A personal narrative is a story that is told by a speaker about his own memories and experiences. Personal narratives are always told in the first person. These tend to be very detailed and often emotional and personal, as the author has in-depth knowledge of the event that he is describing. In this case, the speaker is talking about something he personally did (swimming in the river), which makes the passage an example of a personal narrative.
The mood created at the beginning of "The Raven" is one of mystery and sadness with undertones of horror. Poe accomplishes this through the Gothic setting, characterization
