as charity.<ref>Hoffman, 79</ref> Poe then sold the poem to ''[[American Review: A Whig Journal|The American Review]]'', which paid him $9 ({{Inflation|US|9|1845|fmt=eq}}) for it,<ref>Ostrom, 5</ref> and printed "The Raven" in its February 1845 issue under the pseudonym "Quarles", a reference to the English poet [[Francis Quarles]].<ref>Silverman, 530</ref> The poem's first publication with Poe's name was in the ''Evening Mirror'' on January 29, 1845, as an "advance copy".<ref name=Sova208/> [[Nathaniel Parker Willis]], editor of the ''Mirror'', introduced it as "unsurpassed in English poetry for subtle conception, masterly ingenuity of versification, and consistent, sustaining of imaginative lift&nbsp;... It will stick to the memory of everybody who reads it."<ref name=Silverman237/> Following this publication the poem appeared in periodicals across the United States, including the ''[[New York Tribune]]'' (February 4, 1845), ''[[Broadway Journal]]'' (vol. 1, February 8, 1845), ''[[Southern Literary Messenger]]'' (vol. 11, March 1845), ''Literary Emporium'' (vol. 2, December 1845), ''Saturday Courier'', 16 (July 25, 1846), and the ''[[Richmond Examiner]]'' (September 25, 1849).<ref>{{cite web
  | title = The Poems of Edgar Allan Poe
  | publisher = Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore
  | date = April 27, 2007
| url = http://www.eapoe.org/works/poems/index.htm
  | access-date =September 20, 2007 }}</ref>

The immediate success of "The Raven" prompted [[Wiley and Putnam]] to publish a collection of Poe's prose called ''Tales'' in June 1845; it was his first book in five years.<ref>Meyers, 177</ref> They also published a collection of his poetry called ''The Raven and Other Poems'' on November 19 which included a dedication to Barrett as "the Noblest of her Sex".<ref name=PoeLog591>Thomas & Jackson, 591</ref> The small volume, his first book of poetry in 14 years,<ref name=Peeples136>Peeples, 136</ref> was 100 pages and sold for 31 cents.<ref>Silverman, 299</ref> In addition to the title poem, it included "The Valley of Unrest", "Bridal Ballad", "[[The City in the Sea]]", "[[Eulalie]]", "[[The Conqueror Worm]]", "[[The Haunted Palace (poem)|The Haunted Palace]]" and 11 others.<ref>Sova, 209</ref> In the preface, Poe referred to them as "trifles" which had been altered without his permission as they made "the rounds of the press".<ref name=PoeLog591/>

=== Illustrators ===
[[File:Raven Manet B2.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|An illustration by [[Édouard Manet]], from [[Stéphane Mallarmé|Mallarmé]]'s translation, depicting the first two lines of the poem]]

Later publications of "The Raven" included artwork by well-known illustrators. Notably, in 1858 "The Raven" appeared in a British Poe anthology with illustrations by [[John Tenniel]], the ''[[Alice in Wonderland]]'' illustrator (''The Poetical Works of Edgar Allan Poe: With Original Memoir'', London: Sampson Low). "The Raven" was published independently with lavish [[woodcut]]s by [[Gustave Doré]] in 1884 (New York: Harper & Brothers). Doré died before its publication.<ref>Scholnick, Robert J. "In Defense of Beauty: Stedman and the Recognition of Poe in America, 1880–1910", collected in ''Poe and His Times: The Artist and His Milieu'', edited by Benjamin Franklin Fisher IV. Baltimore: The Edgar Allan Poe Society, 1990. p. 262. {{ISBN|0-9616449-2-3}}</ref> In 1875, a French edition with English and French text, ''Le Corbeau'', was published with [[lithographs]] by [[Édouard Manet]] and translation by the [[Symbolism (movement)|symbolist]] poet [[Stéphane Mallarmé]].<ref>{{cite web
  | title = Digital Gallery for Édouard Manet illustrations&nbsp;– Le corbeau
  | work = New York Public Library Digital Collections
  | url = https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/search/index?utf8=%E2%9C%93&keywords=%C3%89douard+Manet+Le+corbeau
  | access-date =November 4, 2024 }}</ref> Many 20th-century artists and contemporary illustrators created artworks and illustrations based on "The Raven", including [[Edmund Dulac]], [[István Orosz]],<ref>{{multiref|{{cite web
 |first       = István
 |last        = Orosz
 |title       = The poet in the mirror
 |publisher   = Gallery Diabolus
 |url         = http://www.gallery-diabolus.com/gallery/upload/utisz/Poe%20d.jpg
 |access-date  = September 20, 2007
 |url-status   = usurped
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20070927070214/http://www.gallery-diabolus.com/gallery/upload/utisz/Poe%20d.jpg
 |archive-date = September 27, 2007
 |df          = mdy-all|ref=none
}}—Anamorphic illustration for "The Raven"|
[https://web.archive.org/web/20070927070159/http://www.gallery-diabolus.com/gallery/upload/utisz/Poe%20hengerrel%20d.jpg The same illustration with a chrome-plated brass cylinder]}}</ref> and Ryan Price.<ref>{{cite web
 |first       = Ryan
 |last        = Price
 |title       = Illustrations by Ryan Price
 |publisher   = Ingram Gallery
 |url         = http://www.ingramgallery.com/price_raven.htm
 |access-date  = September 20, 2007
|url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20070928004432/http://www.ingramgallery.com/price_raven.htm
 |archive-date = September 28, 2007
|df          = mdy-all
}}</ref>

== Composition ==
{{Main|The Philosophy of Composition}}
Poe capitalized on the success of "The Raven" by following it up with his essay "[[The Philosophy of Composition]]" (1846), in which he detailed the poem's creation. His description of its writing is probably exaggerated, though the essay serves as an important overview of Poe's [[literary theory]].<ref>Krutch, 98</ref> He explains that every component of the poem is based on logic: the raven enters the chamber to avoid a storm (the "midnight dreary" in the "bleak December"), and its perch on a pallid white bust was to create visual contrast against the dark black bird. No aspect of the poem was an accident, he claims, but is based on total control by the author.<ref>Silverman, 295–296</ref> Even the term "Nevermore", he says, is used because of the effect created by the long vowel sounds (though Poe may have been inspired to use the word by the works of [[Lord Byron]] or [[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow]]).<ref>Forsythe, 439–452</ref> Poe had experimented with the long ''o'' sound throughout many other poems: "no more" in "[[Poems by Edgar Allan Poe#Silence (1839)|Silence]]", "evermore" in "[[The Conqueror Worm]]".<ref name=Meyers163/> The topic itself, Poe says, was chosen because "the death&nbsp;... of a beautiful woman is unquestionably the most poetical topic in the world." Told from "the lips&nbsp;... of a bereaved lover" is best suited to achieve the desired effect.<ref name=Silverman239/> Beyond the poetics of it, the lost Lenore may have been inspired by events in Poe's own life as well, either to the early loss of his mother, [[Eliza Poe]], or the long illness endured by his wife, [[Virginia Eliza Clemm Poe|Virginia]].<ref name=K&H194/> Ultimately, Poe considered "The Raven" an experiment to "suit at once the popular and critical taste", accessible to both the mainstream and high literary worlds.<ref name=Silverman239/> It is unknown how long Poe worked on "The Raven"; speculation ranges from a single day to ten years. Poe recited a poem believed to be an early version with an alternate ending of "The Raven" in 1843 in [[Saratoga, New York|Saratoga]], New York.<ref name=K&H192/> An early draft may have featured an owl.<ref>Weiss, 185</ref>

In the summer of 1844, when the poem was likely written, Poe, his wife, and mother-in-law were boarding at the farmhouse of Patrick Brennan in New York. The location of the house, which was demolished in 1888,<ref>{{cite news |last=Hemstreet |first=William |date=December 21, 1907 |title='Raven' Mantel is in Brooklyn |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-new-york-times-raven-mantel-is-in/158275647/ |access-date=2024-11-01 |work=The New York Times |pages=21 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref><ref name="house1908">{{cite news |last=Wolfe |first=Theodore F. |date=January 4, 1908 |title=Poe's Life at the Brennan House |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-new-york-times/112616613/ |access-date=2024-11-01 |work=The New York Times |pages=10 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> has been a disputed point and, while there are two different plaques marking its supposed location on West 84th Street, it most likely stood where 206 West 84th Street is now.<ref name= house1908/><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.manhattanpast.com/2014/edgar-allan-poe-street/ |title= Edgar Allan Poe Street |website= Manhattan Past |access-date= June 15, 2017 |archive-date= May 18, 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180518013925/http://www.manhattanpast.com/2014/edgar-allan-poe-street/ |url-status= dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1= White |first1= Norval |last2= Willensky |first2= Elliot|last3= Leadon |first3= Fran |date= 2010 |title= AIA Guide to New York City |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=t0gj61QSgk8C&q=poe+mount+tom+brennan+son&pg=PA383 |publisher= Oxford University Press |page= 383 |isbn= 978-0195383867}}</ref>

== Critical reception ==
[[File:Dore raven shadow2.jpg|thumb|upright=0.85|Gustave Doré's illustration of the final lines of the poem accompanies the phrase "And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor/Shall be lifted—nevermore!"]]

In part due to its dual printing, "The Raven" made Edgar Allan Poe a household name almost immediately,<ref name=Hoffman80>Hoffman, 80</ref> and turned Poe into a national celebrity.<ref>Peeples, 133</ref> Readers began to identify poem with poet, earning Poe the nickname "The Raven".<ref name=Silverman238>Silverman, 238</ref> The poem was soon widely reprinted, imitated, and [[parodied]].<ref name=Hoffman80/> Though it made Poe popular in his day, it did not bring him significant financial success.<ref>Krutch, 155</ref> As he later lamented, "I have made no money. I am as poor now as ever I was in my life—except in hope, which is by no means bankable".<ref name=Peeples136/>

''[[The New World (American newspaper)|The New World]]'' said, "Everyone reads the Poem and praises it&nbsp;... justly, we think, for it seems to us full of originality and power."<ref name=Silverman237/> ''[[The Pennsylvania Inquirer]]'' reprinted it with the heading "A Beautiful Poem".<ref name=Silverman237/> Elizabeth Barrett wrote to Poe, "Your 'Raven' has produced a sensation, a fit o' horror, here in England. Some of my friends are taken by the fear of it and some by the music. I hear of persons haunted by 'Nevermore'."<ref>Krutch, 153</ref> Poe's popularity resulted in invitations to recite "The Raven" and to lecture—in public and at private social gatherings. At one literary [[salon (gathering)|salon]], a guest noted, "to hear [Poe] repeat the Raven&nbsp;... is an event in one's life."<ref>Silverman, 279</ref> It was recalled by someone who experienced it, "He would turn down the lamps till the room was almost dark, then standing in the center of the apartment he would recite&nbsp;... in the most melodious of voices&nbsp;... So marvelous was his power as a reader that the auditors would be afraid to draw breath lest the enchanted spell be broken."<ref>Krutch, 154</ref>

Parodies sprang up especially in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia and included "The Craven" by "Poh!", "The Gazelle", "The Whippoorwill", and "The Turkey".<ref name=Silverman238/> One parody, "The Pole-Cat", caught the attention of Andrew Johnston, a lawyer who sent it on to [[Abraham Lincoln]]. Though Lincoln admitted he had "several hearty laughs", he had not, at that point read "The Raven".<ref>Thomas & Jackson, 635</ref> However, Lincoln eventually read and memorized the poem.<ref>Basler, Roy P. and Carl Sandberg. ''Abraham Lincoln: his speeches and writings''. New York: Da Capo Press, 2001: 185. {{ISBN|0-306-81075-1}}.</ref>

"The Raven" was praised by fellow writers [[William Gilmore Simms]] and [[Margaret Fuller]],<ref>Meyers, 184</ref> though it was denounced by [[William Butler Yeats]], who called it "insincere and vulgar&nbsp;... its execution a rhythmical trick".<ref name=Silverman239/> [[Transcendentalist]] [[Ralph Waldo Emerson]] said, "I see nothing in it."<ref>Silverman, 265</ref> A critic for the ''[[Southern Quarterly Review]]'' wrote in July 1848 that the poem was ruined by "a wild and unbridled extravagance" and that minor things like a tapping at the door and a fluttering curtain would only affect "a child who had been frightened to the verge of idiocy by terrible ghost stories".<ref>Thomas & Jackson, 739</ref> An anonymous writer going by the pseudonym "Outis" suggested in the ''[[New York Evening Mirror]]'' that "The Raven" was [[plagiarized]] from a poem called "The Bird of the Dream" by an unnamed author. The writer, who wrote the article as a response to Poe's accusations of plagiarism against Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, showed 18 similarities between the poems. It has been suggested Outis was really [[Cornelius Conway Felton]], if not Poe himself.<ref>Moss, 169</ref> After Poe's death, his friend [[Thomas Holley Chivers]] said "The Raven" was plagiarized from one of his poems.<ref>Moss, 101</ref> In particular, he claimed to have been the inspiration for the meter of the poem as well as the refrain "nevermore".<ref>{{cite book |first=Edd Winfield |last=Parks |author-link=Edd Winfield Parks |title=Ante-Bellum Southern Literary Critics |location=Athens, Georgia|publisher=University of Georgia Press |date=1962 |page=182}}</ref>

"The Raven" became one of the most popular targets for literary translators in Hungary; more than a dozen poets rendered it into Hungarian, including [[Mihály Babits]], [[Dezső Kosztolányi]], [[Árpád Tóth]],<ref name="MEK">[http://mek.oszk.hu/00400/00464/00464.htm Selected Works of E. A. Poe] in the Hungarian Electronic Library</ref> and [[György Faludy]].<ref>[http://dia.pool.pim.hu/xhtml/faludy_gyorgy/Faludy_Gyorgy-Test_es_lelek.xhtml#1363 Test és lélek 'Body and Soul'], literary translations by György Faludy at the website of Petőfi Literary Museum</ref> [[Balázs Birtalan]] wrote its [[wikt:paraphrasis|paraphrasis]] from the raven's point of view.<ref>[http://ezredveg.vasaros.com/html/2008_06_07/0806-72.html#bb A költő] ('The Poet')</ref>

== Legacy ==
[[File:PoeTRMColumbia.jpg|thumb|Mantel from the Brennan Farmhouse, known as the Raven Mantel, at [[Columbia University]]]]
"The Raven" has influenced many modern works, including [[Vladimir Nabokov]]'s ''[[Lolita]]'' in 1955, [[Bernard Malamud]]'s "[[The Jewbird]]" in 1963 and [[Ray Bradbury]]'s "[[The Parrot Who Met Papa]]" in 1976.<ref>Kopley & Hayes, 196</ref> The process by which Poe composed "The Raven" influenced a number of French authors and composers, such as [[Charles Baudelaire]] and [[Maurice Ravel]], and it has been suggested that Ravel's ''[[Boléro]]'' may have been deeply influenced by "The Philosophy of Composition".<ref>Lanford, 243–265.</ref>

The name of the [[Baltimore Ravens]], a professional [[American football]] team, was inspired by the poem.<ref>{{cite web|title=Naming the Team|url=https://www.baltimoreravens.com/team/history/naming-the-team|publisher=NFL Enterprises, LLC|website=BaltimoreRavens.com|access-date=January 21, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Franchise nicknames|url=https://www.profootballhof.com/news/2005/01/news-franchise-nicknames/|publisher=[[Pro Football Hall of Fame]]|website=ProFootballHOF.com|date=January 1, 2005|access-date=January 21, 2024}}</ref> Chosen in a fan contest that drew 33,288 voters, the allusion honors Poe, who spent the early part of his career in Baltimore and is buried there.<ref>{{cite web|title=Baltimore Ravens Team History|url=https://www.profootballhof.com/teams/baltimore-ravens/team-history/|publisher=[[Pro Football Hall of Fame]]|website=ProFootballHOF.com|access-date=January 21, 2024}}</ref>

The mantel of the room in which Poe penned "The Raven" was removed and donated to [[Columbia University]] before the demolition of the Brennan Farmhouse. It currently resides at the [[Rare Book and Manuscript Library (Columbia University)|Rare Book & Manuscript Library]], on the sixth floor of [[Butler Library]].<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Waldman|first1=Benjamin|last2=Newman|first2=Andy|date=August 10, 2012|title=After a Part in Poe's 'Raven,' the Dust of Obscurity|url=https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/10/mystery-of-a-poe-relic-the-raven-mantels-curious-journey/|access-date=June 12, 2021|website=City Room|language=en-US}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Allusions to Poe's "The Raven"]] 
* [[Cultural depictions of ravens]]
* "[[Lenore (poem)|Lenore]]", an earlier poem by Poe
* ''[[Mortimer and Arabel]]'', a book series by [[Joan Aiken]] and a literary nod to "The Raven"
{{clear}}

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|colwidth=25em}}

== References ==
{{Refbegin|colwidth=60em}}
* Adams, John F. "Classical Raven Lore and Poe's Raven" in ''Poe Studies''. Vol. V, no. 2, December 1972. [http://www.eapoe.org/pstudies/ps1970/p1972209.htm Available online]
* Forsythe, Robert. "Poe's 'Nevermore': A Note", as collected in ''American Literature 7''. January 1936.
* Granger, Byrd Howell. "Marginalia&nbsp;– Devil Lore in 'The Raven{{'"}} from Poe Studies Vol. V, no. 2, December 1972 [http://www.eapoe.org/pstudies/ps1970/p1972209.htm Available online]
* Hirsch, David H. "The Raven and the Nightingale" as collected in ''Poe and His Times: The Artist and His Milieu'', edited by Benjamin Franklin Fisher IV. Baltimore: The Edgar Allan Poe Society, Inc., 1990. {{ISBN|0-9616449-2-3}}
* Hoffman, Daniel. ''Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe''. Baton Rouge: [[Louisiana State University Press]], 1972. {{ISBN|0-8071-2321-8}}
* Kopley, Richard and Kevin J. Hayes. "Two verse masterworks: 'The Raven' and 'Ulalume{{'"}}, collected in ''The Cambridge Companion to Edgar Allan Poe'', edited by Kevin J. Hayes. New York: [[Cambridge University Press]], 2002. {{ISBN|0-521-79727-6}}
* Krutch, Joseph Wood. ''Edgar Allan Poe: A Study in Genius''. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1926.
* Lanford, Michael (September 2011). "Ravel and 'The Raven': The Realisation of an Inherited Aesthetic in ''Boléro''." ''[[The Cambridge Quarterly]]'' '''40'''(3), 243–265. {{JSTOR|43492354}}
* Meyers, Jeffrey. ''Edgar Allan Poe: His Life and Legacy''. New York City: Cooper Square Press, 1992. {{ISBN|0-8154-1038-7}}
* Moss, Sidney P. ''Poe's Literary Battles: The Critic in the Context of His Literary Milieu''. [[Southern Illinois University Press]], 1969.
* Ostrom, John Ward. "Edgar A. Poe: His Income as Literary Entrepreneur", collected in ''Poe Studies'' Vol. 5, no. 1. June 1982.
* Peeples, Scott. ''Edgar Allan Poe Revisited''. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1998. {{ISBN|0-8057-4572-6}}
* Poe, Edgar Allan. ''Edgar Allan Poe: Complete Tales & Poems''. Edison, New Jersey: Castle Books, 2002. {{ISBN|0-7858-1453-1}}
* Silverman, Kenneth. ''Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance''. New York: Harper Perennial, 1991. {{ISBN|0-06-092331-8}}
* Sova, Dawn B. ''Edgar Allan Poe: A to Z''. New York City: Checkmark Books, 2001. {{ISBN|0-8160-4161-X}}
* Thomas, Dwight and David K. Jackson. ''The Poe Log: A Documentary Life of Edgar Allan Poe, 1809–1849''. New York: G. K. Hall & Company, 1987. {{ISBN|0-7838-1401-1}}
* Weiss, Susan Archer. ''The Home Life of Poe''. New York: Broadway Publishing Company, 1907.
{{Refend}}

== External links ==
{{Spoken Wikipedia|En-The_Raven-article.ogg|date=December 6, 2014}}
{{sister project links|s=The Raven (Poe)|commons=category:The Raven|d=Q22726|voy=no|species=no|mw=no|b=no|wikt=no|v=no|n=no}}

===Text===
* [http://www.eapoe.org/works/poems/ravena.htm "The Raven"] – Full text of the first printing, from the ''American Review'', 1845
** [https://archive.org/details/americanreviewwh01colt/page/142/mode/2up Page scans] at the [[Internet Archive]]
* [http://www.eapoe.org/works/poems/ravent.htm "The Raven"] – Full text of the final authorized printing, from the ''Richmond Semi-Weekly Examiner'', 1849

===Commentary===
* [http://www.poedecoder.com/essays/raven/ The Poe Decoder] – Essay on the symbols, words and composition of "The Raven"
* [https://archive.org/details/ravenwithliterar00poeeuoft ''The Raven. With Literary and Historical Commentary by John H. Ingram'']. London G. Redway. 1885.
*[https://www.murrayewing.co.uk/raven/index.php Quaint and Curious] – A collection of 19th century parodies and pastiches of "The Raven"

===Illustrated===
*[http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.rbc/gen.37813 ''The Raven''] illustrated by Gustave Doré. From the Collections at the [[Library of Congress]]
*[http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.rbc/gen.33816 ''Le Corbeau = The Raven: Poëme''] avec illustrations par Édouard Manet. From the Collections at the [[Library of Congress]]
*[http://digital.lib.buffalo.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/LIB-SC001 Illustrations from ''The Raven''], Gustave Doré illustrations from the University at Buffalo Libraries' Rare & Special Books collection
* {{gutenberg|no=14082|name=The Raven ''illustrated by Édouard Manet''}}
* {{gutenberg|no=17192|name=The Raven ''illustrated by Gustave Doré''}}

===Audio===
* [http://classicpoetryaloud.podomatic.com/entry/2008-02-29T02_21_58-08_00 Reading of 'The Raven' and text] by Classic Poetry Aloud (MP3)
* [https://archive.org/details/raven_multilingual_0903 Readings of 'The Raven' in different languages], at [[Internet Archive]]
* {{librivox book | title=The Raven | author=Edgar Allan Poe}}

{{The Raven|state=uncollapsed}}
{{Edgar Allan Poe|poems}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raven, The}}
[[Category:The Raven| ]]
[[Category:1845 poems]]
[[Category:Books illustrated by John Tenniel]]
[[Category:Fictional ravens]]
[[Category:Anthropomorphic ravens]]
[[Category:Gilead]]
[[Category:Literary characters introduced in 1845]]
[[Category:Narrative poems]]
[[Category:Poems about birds]]
[[Category:Poems about talking animals]]
[[Category:Poems adapted into films]]
[[Category:Poetry by Edgar Allan Poe]]
[[Category:Works involved in plagiarism controversies]]
[[Category:Works originally published in The American Review: A Whig Journal]]
[[Category:Works published under a pseudonym]]
[[Category:Athena in fiction]]