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 visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door-
Only this, and nothing more."
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 visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door-
Some late visitor 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 mortals 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 blest 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 further 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 all my 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 lamplight gloated o'er,
But whose velvet violet lining with the lamplight gloating o'er,
She shall press, ah, nevermore!
Then methought the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer
Swung by Seraphim whose footfalls 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 in 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 lamplight 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!
Leave a guest comment (subject to review)
Comments
100 - 173 of 173
< previous
1
2
-
in my opinion this was poe's finest piece... (el dorado was another brilliant piece...)
the raven portrays many things in this piece... many aspects in this piece can be interpreted in many ways... each piece revealing another of poe's secrets... brilliant, indeed... -
love this thing! just like all his other work, my favorite is annabel lee, but raven rocks too...man was genious...
-
excelent
I love this poem, alwayse have, alwase will. -
The narrator wasn't dreaming...he was intoxicated and saw the nightmares from his alcoholism...or he noticed his wife in the morning with a bad hair day and wanted to fly away hehehe
-
Does this need anymore comments? Oh well, Mr. Poe, you do fine work. Yessum, you do. I hope you post more soon! jkjk! Jeez, what can I say? Personally, I just think it's just a huge metaphor, the raven being sorrow that will never go away. I'm pretty sure his wife was already sickly when he wrote it, but don't quote me on that. I first read this last year, and I didn't get the last part, or I was majorly let down by it (so I'm assuming I didn't get it). Now I see that it has to be one of the most perfect endings ever. Doesn't it just resonate? Anyhow, I have my aunt's E.A Poe book from 1969 or whenever, and it just sits on my desk cuz it's so big. Favorite book. I've read Eldorado, Annabel Lee, and a couple others. But this is the best. Hands down. I could read it over and over...I think I shall memorize it just for the heck of it...hehe
-
EXCELLENT PIECE OF WORK
I love this poem. It is my favorite, Edgar Allan Poe is my favorite author. This poem speaks to me in ways that no other has. To me it is about death, the raven being the symbol of the grim reaper himself (or herself if you like). His vocabulary is so RICH that it almost takes you a minute to understand if you arn't used to the style (as it did me when I was younger and first reading it, I believe at age 10). But now at 15 I understand it slightly more, but not as much as I would like. That is why I continue to read this piece, and I continue to study the rhythm, the texture, the RICHNESS of his vocabulary.
I love all of it.
And I will continue to love all of it until the sun explodes and the moon melts onto the surface of the earth.
Which, to me at least, seems a far ways off. -
Heh I love this poem. It's just so good. It rhymes well and has very deep meaning. Great vocab used too. This is definetly my favorite poem. Sometimes I wonder how Poe comes up with this stuff.
-
i like how the raven keeps simile and it doesnt rhyme and he makes the perfect rhythem for the sounds he hears
-
Cliche though it may be to say, this poem has always been one of my favorite of Poe's. Like many have said, this piece can be interpreted in so many different lights, and the way it speaks to me just has a very deep and personal meaning. The way Edgar Allan writes is purely captivating. The rhyme scheme in this is so incredibly complex, I always wonder how long it took him to compose this, or any of his other pieces-- Was he one of those writers who could flip out masterpieces in just a few minutes, or did he work on a poem for months before it reached this kind of level? It's pieces like this that make me wish he'd left explanations to all his writes so that we could understand what he was thinking and feeling. The Raven has to be among the best poems ever created.
-
This is so popular, I had to read it. (Don't think I've read it before, though one would think it would have been assigned in High School.) What strikes me, aside from the captivating story, is the structure, with the internal rhyme scheme.
All I can think is that Poe must have spent a long time crafting this. This is a difference, I think, between poets of his time and poets of ours: we are so impatient to get our "wisdom" on the page. Poetry, like all arts, is art and craft. So many of us just can't be bothered with the craft part. Poe is both an artist and a craftsman. That's why he still lives. -
Possibly one of my favorite poems...stunning details that danced around in my head as I read it...I'm trying to memorize this poem and I've gotten maybe four stanzas down, with a few pauses here and there...memorizing it for the fun of it, though...definitely a great poem, The Raven, and certainly one of my faves...
-
Great poem!!!!!!!!
I think that during the whole poem the narrator was dreaming. I feel that the narrator while pondering over books he was studying, fell asleep and started dreaming of his lost love, Lenore. The bird is merely a symbol of his hurt and depression of this loss reminding him that he will never see Lenore again. It is deffinately a great poem. -
Awsome
This is definatly a awsome peom, I belive that this was written as a dream. When he falls asleep and the rapping beggins I think it's all in his head and the ending is him waking up :0
My favorite poem is definatly Eldorado and story is Cask of Amantillado
-
Hella fucking good ^.^
This man is wonderful with words, and this has got to be one of the best poems ever written by any mortal. ^.^ There is a reason her is my favourite. -
wow...umm long and hard to uderstand. I had to read it 2-3 times to get the full meaning of it. Personally i think poe is a great poet, but really vague in the sense that..well let's put it this way.. "What the hell is he talking about?" lol...it's just hard from me to interpret some of the meanings of what he's written. It's not hard however, to see that he always portrayes a darker side to the world, which is depressing...but he's a genius at it. Going back to his biography, it doesn't surprise me why he wrtoe the way that he did.
-
Read this for his vocab - if nothing else! What riches! I love these first three stanzas:
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 visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door-
Only this, and nothing more."
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 visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door-
Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door;-
This it is, and nothing more."
This poem keeps you on your toes. But don't stop here! Read his The Bells, especcially if you like rythmic poetry. Others of his are: To Helen, Sonnet to Zante, To One in Paradise. Explore, probe, ponder and pour over Poe! -
Poe is a genius. A sheer genius and I love him. His rhymes are flawless, and his point is unclear. Him and his poem is a mystery to us all, we will never be sure of what he meant by this poem, since there are many ways you could look at it. I love it, the vision it creats, the anger at the bird Poe shows.
I think the Raven is Lenores spirit. But that is just my thought.
Then methought the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer
Swung by Seraphim whose footfalls 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."
I love that stanza the best. It gets to me, and when I read the poem over, I wait for that stanza, and that stanza alone.
-Reality -
this is my second fav poem. its long and yet so good to read. its actually kind of complicated,
i had to read it twice to actually get a mostly all of it. I also had to analyze it at school once and theres a lot more meaning to it then it actually says.
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted- nevermore!
that was my fav line in this poem. I don't know why, but it just really gets to me.
SPY
-
to replace first post
To me, Poe's poem is about trying to believe Lenore's spirit is still with him. The knocking he thinks he hears at the door and window is Raven pecking his beak above his chamber door. Poe transfers Lenore's spirit to the Raven then retrieves it back and the Raven is a messenger to let Poe know Lenore's spirit is still with him. Then sees Raven as a friend that will leave him too. Then an evil messenger that dashes Poe's hopes that Lenore's spirit is still with him leaving Poe empty and alone unable to go on. To me this sounds like typical grief of loss that goes from seeing loss as a cold final absolute to hope in remanents of memories left behind to cold emptiness and despair to hope and back to despair.
Like we all wrestle with a lost loved one trying to find someway to hold onto Lenore as on the wings of angels. Whether with her spirit transformed to a bird, or this bird sensing his pain befriending him or a messenger from Lenore. Or a messenger letting Poe know that he could get lost in his imagination considered an evil message (imaginative transference) by Poe because it's all he has left of Lenore. This realization that Poe will have to deal with the reality of Lenore NEVER coming back leaves a shadow of sadness so heavy it pins Poe to the floor. The utter loneliness and lack of connection he feels in this world without Lenore leaves an emptiness void of strength to rise back up into this world. Yet Poe knows the alternative is to be withdrawn into imagination that is nothing more than balm of Gilead to heal his pierced soul. Yet it no longer works because Poe realizes that Lenore is Nevermore and nothing can heal this emptiness and he must carry its weight forevermore. -
The very poem that made me a poet today. Always a good way of getting past a mental block.
-
don\'t touch it!
PERFECT BY NATURE!!!! God it’s amazing the way he expressed the ghastly feeling into words…. Before reading this form of writing, I had this vague feeling that one cannot use a hyphen after putting a semi-colon. But all’s well that ends well…
I don’t how to comment on a great poet’s work! ‘Cause it will be disgrace to pick out flaws from an excellent piece, without ‘ne reasons. The poet describe the raven in such way that nobody would dare say the style is dire…. but hey the picture of the scene is surely dire, because its suppose to be DIRE!!!(Lols….!)
If only Poe was here I would have thank him for clarifying my misconceptions. Anyways, I really like the idea of inserting the dialogues here… it’s very impressive.
In conclusion I will like to say that “this poetry rock!!!! ;)” I really enjoyed the dark sides from this…
Love yah Poe
-
No way munky! I woulda married him!
Now the poem. This is one of my favorites of all time. Actually it was the first poem I read of Poe's, and I was instantly hooked. I was thinking 'man this Poe dude is awesome. I gotta read more of his stuff.' And I did and was never disappointed.
The rhymes, flow -everything just flow smoothly together and make this a wonderful read.
The visuals are chilling and it has a lasting affect.
-
I've always loved this poem, in fact I've always loved poe's work. But this is my favourite piece.
-
very many tactics used in all poetry, but in such an extended piece, it is not unusual..i was surprised, cause though i have read this before, memory fails me, and i payed closer attention to the poetic prowess...i was stunned by the articulate nature, rhythmic flow, and continuing structure...some piece did seem to lost attention, but other lines grasp even harder, and it does read easy, from beginning, to end...glad i stopped by
peace
chris -
What other poem was ever written that incorporates the best of everything that makes a poem great. The lyrical quality, the genius of alliteration, the meter and rhyme, the mistique and the beauty, the story, the mystery, the perfect wording, the flowing phrases. Love this
-
10/10
I have read this piece countless times, and I really don't think I need to read it here to give my comment on it. Tho, I am sure I will read it anyways, because I am like that and this is a great piece that Edgar Poe wrote.
The rhymes in this is almost flawless, there are hints that it breaks in a few parts and may be Poe meant that - I don't know. May be it gave it an edge that most can't see or feel.
The rhythm is great, it glides from the first word spoke to the very last word spoke.
And the basis of the story is haunting. Not very many poems give me that 'haunting' feeling but I must say at times, especially when I get really into the piece, it does give me those chills.
This is one of his best if not the best.
-
IT DIDNT SEEM RIGHT I DIDNT GO VISIT MY MENTOR WORK. SINCE THIS NOBLE RAVEN INFLUENCE COMES FROM HIM. GREAT POEM. MY FAVORITE POEM OF ALL TIME. ROCK ON POE!
-RAven Evermore -
Nice poem - the Raven intrigues me, as I am in the midst of a poetry class project, but do not fully undertsand the poem after stanza 13. Hmm... 13, eh? sounds about right to me...
-
Perfectly Dark!!!!!
Today I came here to explore, Why one and all love E. A. Poe
To find out what he has in store, and so The Raven I read.
I found that I was taken in, my doubts of him forsakening
Yes his work breathtakening, (lol) so I wonder why no more,
And so no more do I wonder, why one and all love E.A Poe,
Doubting him? Nay, NEVERMORE!
-
wow...better than any story
well...that was a very good poem...everyone knows it...even the simpsons...I really liked the Raven: Nevermore! it was a very good poem. -
don't touch it!
The man knew what he wanted in life, and so he got it even after death!
The greatest poet of all time! He truely is! -
don't touch it!
Mysterious is how I like it... Poe rocks!! -
don't touch it!
Quoth the Raven... Nvrmr -
don't touch it!
This poem is the best poem ever created to be read on this earth.
I personally have never read a poem better and for that matter probably never will, if so it would be extremely unexpected! -
neutral
the greatest poet in my mind anyway. His poems are mysterious and very much morbid and dark. and wouldn't that spell PPOOEE?? Slave? -
don't touch it!
I love this poem. I wrote a report on Poe for my 5th grade teacher, he is a great poet and even some kids can understand his great ideas, i should know i'm 12! -
don't touch it!
This poem rocks!!! all time fav!
~MidnightStorm~ -
neutral
Give me a P! P!
Give me an O! O !
Give me an E! E!
What does that spell? POE!!! -
neutral
Stanza eleven 0wnz. Classic work indeed.
-Brandon -
neutral
gotta love this poem!! no matter how played up it is, it stays completly awesome!!!!! -
excellent
I may still be a very young poet.... But this poem is what help me realize of the art of poetry.... with that.. This poem has and always will be my favorite poem of all time, and wish that sometime in the future I could write a piece such as this.... Yet may not happen... But dreams may come true..... and for mr. poe.... He made his dream into a reality.... -Gabe -
don't touch it!
I LOVE this poem....this poem RULES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Good job Edgar... may god be with you forever...
~Crystal~ -
don't touch it!
i'm with all of you, yes, not only do i love this poem, but all of poe's works, he was a misunderstood poet in my opinion, brilliant, if i could just come close with my own works... -
i luv this poemmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
-
He's my favorite author and my favorite poem so this is a five star poem
-
Quite an old favorite of mine, and I can recite a few lines I've commited to memory.
-
-
-
OOh If you could have one thing in the entire world I d go meet Poe He is My poectic hero!!!
-
This is very good but not great... wonder why people rave(n) about it!
Still...suppose, if I could write like that, I'd be a happy bunny. -
as a lil boy i was very ...errrr strange and i loved all of poes work personaly the raven reminds me of well ME! lol i try well that was fun must make more poems and submit them as i leave
-Raven quoth NEVERMORE! -
go poe
-
an old favorite of mine.
'And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted- nevermore!' -
an old favorite of mine.
'And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted- nevermore!' -
my all time fave :)
-
wow
-
best poem ever written...i loved it.
-
This peom is very kewl. It is my favorite poem in the world. I wish ther ewas another poem writer in our time that was that good!!!
-
This soul searching poem should live forever.
Richard Orrick -
-
mysterious and a wee bit scary
-
i'm writing a paper on this poem, this poem shows much symbolism throughout the body of the poem,, between the raven and the narrators lost Lenore
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
this is an exellent poem
-
-
this is one of his best works.
Quoth the Raven,'Nevermore.' -
awesome! my fav!
-
very cool poem
-
this is a very intriguing poem. that has all the qualities of Poe's work
-
one of my personal faves. because of how dark it is.
-
my fav. of all poems
-
this is one of my fav poems. I love Poe's mysterious works
-
this poem to me is very moving and gets the mind going
-
Everyone knows this poem or at least knows of it, and for one reason and one only. It is classic, wonderful and poignant!
-
this poem rulz.
Adding your comment:
100 - 173 of 173
< previous
1
2
