The Raven

Poe's hypnotic narrative poem of a scholar, a lost Lenore, and the raven that answers 'Nevermore'.

Specifications & Metrics

author

Edgar Allan Poe

type

Narrative poem

era

American Romantic (1845)

language

English

verse form

Trochaic octameter with internal rhyme

cantos count

18

Core Principles & Analysis

• First printed in the New York Evening Mirror on 29 January 1845.
• Its eighteen stanzas use internal rhyme and relentless repetition to build the hypnotic effect.
• Poe later explained its construction in 'The Philosophy of Composition'.

Sources

• Wikipedia: The Raven