The Raven The Raven "The Raven" is a narrative poem by American writer Edgar Allan Poe. First published in January 1845, the poem is often noted for its musicality, stylized language, and supernatural atmosphere. It tells of a talking raven's mysterious visit to a distraught lover, tracing the man's slow fall into madness. The lover, often identified as being a student, is lamenting the loss of his love, Lenore. Sitting on a bust of Pallas, the raven seems to further distress the protagonist with its constant repetition of the word "Nevermore". The poem makes use of folk, mythological, religious, and classical references.
Poems by Edgar Allan Poe poem concludes with the author wondering as to whether if their places traded, he could craft a bolder melody from his lyre than Israfil. The poem parallels Coleridge's "Kubla Khan" in the inspiring yet ultimately unfulfilling song of a heavenly muse. Hervey Allen likened Poe himself to Israfil and titled his 1934 biography "Israfil: The Life and Times of Edgar Allan Poe". The poem was set to music by Oliver King in 1890 and by Leonard Bernstein in his "Songfest" of 1977. First appearing simply as "The Lake" in Poe's 1827 collection "Tamerlane and Other Poems", the amended title appeared