STANZA 1 It's late. The poem's speaker is tired and weak,
reading an old collection of folklore (note that Ravens are
prevalent in folklore). As he's about to fall asleep, he hears
something tapping at his door. The speaker, somewhat startled,
consoles himself by muttering "tis some visitor" and "nothing
more."
Slide 3
ANALYSIS OF STANZA 1 The ambiguity of the narrator's mental
state is introduced in the first stanza and becomes a topic of
debate throughout the entire poem. Keep in mind that it's late and
the narrator is extremely tired. It's quite possible he dreams the
entire episode.
Slide 4
STANZA 2 We are told this incident takes place in December and
that the narrator had been reading in order to forget about his
lost love, Lenore.
Slide 5
STANZA 2 ANALYSIS The incident takes place in December and the
narrator suffers from depression. He is searching desperately to
end his sorrow. The mood, somewhat established in Stanza 1 with
"midnight dreary" and "forgotten lore," becomes entrenched as Poe
includes details such as "bleak December," dying ember," "ghost
upon the floor," sorrow," and a bevvy of alliterative phrases and
words with Anglo- Saxon roots
Slide 6
STANZA 3 To combat the fear caused by the wind blown curtains,
the narrator repeats that the commotion is merely a visitor at the
door.
Slide 7
ANALYSIS OF STANZA 3 The opening line of the stanza contains
the greatest example of consonance, alliteration, and internal
rhyme in the history of poetry. Why the speaker is so frightened by
the curtains fluttering in the wind is unclear. It could be a
demonic movement of the curtains, which would cause even the most
stalwart individual to mutter to himself, or the speaker could be
crazy.
Slide 8
STANZA 4 The narrator musters the courage to speak to the
"visitor" at his door. Nobody answers. He opens the door and sees
only darkness.
Slide 9
ANALYSIS OF STANZA 4 Things are getting stranger by the stanza.
Poe builds suspense by delaying the unveiling of the
"visitor."
Slide 10
STANZA 5 The narrator stares into the darkness. He stares. He
stares some more. He starts dreaming about the impossible and
finally whispers "Lenore." "Lenore" is echoed back.
Slide 11
STANZA 6 The narrator returns to his chamber and soon hears a
louder tapping, this time at his window. He decides to explore the
noise, telling himself it is merely the wind.
Slide 12
ANALYSIS OF STANZA 6 Like the narrator, you're probably
wondering when something's going to happen. The narrator is in
denial. He knows something is there, but refuses to acknowledge
it.
Slide 13
STANZA 7 The narrator opens the shutter and a raven flies in.
He ignores the occupant and perches himself on a statue of Pallas
Athena, Greek goddess of wisdom.
Slide 14
ANALYSIS OF STANZA 7 Analysis: The mystery has been solved.
It's just a bird! Something tells me this bird is no ordinary
feathered friend.
Slide 15
STANZA 8 The narrator is relieved and somewhat amused by the
bird's appearance. He asks the raven its name and he replies,
"Nevermore."
Slide 16
ANALYSIS OF STANZA 8 We are presented with symbols of night and
death in stanza 8: the "ebony" bird; "grave and stern decorum";
"nightly shore"; "Night's Plutonian (the Roman underworld)
shore."
Slide 17
STANZA 9 The narrator marvels at this strange bird who has
entered his room.
Slide 18
ANALYSIS OF STANZA 9 Our bewildered narrator has no idea what
to make of this bird, much like I'm not sure what to say about this
stanza.
Slide 19
STANZA 10 The Raven just sits there and says "nevermore." The
narrator, a little spooked by the entire episode mutters the bird
will probably just leave tomorrow.
Slide 20
ANALYSIS OF STANZA 10 There is something in the word
"nevermore" that brings despair to the narrator. He believes the
raven is pouring out his soul with each utterance of the word,
similar to the pouring out of the narrator's soul as he longs for
the return of Lenore.
Slide 21
STANZA 11 The narrator rationalizes that the raven's repetition
of "nevermore" has nothing to do with his own hopeless state, and
that the word is the only one the bird knows. He creates a
plausible story about the bird probably having escaped from his
master who met an ill fate at sea.
Slide 22
ANALYSIS OF STANZA 11 Analysis: The narrator experiences the
paranoia/denial cycle. He unreasonably believes the raven is some
bad omen, which it then becomes, omens being nothing more than a
negative psychological interpretation of an otherwise neutral
event, followed by a complete negation with an implausible
explanation. The narrator is nuts.
Slide 23
STANZA 12 The narrator wheels his chair around, stares at the
bird, and attempts to figure out what this all means.
Slide 24
STANZA 12 ANALYSIS Although the narrator draws no explicit
conclusion, descriptive words such as "grim, ungainly, ghastly,
gaunt" displays the narrator's negative attitude toward the strange
visitor.
Slide 25
STANZA 13 The narrator stares at the bird, whose eyes appear to
be on fire and burn the narrator's heart. He ponders how he will
nevermore see his lost Lenore.
Slide 26
CHAPTER 13 ANALYSIS There's a raven in the living room with
fiery eyes staring at the narrator and all he can think about is
some girl!
Slide 27
STANZA 14 The narrator senses the arrival of angels who burn
incense. He suspects the raven's purpose is to help the narrator
forget about his sorrows. He asks to drink a magic potion for that
purpose. The raven replies, "nevermore."
Slide 28
ANALYSIS OF 14 Angels arrive. The narrator hopes that he will
be spared despair and sorrow. He's wrong. Key words in this stanza:
quaff means to drink; nepenthe is a drug used in ancient times to
make people forget their sorrows.
Slide 29
STANZA 15 The narrator asks the raven if he is evil. He then
asks the raven if he has brought healing. The raven replies,
"nevermore."
Slide 30
CHAPTER 15 ANALYSIS Despite several declarations by the raven
himself that he is not there for good, the narrator holds on to the
slim hope that the raven can help him forget his sorrows. The
allusion to "balm in Gilead" in line 89 is an allusion to the
Jeremiah in the Old Testament. Jeremiah asks "Is there no balm in
Gilead?" while lamenting the plight of his people who need
healing.
Slide 31
STANZA 16 The narrator asks the raven if he will ever see
Lenore in heaven. The raven answers, "nevermore."
Slide 32
CHAPTER 16 ANALYSIS The narrator isn't the smartest guy alive.
He again asks the raven if he will be relieved of his suffering and
at least be able to see Lenore in paradise. The raven answered
"nevermore." At this point I'm getting really annoyed with the
narrator. He's wallowing in self pity and enjoying every second of
it. He knows what the raven's answer will be, yet he purposely asks
questions that will justify him feeling sorry for himself. It's
time to move on.
Slide 33
STANZA 17 The narrator commands the bird to leave. The bird
says, "nevermore."
Slide 34
STANZA 17 ANALYSIS The narrator is once again surprised by the
raven's negative response. I'm not.
Slide 35
STANZA 18 The raven remains sitting. He overshadows the
narrator, whose soul will never see happiness again.
Slide 36
STANZA 18 ANALYSIS Analysis: Boo! Hoo! Get a gun and shoot that
freaking bird already! The raven's shadow most likely symbolizes
sadness. It covers the narrator's soul, symbolic of the narrator
never being happy again. Some claim the last stanza relates the
narrator's death. However, the shadow remains on the floor and It's
the narrator's soul that will never climb out from under the shadow
of sadness.