I Shall Go Back Again to the Bleak Shore Analysis

"The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe is one of the nigh well-known poems e'er written. It brought its author worldwide fame and has frequently been analyzed, performed, and parodied. But what about this poem makes it and so special?

In this guide, we give yous a complete overview of "The Raven," discussing everything from the sad stories behind its cosmos and what is actually going on betwixt the narrator and the raven, to its themes and the poetic devices it uses so effectively.

The Raven Poem: Full Text

Below is the complete text of The Raven verse form, written by Edgar Allan Poe and published in 1845. It consists of xviii stanzas and a total of 108 lines.

In one case upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,

Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore—

While I nodded, nigh napping, suddenly at that place came a tapping,

As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.

"'Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my bedchamber door—

Simply this and nothing more than."

Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December;

And each split up dying ember wrought its ghost upon the flooring.

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, deplorable, uncertain rustling of each regal mantle

Thrilled me—filled me with fantastic terrors never felt earlier;

And then that now, to still the beating of my eye, I stood repeating

"'Tis some company entreating entrance at my sleeping room door—

Some belatedly visitor entreating entrance at my sleeping room door;—

This information technology is and nothing more."

Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,

"Sir," said I, "or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;

Simply the fact is I was napping, and then gently you lot came rapping,

And and so faintly y'all came tapping, tapping at my bedroom door,

That I scarce was certain I heard yous"—here I opened wide the door;—

Darkness at that place and cipher 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 just word in that location spoken was the whispered discussion, "Lenore?"

This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, "Lenore!"—

Merely this and nothing more than.

Dorsum into the chamber turning, all my soul inside 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 run across, then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore—

Let my heart be notwithstanding a moment and this mystery explore;—

 'Tis the wind and nil 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 in a higher place my chamber door—

Perched upon a bust of Pallas just higher up my bedchamber door—

Perched, and sat, and null more.

And so 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, grand," I said, "art sure no chicken,

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 respond little pregnant—niggling relevancy bore;

For we cannot aid agreeing that no living human existence

E'er notwithstanding was blest with seeing bird in a higher place his chamber door—

Bird or brute upon the sculptured bust in a higher place his chamber door,

With such proper noun equally "Nevermore."

Just the Raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only

That one word, as if his soul in that one discussion he did outpour.

Nothing farther so he uttered—not a plume so he fluttered—

Till I scarcely more than than muttered "Other friends have flown earlier—

On the morrow he will leave me, as my Hopes take flown earlier."

Then the bird said "Nevermore."

Startled at the stillness broken by reply and then aptly spoken,

"Doubtless," said I, "what it utters is its just stock and store

Caught from some unhappy principal whom unmerciful Disaster

Followed fast and followed faster till his songs i burden diameter—

Till the dirges of his Promise that melancholy brunt diameter

Of 'Never—nevermore'."

But the Raven still fallacious all my fancy into grinning,

Directly 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 husky "Nevermore."

This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing

To the fowl whose fiery optics at present burned into my bosom'due south core;

This and more than I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining

On the cushion's velvet lining that the lamp-light gloated o'er,

Merely whose velvet-violet lining with the lamp-light gloating o'er,

She shall press, ah, nevermore!

And so, 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;

Carouse, oh carouse this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore!"

Quoth the Raven "Nevermore."

"Prophet!" said I, "thing of evil!—prophet yet, if bird or devil!—

Whether Tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,

Desolate still 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, "matter of evil!—prophet still, if bird or devil!

Past that Heaven that bends higher up us—by that God we both adore—

Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn,

Information technology shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore—

Clasp a rare and radiant maiden whom the angels proper name Lenore."

Quoth the Raven "Nevermore."

"Be that word our sign of parting, bird or fiend!" I shrieked, upstarting—

"Go thee dorsum into the storm and the Dark'southward Plutonian shore!

Go out no black plumage as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!

Leave my loneliness unbroken!—quit the bust in a higher place my door!

Take thy beak from out my middle, and have thy form from off my door!"

Quoth the Raven "Nevermore."

And the Raven, never flitting, even so is sitting, still is sitting

On the pallid bust of Pallas just in a higher place my bedroom door;

And his optics have all the seeming of a demon'due south that is dreaming,

And the lamp-lite 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!

What Is "The Raven" Near?

"The Raven" is a poem about a homo who is heartbroken over the recent expiry of his honey Lenore. Equally he passes a solitary December night in his room, a raven taps repeatedly on the door and and so the window. The man offset thinks the racket is caused by a belatedly night visitor come to disturb him, and he is surprised to find the raven when he opens the window shutter. After being allow in, the raven flies to and lands on a bosom of Pallas (an ancient Greek goddess of wisdom).

The human is amused by how serious the raven looks, and he begins talking to the raven; however, the bird can merely reply by croaking "nevermore."

The man reflects aloud that the bird volition leave him presently equally all the people he cared nigh have left him. When the raven replies "nevermore," the man takes information technology as the bird agreeing with him, although it'south unclear if the raven actually understands what the man is proverb or is just speaking the one word it knows.

As the man continues to antipodal with the bird, he slowly loses his grip on reality. He moves his chair directly in front of the raven and asks it despairing questions, including whether he and Lenore volition be reunited in heaven. Now, instead of being merely amused by the bird, he takes the raven's repeated "nevermore" response equally a sign that all his night thoughts are true. He somewhen grows aroused and shrieks at the raven, calling information technology a devil and a affair of evil.

The verse form ends with the raven all the same sitting on the bust of Pallas and the narrator, seemingly defeated past his grief and madness, declaring that his soul shall be lifted "nevermore."

Background on "The Raven"

Edgar Allan Poe wrote "The Raven" during a difficult period in his life. His wife, Virginia, was suffering from tuberculosis, Poe was struggling to make money as an unknown writer, and he began drinking heavily and picking fights with coworkers and other writers. Information technology'south easy to see how he could have conjured the dark and melancholy mood of "The Raven."

Information technology'south not known how long Poe spent writing "The Raven," (guesses range from anywhere to a single day to over a decade) only it'due south thought about likely that he wrote the poem in the summer of 1844. In his essay, "The Philosophy of Composition," Poe stated that he chose to focus the poem on the death of a beautiful woman considering it is "unquestionably the most poetical topic in the world." He hoped "The Raven" would make him famous, and, in the same essay, stated that he purposely wrote the poem to appeal to both "the popular and the disquisitional taste."

"The Raven" was published in the newspaper The New York Evening Mirror on January 29, 1845 (depending on the source, Poe was paid either $9 or $fifteen for it). "The Raven" brought Poe instant fame, although not the financial security he was looking for. Critical reception was mixed, with some famous writers such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and William Butler Yeats expressing their dislike for the poem. Despite those initial mixed reviews, The Raven verse form has continued its popularity and is now one of the most well-known poems in the world. Countless parodies take been written, and the poem has been referenced in everything from The Simpsons to the NFL team the Baltimore Ravens (their mascot is even named "Poe").

Major Themes in "The Raven"

From The Raven summary, we know information technology's definitely a melancholy verse form, and about of its themes revolve around grim topics. Hither are three of the most important themes.

Theme 1: Grief

Grief is the overwhelming emotion in "The Raven," and the narrator is admittedly consumed by his grief for his lost beloved, Lenore. At the outset of the poem, he tries to distract himself from his sadness by reading a "volume of forgotten lore", merely when the raven arrives, he immediately begins peppering it with questions nearly Lenore and becomes further lost in his grief at the raven's response of "nevermore." Past the finish of the poem, the narrator is seemingly broken, stating that his soul volition never again exist "lifted" due to his sadness.

Poe stated that the raven itself was a symbol of grief, specifically, that it represented "mournful and never-ending remembrance." He purposely chose a raven over a parrot (a bird species better known for its power to speak) because he thought a raven suited the dark tone of the poem better.

Edgar Allan Poe had experienced a corking deal of grief past the time he wrote "The Raven," and he had seen people close to him get out, fall gravely sick, or die. He would have been well aware of the consuming power that grief can have and how it has the power to absorb everything else out.

Theme 2: Devotion

Information technology'due south the narrator's deep beloved for Lenore that causes him such grief, and later rage and madness. Even though Lenore has died, the narrator however loves her and appears unable to think of anything but her. In the verse form, he speaks of Lenore in superlatives, calling her "sainted" and "radiant." In his mind, she is completely perfect, practically a saint. His love for this woman who is no longer hither distracts him from everything in his current life. With this theme, Poe is showing the ability of dearest and how it can go on to be powerful even after death.

Theme three: Rationality vs Irrationality

At the get-go of the verse form, the narrator is rational enough to understand that Lenore is dead and he volition non see her once again. When the raven start begins repeating "nevermore," he realizes that the answer is the bird's "only stock and store," and he won't go another response no matter what he asks. He seems to even detect the bird vaguely amusing.

Notwithstanding, equally the poem continues, the narrator's irrationality increases as he asks the raven questions it couldn't possibly know and takes its repeated response of "nevermore" to be a true and logical answer. He and so descends further into madness, cursing the bird every bit a "devil" and "thing of evil" and thinking he feels angels surrounding him earlier sinking into his grief. He has clearly come up undone past the finish of the poem.

In "The Raven," Poe wanted to evidence the fine line between rational idea and madness and how strong emotions, such as grief, can push a person into irrationality, even during mundane interactions like the one the narrator had with the raven.

The 7 Key Poetic Devices "The Raven" Uses

Edgar Allan Poe makes utilize of many poetic devices in "The Raven" to create a memorable and moving piece of writing. Beneath nosotros talk over seven of the well-nigh important of these devices and how they contribute to the poem.

Alliteration

Ingemination is the repetition of a sound or letter at the beginning of multiple words in a work, and it's perhaps the most obvious poetic device in "The Raven." The poem is full of alliteration, such equally the phrases "weak and weary," "near napping," and "followed fast and followed faster." This poetic device helps requite the verse form its famous musicality and is one of the reasons people love to recite it.

Allusion

An allusion is an indirect reference to something, and Poe makes multiple allusions in "The Raven." Some key ones include:

• The bust of Pallas the raven sits on refers to Pallas Athena, the aboriginal Greek goddess of wisdom.

• Nepenthe is a drug mentioned in Homer's ancient ballsy The Odyssey, and it is purported to erase memories.

• The Balm of Gilead is a reference to a healing cream mentioned in the Book of Jeremiah in the Bible.

• Aidenn refers to the Garden of Eden, although the narrator likely uses it to hateful "heaven" in general, as he wants to know if that's where he and Lenore will reunite.

• Ravens themselves are mentioned in many stories, including Norse mythology and Ovid'south epic poem Metamorphoses.

Many readers would be well-versed in the books and stories alluded to in the verse form, and they would have understood the references without Poe having to explicitly explain where each was derived from. Doing so would have broken the tension and mood of the poem, and then Poe is able to simply allude to them.

Assonance

Similar to alliteration, assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in ane or more words found close together. It serves the same purpose equally ingemination and appears commencement in the starting time line of the poem, where the long "e" audio is repeated in the words "dreary," "weak," and "weary."

Meter

The majority of "The Raven" follows trochaic octameter, which is when there are 8 trochaic feet per line, and each foot has ane stressed syllable followed by ane unstressed syllable.

However, Poe actually used several types of meter, and he is said to have based both the meter and rhyming pattern of "The Raven" off Elizabeth Barrett's poem " Lady Geraldine'south Courting." Meter is very prominent in "The Raven," and, along with other poetic devices, helps brand information technology such a pop poem to recite.

Repetition

Many words are repeated in "The Raven" the near famous existence the discussion "nevermore" repeated by the bird himself throughout the poem. Other commonly repeated words and phrases in the verse form include "Lenore," "sleeping accommodation door" and "null more." These all rhyme with "nevermore" and add together to the feeling of despondency in the poem by emphasizing the raven's bleak respond to every question.

Rhyme

The rhyming design in "The Raven" follows the blueprint ABCBBB. The "B" lines all rhyme with "nevermore" and place additional emphasis on the last syllable of the line.

At that place is also quite a chip of internal rhyme inside the poem, such as the line "But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token," where "unbroken" rhymes with "token."

Internal rhyming occurs in the starting time line of each stanza. It also occurs in the 3rd line and office of the quaternary line of each stanza. In the example "Get out no black plumage as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!/Go out my loneliness unbroken!—quit the bust above my door!" "token" and "spoken" in the tertiary line of the stanza rhyme with "unbroken" in the quaternary line of the stanza.

Onomatopoeia

Onomatopoeia is when the name of a word is associated with the audio information technology makes, and it occurs throughout "The Raven," such as with the words "rapping," "tapping," "shrieked," and "whispered." It all helps add to the atmospheric quality of the poem and makes readers feel every bit though they are really in the room with the narrator and the raven.

What's Next?

"Ozymandias" by Percy Shelley is another famous and often-studied poem. Learn all nigh this poem and its famous line "look on my works, ye mighty, and despair" in our complete guide to Ozymandias.

There are many more than poetic devices than those included in "The Raven." Read our guide on the xx poetic devices you need to know so you can go an expert.

Taking AP Literature? We've got you covered! In our proficient guide to the AP Literature test, we've compiled all the information you demand to know about the test and how to study for information technology to go a acme score.

Have friends who besides need help with test prep? Share this article!

About the Writer

Christine graduated from Michigan State University with degrees in Ecology Biology and Geography and received her Master'due south from Knuckles University. In loftier school she scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT and was named a National Merit Finalist. She has taught English and biological science in several countries.

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