n  And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted—nevermore!n  
n  
n  

n    n   
n  

n

Themes such as loss and relentless melancholy - nothing foreign to Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) - combined with a repetitive rhythm that gives it a unique and gradually oppressive musicality resulted in one of the best literary works of all time, The Raven.

This edition, first published in 1844, includes the steel-plate engravings by renowned French artist Gustave Doré (1832–1883), who died shortly after completing the series.

This is the second time I read Poe's masterpiece and it was an entirely different experience. After several poetry collections, I was able to appreciate his creative genius and connect with his words on another level, something I couldn't do many years ago.

The following excerpt is part of the Introduction. In few words, Poe's haunting Raven was portrayed with utmost perfection.

The Mirror's editor, Nathaniel P. Willis included a short preface to "The Raven", in which he wrote:

In our opinion, it is the most effective single example of "fugitive poetry" ever published in this country, and unsurpassed in English poetry for subtle conception, masterly ingenuity of versification, and consistent sustaining of imaginative lift...

n

July 23,18
* Also on my blog.

Both reads I've done have been rather quick: and both for research purposes. Difficult to get a handle on it but both times it's been a nice ride. At some point I will definitely write a proper review. At some point.

No pronunciaba nada más, no movía una pluma, hasta que comencé a murmurar débilmente "Otros amigos ya han volado lejos de mí: hacia la mañana, también él me abandonará como mis antiguas esperanzas". El pájaro dijo entonces "¡Nunca más!"

Últimamente me he adentrado al género gótico, y estoy fascinada con la narración de Edgar Allan Poe, siempre tan poética, compleja, concisa y sin miramientos. En El cuervo nos muestra un lado obscuro y lúgubre, sin mención del nombre del protagonista, lo que nos hace preguntarnos, ¿será el propio Edgar Allan Poe?

A pesar de que contiene una muy notoria ausencia de diálogos, explicaciones y quizás nudos, mantiene una constante intriga que muchas historias largas carecen.

n  Recomiendo esta pequeña historia a los amantes del suspenso, de aquellos libros que te dejan reflexionando al terminarlos y, por supuesto, a quienes quieran adentrarse a la literatura gótica.n

„Гарванът“ е брилянтна мрачна поема и несъмнено най-великата творба на големия Едгар Алън По! Откакто я прочетох за пръв път, съм пленен завинаги от нейната загадъчна готическа атмосфера, и думите ми все не достигат, за да изразя колко силно успява да ме впечатли при всяко четене... Българският превод на Георги Михайлов също е прекрасен!



„О! — извиках, в страх обземан. — Птица, ил дух на Демон,
ти предсказваш! — О, кажи ми, гост, дошъл от друг простор,
в тоя дом на ад превърнат, дом от ужаса обгърнат,
дето радостта посърна и погасна моят взор,
в Галаад утеха нявга ще ли види моят взор?“
Той предсказа: „Nevermore!“

Changing my rating from 3 to 5 stars after reread.

#1/148

Recently I joined a Poe reading challenge on Goodreads for a classic book club and what an interesting challenge it is. I can not thank much to the moderators coz it is gonna be a hell of a ride.

I'm of course a big fan of poems and that too Edgar Allan Poe yes, yes, yes.

Sorry Poe for rating it so low before. But the naive 4 years younger me could not see beyond words, could not see the pain and sadness that slowly starts building with Raven and reach a paramount of agony. That simpleton is long gone though.

What you have here is your admirer who will try to look beyond bounds of the mere words, of the sorrow you are trying to convey.

"Deep into that
darkness peering,
long I stood there
wondering, fearing
Doubting, dreaming
dreams no mortal
ever dared to dream before…"



And that is how a poem is written. With melody and the rhythm, the subtle alliteration. Poe is so well versed with his words that he drags one by holding hands firm and drops them into an eerie world which he paints so eloquently. Simply brilliant. Jumping to another one.

Happy reading!!!

I'm not big fan of poetry but I really loved this one. Maybe it's because I listened to version read by Christopher Lee (you can find it on youtube), and it's universal rule that everything is better when heard in voice of Christopher Lee, but this is my favorite work of Poe so far.

One freezing December evening, a man in his room, dozing over his book, thought of Lenore, his now-deceased sweetheart.
But noise at her door knocked her out of her reverie. After making several hypotheses and finally making up its mind, it opens up and, despite its inactivity, to a majestic crow. Amused but intrigued, he stupidly asks her name. The raven then responds, "Never again." The narrator questions himself and asks other questions.
But the crow responds every time, Never again.
Paralyzed, the man realizes that he is under the influence of the raven until the next day, which only repeats "never again."
The somewhat magical atmosphere is veiled when the raven arrives, making the narrator sink into a paralyzing madness.
That's a bird-filled room with its shadow, which never refrains more.
The poetic writing makes the narration tenser. How can a simple crow be so scary?
Also, I couldn't do this review without mentioning The Simpsons, who directed it for their first Simpson Horror Show. Even thanks to them, I heard the raven when I was little.

The Raven is a poem that can be appreciated on several levels, not the least of which is construction. One of the most perfectly constructed alliterative poems ever penned, who has not thrilled to "and the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain"? It trips off the tongue and at the same time it calls up a perfect image of a Gothic library with heavy curtains that should not, but do, rustle.

It is a study in loneliness, mourning, stress and madness. As the narrator tells us the tale of the raven's visit, he gradually degrades from someone who is attempting to find logical explanations for this event to someone who completely believes in the supernatural nature of the bird. He can no longer think rationally, because he asks repeated questions for which he hopes to get a positive answer but which can only get the one word response that the bird is able to give, "nevermore".

Whatever hope he may have had of recovering from the loss of his love or gaining some relief from his suffering, even in the next life, is vanquished by the repeated denials of the bird. His attempts to forget his loss and his love are seen as impossible. In the progress of the poem, we witness a man sink from loss to loss to hopelessness. In the end, he no longer clings to any remnant of his sanity. For him, the bird, "bird or devil", is something far more than an earthly creature, and it remains forever, just as his memory does, before his eyes, impossible to avoid.

"Nothing further then he uttered – not a feather then he fluttered –
Till I scarcely more than muttered "Other friends have flown before –
On the morrow he will leave me, as my hopes have flown before."
Then the bird said "Nevermore."



FINALLY FOUND A POEM THAT I ACTUALLY LIKE !!!

Very Creepy, This Poe guy knows how to create a dark atmosphere.

I write this review as someone who dislikes poetry, or maybe I should say, before I'm attacked by the poetry police, that I have disliked every poem forced down my throat by well meaning sadistic teachers. (Someone please explain the antithetical concept of a well meaning sadist. I'm afraid I might have made that up and it makes no sense.)
The Raven I enjoyed. Perhaps because of its length. For me, a poem can't be too long. The longer the poem, the higher my risk of death(probably through suicide) before I might finish it. Nor can a poem be too short.
I know a lot of you out there think, the shorter the better when it comes to poetry, but a short poem is just a waste. The author should have put the time into a dirty limerick instead. Either way, the length of the Raven was, as Goldilocks was so fond of saying, just right. It told it's story and no more.
The story itself was good. Poems are a difficult medium for horror, but Poe had me hooked quickly, wondering what it was tapping or rapping on his chamber door. Though it might have been better if the Raven had razor sharp talons instead of just dreadful insinuations with its 'Nevermore'
The best part of the Raven for me, the poetry novice, was the clever verbiage matched with the more clever rhyming scheme. You would think that since this was the best poem I've ever read that I would give it five stars, but it was still a poem and likely never to be read by me again...four stars.

When I was at the library checking this book out, the librarian looked at me somewhat strangely. Thinking little of it at first, I headed for the library door. As I got outside I thought about her odd look more and more, and soon after I looked down and leafed through the copy of The Raven I had checked out...and it was illustrated! It's a kid's book!

*facepalming*

Well whatever. It's almost Halloween and it's slim pickings at the library right now for any Poe books; they're almost all checked out. Or they're checked out and they have a waiting list for them. So this was the best I could do! This edition published by Kids Can Press!

*facepalming again, shaking head*

Anyway, let's get to the poem itself. I thought it was beautifully written and very foreboding. Poe builds a grief (and possibly guilt?) induced descent into madness that is incredibly rich, in spite of its brevity. I had to look some things up, due to the archaic language and references, like "balm in Gilead", but that's a very minor gripe. Overall, this is an outstanding work of literature. Highly recommended.