The Raven and Other Poems

The Raven is one of the most famous poems by the prominent American poet Edgar Allan Poe. It was first published on 29 January 1845 in the New York Evening Mirror.

The narrator is the main character, a lonely man tormented by fever and, above all, by the torturous memories of his deceased love, Lenore, to whom he fruitlessly seeks a path by reading occult volumes. At midnight, the narrator is startled by a noise. The source of the strange sounds turns out to be a raven, which then flies into his chamber and perches on a bust of Pallas Athena. The raven's mysterious nature gradually unnerves the man. The man's unease escalates into panic and then terror. He tries to drive the raven away, but it remains in its place.