The Raven
OBJ: I WILL APPLY MY
UNDERSTANDING OF LITERARY
ELEMENTS TO A POEM
Question of the Day 9/22
**READ The first two stanza
1. What motivated Poe to write
“The Raven”
2. What kind of mood is
created in the poem?
Provide evidence.
3. What does a raven symbolize?
4. What is the setting of the story?
Question of the Day 9/23
**Answer questions in your
notebook
 How does the Raven reply to every question
the man asks?
 What specific questions does the man ask in
which the Raven answers “Nevermore”
 What is the Raven overshadowing in the
story? (think about where the Raven in
perched)
Question of the Day 9/26
 What indication is there that the man may
have dreamt the entire episode?
 In “The Raven”, what is the speaker hoping
the raven can tell him?
 What things contribute to the “mood” of the
story?
Stanza 1
 The narrator is someone who feels tired and
weak and who has started to fall asleep while
reading in the middle of a gloomy December
night. He passes the time by reading a
strange book. Suddenly, he thinks he hears
someone at his door. He explains to himself
that it is nothing more than a visitor knocking
at his door.
Stanza 2
 It is December, and a fireplace had been lit,
but now the fire was going out, and it cast an
scary glow. To escape his sadness, the
speaker has been reading to find something
in his books that would take his mind off his
lost love, Lenore. He reveals that Lenore has
died when he says that the angels call her by
name.
Stanza 3
 The sound of the curtains as they move
makes him nervous. The speaker tries to calm
down by telling himself that the tapping
noise (introduced in stanza one) is only the
sound of a visitor knocking on his door.
Stanza 4
 The speaker calls out to the supposed visitor.
But when he opens the door he finds only
darkness and nothing else
Stanza 5
 He stands looking out of his door, at the
“darkness”. It is silent and still outside, so his
imagination increased. Finally he whispered
the name of his dead lover, “Lenore,” and he
heard it echoed in the night.
Stanza 6
 He returns to his room, but the tapping
sound continues, even louder, and the
speaker goes to the window to investigate
Stanza 7
 The speaker finally reveals the source of the
mysterious tapping noise—a bird. Upon
opening the window, the speaker discovers a
Raven who flies in and sits on top of the
speaker’s “bust of Pallas.”(goddess of
wisdom).
Stanza 8
 The bird’s presence makes the speaker forget
his sadness for a while. He also suggest that
the bird may come for the underworld (land
of the dead). He asks the bird name. The bird
replies “Nevermore”.
Stanza 9 & 10
 He talks about the bird’s reply to his previous
question making no sense; however, he feels
lucky to have the bird there.
 He asks the bird if he will leave him, just as
other friends have. The bird replies
“nevermore”
Stanza 11 & 12
 The man thinks the raven has been taught
this one word, “nevermore”, by a previous
master.
 He pulls up a chair and sit wondering what
the Raven means by “Nevermore”
Stanza 13
 The speaker thinks about the Rave as he sits
in Lenore’s chair
Stanza 14
 The speaker thinks he smells Lenore’s
perfume, and he thinks it is a gift from the
angels. Most likely, he smells her because he
sits in her chair. He starts to become
depressed again and asks the angels to give
him a potion of forgetfulness (nepenthe)
Stanza 15
 He gets mad at the raven for the response to
his last question and accuses the raven of
being evil or the devil. However, he ask him
another question - Is the balm in Gilead?
(meaning will he ever get over his sorrow).
The raven tells him NO.
Stanza 16
 He then gets upset again, but ask the raven
yet another question. “will he see Lenore
again (afterlife)?” The raven responds NO
Stanza 17
 The speaker is at his angriest and ask the bird
to leave. The speakers has decided to
continue to be alone in his miserable state of
mind.
Stanza 18
 He ends the poem by telling us that the raven
(which symbolizes death and evil) did not
leave and still sits above his door. It still sits
on the bust of Pallas (knowledge) indicating
that death and evil have overpowered the
speakers wisdom and his ability to get over
the death of Lenore
Summary
(on next available left page in notebook. Write at
least half a page)
 Write a summary of the story. Make sure to
include the key elements of the plot.
 In addition, explain how this story closely
mirrors Poe’s life (do not just say because his
wife past away)
Processing
 On the top of your summary use a plot
diagram or flow map and label each part as
(exposition, rising action (4 events), climax, falling
action and resolution > put the stanza number
next to the part and give a brief summary)
Audio
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLSmhpwLdEQ
 http://legacy.teachersfirst.com/share/raven/st1.html
 http://dotsub.com/view/58591756-7128-488c-bfe9-
22463d46d907
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