This epic poem written by Edgar Allen Poe is a narrative that experiences a tremendous level of sorrow and defeat. It centers around the theme of lost love and Poe persists with a message of move on and let go. Edgar Allen Poe is insightful to the reader and tries to draw them to move forward with their lives after a loss. The past lover (Lenore) is being observed by her love when a raven flies over and simply asks about her. Ravens traditionally are symbols of death and despair, so this question is like the Grime Reaper asking her lover to justify her existence. These worksheets will help students explore this hugely regarded work of classical literature. They are composed of titles that help students explore the highs and the lows of Poe's work.
Literary Devices - A great way to plot and track techniques that appear in this work.
Vocabulary - Match each word to its meaning.
The Setting - Briefly discuss how each set of lines develops the poem's setting.
Assonance - Assonance is a literary device in which similar vowel sounds are repeated close to each other within a line of text.
Symbols - A symbol is a thing that represents or stands for something else, especially a material object that represents something abstract.
Poe's Life - Research the life of Edgar Allen Poe to find answers to the questions below.
Rhyme Scheme - How would you describe the rhythm of the poem? How does the rhythm of the poem contribute to its overall effect?
Allusions - Where can you see this technique used?
Who Is the Speaker? - What can you infer about the speaker's personality and character traits from the poem?
Themes - How are each of the themes that are given presented in the work?
Main Ideas - Identify and discuss the main ideas of the poem.
Diction - How is this used to create a mood or tone?
Masterpiece? - Not all scholars agree on this.
Is it Real? - What do you think? Is the raven really there?
Line by Line Analysis - Include the meter/rhyme scheme, literal meaning of the lines, and any literary devices. What is the cumulative overall effect of the stanza?
Celebrated writer, literary critic, editor, and poet Edgar Allan Poe's narrative poem, The Raven, was first published in 1845. Narrated by an unnamed speaker devastated by the death of the woman he loved, it personifies those feelings of loss and heartache.
The reader can feel this intense grief throughout the poem.The Raven is also an apt depiction of the myriad emotional struggles that a person has to deal with in their life. In particular, it talks about the mind-numbing fight to control one's emotions of loss and grief. Even though these battles aren't physical, they can leave a person just as mentally drained, battered, and abused.
The Raven is a beautiful poem and one of Poe's seminal works. It resonates with the experiences and feelings of every reader who happens to come across this piece of great literature.
Setting & Plot
The setting is the gloomy chamber of an anonymous young man on a cold and "dreary December night." As he tries to kill time by reading some mysterious old books, he aches for Lenore, presumably the love of his life who passed away recently.
He tries to deal with the heart-wrenching loss by reading only to be disturbed by someone knocking on the door. However, no one's outside when he goes to look. Consumed by sadness and despair, he calls out "Lenore," probably out of some false sense of hope. But, it's only his own words echo in the open space.
Surprisingly, and somewhat worryingly, the knocking sound continues. It was coming from the direction of the window this instance. Though he assumes it's the wind, there's still a feeling of uneasiness within the narrator.
As he opens the window, a raven flies in and positions itself on the Athena's bust. The bird's arrival cheers the man up slightly, and he even jokingly asks for its name. Shockingly, the raven replies with the word "Nevermore."
Lenore, Nevermore!
The narrator keeps his cool despite the shock of the raven's answer, expecting it to fly away at any moment. He whispers as much to himself and is surprised to hear the bird pronounce the same word for the second time.
Curious, the man seats himself in front of the raven to understand the meaning of "Nevermore." Soon after, he concludes that God's angels must have made added thickness and fragrance to the air around. In his anxiousness to get an answer, he asks the bird if the angels are a sign of good things to come and whether the heavens will erase his pain by returning his beloved to him.
Once again, the raven says "Nevermore," perhaps telling the young man not to get his hopes up. He then asks the bird to leave, but his request is rejected with the same word.In the end, the narrator reveals that the bird has continued to perch itself above his chamber door on the bust of Pallas Athena. And that he's destined to live in its shadow forever!