The Raven

The Raven is a poem by Edgar Allan Poe. First published in January 1845 it is by far his best known work.

The poem (consisting of 18 stanzas with six lines each) tells of a despondent man (having lost a loved one named "Lenore") who hears a tapping on his door, when he opens it he sees nothing but after a second tapping, a raven flies in and sits on a "bust of Pallas" (Athena) just above the door. He asks the raven its name; the raven replies "Nevermore".^[1]

Asking it numerous questions, the raven repeats the same word, "Nevermore"; the man believes it to be the only word it knows. But more pointed questions end up with the same response, eventually the man orders the raven to leave, only to receive the same response; in the last stanza the raven still sits on the bust.

As Poe was a Baltimore native, when the original Cleveland Browns franchise relocated to Baltimore, the team was renamed the Baltimore Ravens in his honor, and at one time had three costumed ravens, named Edgar, Allan, and Poe.

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