Terrific, of course. I was looking for a short and spooky October read and “The Raven” was the very first thing that came to mind. I was obsessed with Poe as an teenager and spent all of tenth grade English copying his writing style, right up until I wrote a campy poem called “The Crow” that involved a certain corvid sitting on the bust of Julius Caesar in Axl Rose's study, at which point my teacher told me that I needed to come up with a different writer to emulate. I was also obsessed with Guns N' Roses, by the way. And why Julius Caesar? I have no idea. He was probably the "fanciest" person I could come up with.

So, yeah, lots of nostalgia with this one, and it's still one of my favorite poems of all time. 5 stars.

Once upon a midnight dreary,
while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume
of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping,
suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping,
rapping at my chamber door.
"'Tis some visiter," I muttered,
"tapping at my chamber door --
Only this, and nothing more."



I had started reading the Raven before but was never able to quite get through it. When I came across this illustrated version at my library I decided to give it another shot. The illustrated version made it so much better. The illustrations by Ryan Price are dark and gritty… much like the story of the Raven. I’ve read several illustrated books this year that have added a certain something to the already great story (A Monster Calls comes immediately to mind) and the Raven is no exception.

You can find a few more illustrations by Ryan Price from the book here but I would also recommend checking out the rest of his work here as well, although I must say I think his work in the Raven is my favorite.

Nevermore! ...........
Read this poem, listen to this poem and study the drawings of Gustave Dore... and know this is a unique masterpiece. Hauntingly beautiful. Brooding, dark, desperate, mysterious... These starting lines are famous I think:
Once upon a midnight dreary,
while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume
of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping,
suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping,
rapping at my chamber door.
"'Tis some visiter," I muttered,
"tapping at my chamber door --
Only this, and nothing more."

Hauntingly beautiful. The encounter of a man mourning over his deceased wife Lenore and a darkblack raven.....And the additional beauty of it, go to YouTube and listen to a really brooding telling by Sir Christopher Lee. Listen how he says "Nevermore!" in a gruelling way. I first read it, studied the drawings and then I started listening.... And if you search further there are tellings by Christopher Walken and of course, Vincent Price. All wonderful and weird, intriguing.
Edgar Allen Poe, what was in his mind? Brilliant writer!
....Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December,
And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
Eagerly I wished the morrow:-vainly I had sought to borrow
From my books surcease of sorrow - sorrow for the lost Lenore -
For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore -
Nameless here for evermore....

Christopher Lee: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Befli...
Christopher Walken: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7G_f...
Vincent Price: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7zR3...

Beautiful, classic prose.

Reread as part of going through his complete works. This one will always be one of my favorites!

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

One of the most hauntingly beautiful, and influential, poems of our time, The Raven was the first work I read by Edgar Allan Poe, the first time many, many years ago.

It’s stayed with me since then, most solidly in the form of the audio narration by the late Christopher Lee (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Befli...). If you haven't listened to this piece of art, I'd recommend doing so right now.

I've read this so many times I've lost count, but I still adore it. The imagery, the creepiness, the frenetic cadence it takes on when read aloud... Pure awesomeness. I try to read it every Halloween.

It's my first Edgar. I just had an opportunity to listen to this. It was my first audiobook and... I was completely taken aback when I realized it's a poetry. And yeah, it was my first poetry. Okay, I had some poetry during school years, but it was long ago and let's be honest - I was forced. This time I did that by my own will, but I expected short story written in prose, not a poet's expression.

I don't now if this is spooky October, spooky fall, or whatever you have now, but I hope that I got rid of the problem thankfully to this piece of art :)

In much of gothic literature, the “house” is designed and written about to convey a dark, depressed, and somewhat ominous mood. The reader begins to see parallels between the house and the main character, whether they be physical, emotional, or both. This is the case in The Raven, as Poe describes the main character’s sitting room as a “chamber” with “sad…purple curtains” (Poe, para. 3). Later in the poem, he also describes how the Raven perches just above his chamber door, on a “pallid bust of Pallas,” causing the reader to imagine a room in which an ashen, eyeless Greek sculpture would seem in place.

Απίστευτο! Με έπιασε δέος διαβάζοντας το!!

Así fueron mis inicios en la poesía, con este escritor tan mágico, tan oscuro, tan gótico, simple y sencillamente me encanta.

This is a poem about a man who misses his deceased wife. The poem I read had no illustrations so this review is just for the poem.

This was required reading back in high school (many years ago) and I hated it. I do not like poetry. I don't get it and I never will. For me to give this four stars now is just a testament of how great this written work really is. I believe when I read this in high school I could not identify with the main character and the symbolism went over my head. But now I get it. The man misses his wife and dealing with grief. He is dealing with the hopelessness of the situation in his mind and wondering is there more to life than just on this plane. I get his situation now. This is a very short poem but filled with symbolism throughout. Another impressive thing about this poem is just not the symbolism or the story but the way it was written. It was lyrical with the rhyming and I could not help say out loud "nevermore" every time I read it.

This is truly a terrific piece of work and I understand why it stood the test of time. Everything works with this piece. It probably deserves five stars but I just cannot give a poem a five star rating because of my dislike of poetry. But if any poem would ever change my mind it would be this one. I am so glad that I read it again after all these years and I would not be surprised if I read this again in the future.

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

dark. creepy. mystifying. heartbreaking. beautiful.

“On the morrow he will leave me, as my Hopes have flown before.”
Then the bird said “Nevermore.”