Crow Perching on Skull with Roses

Edgar Allan Poe was one of the most influential literary figures in the 19th century America, he is widely involved in the literary development of modern America, from poems to short stories to textbook and scientific theory, his work inspired countless adaptations and many of which are still being referenced today. Poe is best known today as the father of bizarre horror stories, “The Cask of Amontillado”, “The Raven”, “The Tell-Tale Heart” and many others can be interpreted as either fantastic or uncanny. “The Raven” The poem describes a bereaved lover driving himself crazy by asking increasingly desperate questions to an ominous raven who sat on the Pallas Athena bust and always respond in “nevermore”. Throughout the poem the narrator intentionally ask questions that will lead to more suffering knowing full well the raven is going to reply with the same word over and over again. By the end the narrator realized that the he is forced to never forget the painful and miserable feeling of losing Lenore, the love of his life, and his spirit will never fully recover. Athena is the goddess of wisdom in Greek mythology, the raven sitting on the bust signifies the harsh and bitter wisdom that the raven is about to deliver.