Question

In Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven,” the speaker says, “Much I marveled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly.” What does the speaker mean when he describes the raven as “this ungainly fowl”? It is frightening. It is loud. It is clumsy. It is annoying.

Answer 1

Fowl refers to poultry. Moreover, when something is ungainly, we may say that it lacks smoothness, coordination and grace, or that it is inelegant. It is, in fact, the opposite of graceful.

Taking into account this information, we may argue that by describing the raven as "this ungainly fowl," the speaker means that it is clumsy.