The Raven

Story

The poem tells the story of a raven who mysteriously visits a man who is heartbroken because his love, Lenore, has died. He believes the raven is ominous and it is only there because something terrible will happen.

Why we chose it

A dramatic and atmospheric poem.

Where it came from

Edgar Allan Poe (born Edgar Poe, 1809-1849), an American writer and poet, was prompted to write this poem, in part, by a talking raven in the novel Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of Eighty by Charles Dickens. Poe also stated that the death of Lenore in the poem was chosen because "the death... of a beautiful woman is unquestionably the most poetical topic in the world".

Where it went next

The Raven made Edgar Allan Poe a household name almost immediately and turned him into a national celebrity. The poem was soon widely reprinted, imitated, and parodied. In 1963 Roger Corman produced and directed an American comedy horror film based on the poem and it also featured in an episode of ‘The Simpsons’, created by Matt Groening (1990).

Associated stories

Edgar Allan Poe's best-known works include the poems: To Helen (1831) and Annabel Lee (1849) and his short stories: The Murders in the Rue Morgue (1841) and The Tell-Tale Heart (1843). The Raven has also influenced a wealth of modern literature, painters and composers such as Maurice Ravel.