The Raven

Notes by Edmund Clarence Stedman · Illustrated by Gustave Doré

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"Nevermore." Poe's haunting masterpiece and other dark, lyrical works that defined American Gothic poetry.

"The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe is a narrative poem first published in January 1845. On a bleak December night, a grief-stricken student mourning his lost love Lenore receives an unexpected visitor: a mysterious raven that speaks only one word—"Nevermore." As the bird perches ominously above his chamber door, the narrator descends from curiosity to anger to madness, asking questions he knows will bring only despair. This haunting tale explores undying devotion and the torment of memory.

Summary written by Project Gutenberg, by machine.