i'm doing a research paper on the subject of "madness driven by love" in Poe's "the Raven" did the narrator actually see the raven, or did he just hallucinate, imagine etc ? if anyone has pointers on how to portray the authors madness for his "lost lenore" i'm open for ideas

-- Anonymous, December 07, 2003

Answers

Poe did not see the Raven. Also, by my vision he certainly wasn't mad. By the reference of "the Raven" he simply showed his astonishment by driving himself to imaginable limits to entertain himself. As if falling asleep he thought this up, which I don't see as being true either. The symbolisum of the Raven draws upon a conclusion that because of his loss of Lenore the whole world crys for him.. however, I could be wrong.

-- Anonymous, December 07, 2003

My lit. prof. says the narrator did see the raven. Ravens used to be pets, and somebody's escaped to the narrator's window. (He also believes the raven is not symbolic.)

-- Anonymous, March 15, 2004

actually, I think that poe was hyper sensitive and that a mere tap of a tree branch launched his vision of the entrance of the ill-omen itself poe ws accessible to fear thats the fact

-- Anonymous, December 30, 2004