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“The Raven” is a poem written by Edgar Allen Poe around 1845. A hallmark of Gothic literature, the poem was an instant success, and Poe himself claimed to have written the piece in an attempt to appeal to both critics and everyday readers. Written in trochaic octameter, “The Raven” portrays a grieving lover’s uncanny encounter with a talking raven, relying on the repetition of the word “nevermore” to create its trademark unsettling tone.

On a bleak December night, the poem’s unnamed narrator peruses an old book, attempting to distract himself from the recent loss of his love, Lenore. Nearly asleep, he hears a tapping at the door to his room but tells himself that it is merely a visitor. He hesitates to answer, but when he finally manages to open the door, there is no one there. He whispers “Lenore” to the darkness and is chilled to hear the name echoed back at him.

Returning to his room, the narrator hears the tapping again and decides that it is coming from his window. Again, he comforts himself, deciding that it must be the wind. But when he opens the window, a raven flies into the room, startling him.

The raven perches atop a bust of Pallas, or Athena (the Greek goddess of wisdom), above the narrator’s door. At first, the bird’s grave appearance amuses the narrator, who asks the bird for its name. The raven stuns him by responding with the word: “Nevermore.”

Again, the narrator attempts to comfort himself, this time by predicting that the raven is bound to leave “tomorrow,” just as his “friends” and “Hopes [had] flown before.” The raven replies with the same, solitary word: “nevermore.” The narrator muses that the raven must have learned this word from a previous owner. Sitting down, the narrator realizes that Lenore will never again occupy his chair and he begins to ponder the meaning of “nevermore.”

Suddenly, the narrator has the sense that angels have approached and grows angry at the bird, calling it a prophet of doom. Fearful for his life, the narrator asks if there is “balm in Gilead,” and if he will see Lenore in heaven. To both questions, the raven responds, “Nevermore.” Furious, the narrator finally demands that the raven leave him alone. But the raven remains on the bust of Pallas, speaking only the cursed word, and the narrator fears that his soul will be parted from the raven’s shadow “nevermore."

Visit https://www.gradesaver.com/poes-poetry/study-guide/summary-the-raven to read our study guide for this classic story and Poe's other famous poems.