Edgar Allan Poe "The Raven"

The Raven is the first thing I ever read of Edgar Allan Poe's.  I first read it in 8th grade and I found it confusing.  Just being honest.

I read it again a couple of times throughout high school and finally developed ideas about it and understood it.  First off, Edgar Allan Poe was somewhat crazy himself.  So I think this poem may be something he was feeling at the time of his writing it.

Secondly, let's talk about what happened.  A very brief summary of what happened, that is.  The narrator of The Raven is someone who is dying whilst descending into madness.  In his madness, he hallucinates about a raven who can talk and is really just a projection of his innermost thoughts.  By the end, he has died, or is on the very brink of death, and says that the raven is the cause of it all and that he shall never be lifted again.