The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe Plot Summary | Phoenixofliterature

 

“The Raven”

                              - Edgar Allan Poe

KNOWLEDGE SPEAKS, BUT WISDOM LISTENS
                                 - JIMI HENDRIX

Edgar Allan Poe was an American writer, editor, poet and literary critic.  He got involved in writing at his young age and he was written on the themes of mystery, secret and investigation. In his writings his lady love named Lenore plays an important role. His writings expressed isolation and loneliness in life because he felt lonely all his lifetime and lead his life in isolation. He wrote the poem “Raven” as his autobiographical work. This poem expressed gloomy and thrilling effect and written on the genre of Gothic narrative poem. It shows the themes of death and the afterlife, memory and loss, the supernatural and the subconscious, rationality and irrationality and ancient influences.

It is a December midnight and almost winter; the poet says that an unnamed narrator’s mind has affected by a storm. He is alone in his house and difficult to sleep. He felt weak and wants to come out from his loss. He has collected all the old fashioned books to read and divert his mind from the thought of Lenore who has the lady love of the narrator has passed away. He wants to back to start his writing. When he feels little sleepy, he hears the knocking sound from his door. He get thrilled and then calm down himself that there is some visitor in the outside knocking the door, nothing more in the outside.

            He clearly knows that there is a cold outside, the coal (ember) is almost burned and the fire-bridge is covered by its ash. Likewise, the trees are covered by snow. He felt nervous and has unwanted thoughts so he wished for the dawn. He wants to overcome his sorrow and begins to read books. But he is interrupted by the thoughts of Lenore. The narrator says Lenore is a glowing women like beautiful Angel. Then he says even angels are not equal to the beauty of Lenore.

            The purple curtain in his house is wrestles in the forces of air and it scares the narrator. He thought that even the curtain felt sad for him. Then he hears the knocking sound again and then he convinces himself that it’s just a visitor and nothing else to worry. 

He recollects all his strength and courage to open the door. He imagines that the visitor is waiting for a long time and he prepares in his mind to get excuse for taking long time to open the door; ‘Dear Sir\Madam, I take a nap, that’s why I won’t hear you’re knocking’. Then he slowly opens the door and finds no one is standing in the outside. Only the darkness is spread over, all the places.

He is stunned and standing at the doorstep. He thinks about the knocking sound and mesmerized by darkness. Then he started thinking about Lenore.  He doubts himself, if he dreams or imagines the knocking sound or it is the soul of the Lenore who knocks the door to meet him. Unknowingly he said the name Lenore and it is echoed again to him in the darkness. He tried hard to forget her but each and every thing remembers the memories of Lenore to him.

            The narrator then back to his chamber and slowly reckoned in the thoughts of Lenore. He feels that everything which surrounded himself makes him scary. He hears some louder noise near window. He goes near to the window and found nothing. Then he realized, it’s just a wind which forces the curtain lattice knocks the window and then he tries to relax himself.

            He wants to close the window. At the time, a Raven comes into his house through window by flattering its wings. The narrator says the Raven sits in the bust of Pallas Statue (The Greek goddess of wisdom) which is placed in the corner of his house and it never shows any gestures but sits like a land lord. The poet says that the bird symbolise the recreation of narrator’s wisdom again which he has lost after Lenore’s death.

            He felt very happy to have a company and he believes the Raven helps him to relieve from his loneliness. The narrator amused by the appearance of the Raven.  He compares it to an American plutonium shore (Lord Pluto who is a Roman God) Pluto lives in the underworld and wanders the sea shore at midnight. Likewise, the Raven wanders at the night and reaches narrator’s house. Then the narrator asks its name to the Raven and it replies NEVER MORE to the narrator.

            The narrator has surprised by the Raven’s answer. Then he felt little bored, even though the bird answer has some meaning and relevancy to the narrator’s question. The Raven only repeated the same word NEVER MORE. He wonders and says that he has never seen other than human beings using language to speak. He thinks that the Raven is a bird or beast which sits on the Pallas above his chamber door. Then he thinks that Raven’s name is NEVER MORE or the bird replies to the questions of the narrator as NEVER MORE.  He is confused by the replies of the Raven and thinks about it.

            The narrator keenly watches the bird because the bird hears all the blabbering of him and never moves from his place. He compared the bird with his old friends who had leave him alone in his hard situation likewise the bird will fly away and leave him alone after dawn . Then the narrator says after that all his hopes are gone away like before in his past life. When hearing the words of the narrator the bird replies NEVER MORE.

            The narrator feels that the Raven’s words broken the peace of that night and he speaks to himself doubted, the Raven only stores the only one word NEVER MORE in his mind. He assumed that he came from an unhappy master that’s why the Raven replies the same word and his former master not handle him in a good manner that’s why the bird looks in stressed state or the bird happens to meet some disaster. Then he exposed in a lament mood that his hope has full gone because of the loss of Lenore.

            Whatever the bird repeats the same word, the narrator feels happy and excited because of the arrival of the bird. He sits in his velvet wheeled cushion chair in front of the bird and thinks how the bird replies such a grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt and disgusting word but the Raven replies NEVER MORE again. He has fascinated by the bird’s reply.

            He thinks about the words of the bird again and again and looks at the Raven’s eyes and he feels its looks so fierce which burns the inner bosom of the narrator. His cushion chair has glittered by the lamplight, the lights makes narrator happy and remembers Lenore.  He tries to divert himself from thoughts of Lenore but each and every thing remembers Lenore. It expressed he is unstable in his mindset. Then he decided to never think about Lenore anymore and says she is really gone away forever.

            He feels some fragrance in the air, it smells like perfume but it seems invisible. He then imagines that it is a censer (a container in which incense is burnt during a religious ceremony) which has send by an angel named Seraphim (It is a type of celestial or heavenly six-winged creature originating in ancient Judaism which praising God) to make him forget about thoughts of Lenore and help him relief from all his grief. He compares the censer to the Nepenthe (Mythological drink which comforts people from sadness and grief). He wants to drink that portion and forget Lenore. But he has interrupted by the word NEVER MORE by Raven.

The narrator again begs to the God that he feels haunted and wants any balm like Gilead (Gilead is a balm or medicine which helps to come out from pain) but again the bird says NEVER MORE. When he hears the Raven’s words that the narrator starts scolding about it “thing of evil-prophet still, if bird or devil!” And ask the bird to show the ways to reach Lenore but it replies NEVER MORE. He feels fully broken and warns the Raven to go out from his house without leaving any traces of it but it says NEVER MORE. At the time he sees the shadow of the Raven which falls on the floor. He says that no one can lift the shadow likewise no one can lift his soul. At last he concludes this poem with NEVER MORE. No one can hold the soul in this world forever.