Question

Where is the Raven at the end of the poem (stanza 18)? What does the Ravens presence tell the reader about the narrators grief?

Answer 1

The raven remains sitting. He overshadows the narrator, whose soul will never see happiness again.

Analysis: Boo! Hoo! Get a gun and shoot that freaking bird already! The raven's shadow most likely symbolizes sadness. It covers the narrator's soul, symbolic of the narrator never being happy again. Some claim the last stanza relates the narrator's death. They're wrong. The shadow remains on the floor and It's the narrator's soul that will never climb out from under the shadow of sadness. If your teacher tells you he died, tell him he's wrong. If he disagrees, ask him how a dead man can narrate a poem.