The Raven Flashcards
by Edgar Allan Poe — tap or click to flip
Flashcard Review
Flashcards: The Raven
What is the narrator doing when the poem opens?
He is reading old books ('quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore') alone at midnight, nodding off to sleep.
What time of year and time of day is it when the Raven arrives?
It is a midnight in 'bleak December,' emphasizing cold, darkness, and the dying of the year.
What does the narrator find when he first opens the chamber door?
He finds only darkness and silence -- nothing is there. He whispers 'Lenore' and hears his own echo.
How does the Raven enter the narrator's chamber?
The narrator opens the window shutter, and the Raven flies in with a 'flirt and flutter,' perching on the bust of Pallas above the door.
What is the only word the Raven speaks throughout the poem?
'Nevermore.' It repeats this single word in response to every question the narrator asks.
How does the narrator's attitude toward the Raven change over the course of the poem?
He shifts from amusement and curiosity to desperate questioning about Lenore, and finally to rage and despair when every answer is 'Nevermore.'
What happens at the end of the poem -- does the Raven leave?
No. The Raven 'never flitting, still is sitting' on the bust of Pallas, and the narrator declares his soul shall be lifted from its shadow 'nevermore.'
What is the narrator's final emotional state?
He is trapped in permanent despair, his soul imprisoned beneath the Raven's shadow with no hope of relief.
Who is Lenore, and what is her relationship to the narrator?
Lenore is the narrator's beloved who has died. He calls her a 'rare and radiant maiden whom the angels named Lenore.'
Why has the narrator been reading books at midnight?
He is trying to find 'surcease of sorrow' -- relief from his grief over the death of Lenore.
How is the Raven described when it first enters the chamber?
It is called 'stately,' making no obeisance, with the 'mien of lord or lady' -- dignified and imperious, not timid.
What does the narrator initially assume about why the Raven says 'Nevermore'?
He guesses the bird learned the word from a previous unhappy owner whose misfortunes made 'Nevermore' the only word it knows.
Does the narrator view the Raven as natural or supernatural?
His view shifts -- he first sees it as an ordinary bird, then calls it 'prophet,' 'thing of evil,' and questions whether it is sent by God or the devil.
How does the poem explore the theme of grief becoming self-torture?
The narrator deliberately asks questions he knows will produce painful answers, feeding his own despair rather than seeking comfort.
What does the poem suggest about the possibility of reuniting with the dead?
When the narrator asks if he will clasp Lenore in the afterlife ('distant Aidenn'), the answer is 'Nevermore,' denying even that consolation.
How does the poem portray the relationship between reason and despair?
The narrator begins as a rational scholar but is gradually overwhelmed by emotion, showing grief's power to erode rational thought.
What is the significance of the Raven perching on the bust of Pallas (Athena)?
Pallas is the goddess of wisdom; the Raven sitting atop it suggests dark, irrational grief has overtaken reason and learning.
What is the 'Night's Plutonian shore' an allusion to?
Pluto is the Roman god of the underworld, so 'Plutonian shore' means the dark realm of death -- linking the Raven to the world of the dead.
What poetic meter does Poe use in 'The Raven,' and what effect does it create?
Trochaic octameter -- a driving, hypnotic rhythm that mirrors the narrator's obsessive, spiraling thoughts.
Identify an example of internal rhyme in the poem.
'Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary' -- 'dreary' and 'weary' rhyme within the same line.
What is nepenthe, and why does the narrator beg for it?
Nepenthe is a mythical drug that erases sorrow. The narrator pleads for it to forget Lenore, but the Raven answers 'Nevermore.'
What does 'surcease' mean in the line 'vainly I had sought to borrow / From my books surcease of sorrow'?
Surcease means relief or cessation. The narrator has been trying, without success, to end his grief through reading.
What does 'obeisance' mean in 'Not the least obeisance made he'?
Obeisance means a gesture of respect or submission. The Raven shows no deference, acting as though it owns the room.
What is the biblical allusion in 'Is there balm in Gilead?'
It refers to Jeremiah 8:22, asking whether any healing exists for suffering. The Raven's 'Nevermore' denies the narrator any comfort.
What does 'Aidenn' refer to when the narrator asks about the 'distant Aidenn'?
Aidenn is an Arabic-influenced word for Eden or paradise -- the narrator is asking if he will see Lenore in heaven.
What is the significance of the line 'Take thy beak from out my heart'?
It is a metaphor showing the Raven's word has become a physical wound -- 'Nevermore' is piercing the narrator's heart, not just his ears.
What does the final line -- 'Shall be lifted -- nevermore!' -- reveal about the narrator's fate?
The narrator accepts that his soul will never escape the shadow of grief. He is condemned to permanent despair.
What is the effect of the repeated refrain 'Nothing more' / 'Nevermore' throughout the poem?
The refrain builds from mundane reassurance ('nothing more') to existential finality ('Nevermore'), mirroring the narrator's descent from calm into anguish.