Discover Why ‘The Raven,’ Edgar Allan Poe’s Narrative Poem About a Distraught Lover and a Talking Bird, Remains an American Classic

When the New York Evening Mirror published Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “The Raven” on January 29, 1845, it catapulted both the work and its author to instant fame.

Poe, known for his macabre and Gothic style, was no stranger to audiences. He’d already penned and published short stories like “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” (1841) and “The Black Cat” (1843). Still, it was this stylized and rhythmic ballad of 18 six-line stanzas that most resonated with readers, making Poe a household name.

“The Raven” tells the tale of a grieving narrator mourning the death of his lover, Lenore. On a particularly dreary December night, he hears a raven tapping at his window. When the narrator opens the window, in steps the raven, perching itself on his bust of Pallas Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom. There it stands, constantly repeating the word “Nevermore,” while driving the narrator into madness.

The Raven | Animation | Edgar Allan Poe

Poe based the rhythm and meter of “The Raven” on Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s poem “Lady Geraldine’s Courtship,” using a poetic form known as trochaic octameter. This particular meter of verse is known for having eight feet per line, with each “foot” a trochee—one stressed syllable followed by one unstressed syllable. Poe used the form to create a sense of forward motion in his work. He also used alliteration, internal rhyme and repetition to draw in readers, lending the piece a dark and melancholic tone.

While Poe originally envisioned a parrot as his “talking bird,” he later decided on a raven, since the large black bird is often associated with death. He originally submitted “The Raven” to his former employer, George Rex Graham of Philadelphia’s Graham’s magazine, but the publisher and editor passed on it. Poe sold it to the Evening Mirror instead, where it was printed with the author’s own byline, and Poe later sold it to the American Review, where it was printed under the pseudonym “Quarles.”

In the following weeks and months, “The Raven” appeared in multiple periodicals and anthologies, reaching a wide range of readers. Although fellow writers like Margaret Fuller and William Gilmore Simms praised the piece, others, such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and William Butler Yeats, had few—if any—positive things to say about it.

Still, the poem has influenced many modern works, including Vladimir Nabokov’s 1955 novel, Lolita, and Bernard Malamud’s 1963 allegorical short story, “The Jewbird.” It’s also led to parodies like Marmaduke Mar-Rhyme’s “The Pole-Cat” (1846), political satires and even sequels.

The poem also inspired an unlikely namesake: the Baltimore Ravens. The NFL football team’s name honors Poe, who spent the early part of his career in Baltimore, died there and is buried there.

Despite gaining national renown after “The Raven” was published in 1845, Poe never enjoyed much success financially. He died in 1849 at the age of 40. While the exact cause of his death remains a mystery, “The Raven” lives on as one of the author’s most influential works—not to mention one of the most famous poems ever written.