Named source · 1845

The Raven Quotes by Edgar Allan Poe: Context & Meanings

1 quotation linked to The Raven by or associated with Edgar Allan Poe, with source notes, explanations and related topics.

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Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing, Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before;

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“Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing, Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before;”

Edgar Allan Poe

Meaning & context

Poe intensifies the bereaved speaker’s uncertainty by turning a dark doorway into a space where fear, imagination and longing for Lenore feed one another.

Source details

“The Raven,” first published in 1845 and represented by Poetry Foundation. These lines belong to the poem’s unnamed bereaved speaker as he searches darkness after hearing the mysterious tapping; they are dramatic Gothic narration, not Poe describing a personal supernatural event.

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