Poe,+Edgar+Alan

** The Raven [[image:http://lisawallerrogers.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/the-raven_gustave-dore-1884.jpg width="213" height="326" align="right"]] **

 * Summary:** The poem starts out with the narrator lying on his bed, not being able to fall asleep. It is a late dreary December night. Suddenly, he hears tapping at his chamber door. He is startled and tells himself that it is just a visitor. It turns out that he has lost his love Lenore and was trying to distract himself by reading books. Apologizing to the visitor for taking a long time, he musters up enough courage to open the door. He opens the door and finds nothing but the darkness. He whispers the word Lenore and hears an echo murmur back the word Lenore. He closes the door and feels as he did before, depressed. He then thinks the tapping came from the window and goes to check. As he opens the window, a Raven flies in and lands on a statue in front of his chamber door. He asks the Raven what its name is. The Raven replies, "Nevermore". He believes the Raven will be gone by tomorrow like many others that have "flown before". The Raven replies, "Nevermore". He is shocked at the Raven's reply, however, believes that "nevermore" is the only saying the Raven knows. Still curious about the Raven, he pulls up a seat in front of the statue. While he is sitting there he is reminded of Lenore, by the velvet cushions. He realizes that she will never sit on one of the cushions ever again. This realization saddens him deeply. He then imagines the air to be filling with the scent of perfume. He takes this as a sign from God to forget about Lenore. Feeling upset, he starts to yell at the Raven. He asks the Raven if there is hope in his future. The Raven answers, "nevermore". He also asks if he will be able to see Lenore in heaven, which the Raven answers with nevermore. The speaker feels as though the shadow of the Raven, which is still on the statue, has imprisoned his soul.

"Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary,"
 * Correlation:**

"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."

Poe is known for his "uncanny talent of exposing our common nightmares and hysteria lurking beneath our carefully structured lives". I thought the whole poem, these two excerpts especially, connected to Poe. By starting out with "Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary,", Poe is setting the reader up for a dark and gloomy setting. As the reader I felt a little creeped out, which is the way I felt reading other pieces by Poe. By having the speaker whisper a word out into the darkness and then have an echo whisper it back is even more eerie. While reading this poem, I felt a little scared. The knocking on the door in the middle of the night with nobody being there, reminded me of a horror movie. I could easily tell that this was a "Poe poem". His creepy style of writing definitely stood out.

"Is there-is there balm in Gilead?-tell me - tell me, I implore!" "Respite - respite and nepenthe from thy memories of Lenore!"

Poe's word choice stuck out to me while reading The Raven, as well as his other pieces. Some of the words or sayings he used, I have never seen before. He seemed to use ancient words such as "nepenthe" and "balm in Gilead". I think Poe's vocabulary is specific to his poems and stories. Nepenthe: ancient potion used to comfort grieving people Balm in Gilead: soothing ointment made in Gilead

While I was reading this poem, I could connect to how the speaker was feeling. I think everybody has those night when you can not fall asleep, with thoughts running through your head. I think most people in the world would feel depressed and abandoned if their lover was gone. I thought it was interesting that Poe chose a raven, since ravens usually do not speak. It is understandable though, since a parrot does not fit with the eerie feel of the poem. I think Poe does a good job in creeping out the reader. Instead of the poem being a sad tale of an abandoned lover, Poe throws in a grave Raven and creepy tapping into the already gloomy setting. I think the speaker must have felt extremely distressed for him to talk about his sorrows with a raven. I think he lost all hope after hearing the Raven's answer, which told him that he would not be able to see Lenore in heaven and that he did not have hope in his future for comfort. He should not have asked the Raven the questions about Lenore because he knew the Raven would answer 'nevermore', which upset him even more. The speaker must have really loved Lenore.
 * Reflection:**