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Post by Mr. Thomas on Nov 21, 2013 13:26:27 GMT -5
Nevermore...
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Post by georgebaroudos on Nov 22, 2013 16:01:57 GMT -5
George Baroudos
Mr. Thomas
English 11
22 November 2013
A – The Raven’s response continues to stay the same. The bird says “Nevermore” and that would really tick me off. It reminds me of arguments with a wide variety of people. With these arguments the person only replies “you’re right” in a sarcastic manner to avoid argument that really grinds my gears. Personally, I hate that. But I’ve noticed it become a trend especially with know-it-alls. As humans we should all work with any problem given to us. It is never easy, but nothing is accomplished until we work for it. Lazy people never accomplish anything; the people who go out and are eager to work get the job down. An argument is a two-sided heated conversation, both parties must add to resolve it.
D – Ravens always have a negative connotation. Ravens usually mean that bad things are in the air. As humans we are very vulnerable and easily influenced. “But the Raven still beguiling all my sad soul into smiling” (5). Initially we all know that Ravens are not nice creatures. Ravens are my signal to leave. I am sure that the narrator would have left as well, but the Raven muddles his perception. The Raven enters his spirit and changes his view into happiness. Once we achieve happiness we do not want to leave it. The Raven gives the narrator a feeling that ultimately stuns him. This allows the Raven to take his soul. The narrator was destined to lose unfortunately and he did, which was not a surprise.
I – Through the Poe that we have read, never once was the narrator mentioned. We do not know his name and I find that strange. Does anyone know why the narrator is never identified? I believe that it is because putting a name to something gives it meaning. Poe does not want the main character having meaning because his writings do not revolve around that character. What happens to the main character is what Poe stresses most. The meaning behind the events is what Poe focuses on. The narrator otherwise is not important in Poe’s eyes. I would enjoy a back-story behind the main character, but we can’t always get what we want.
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Post by joeroperti on Nov 23, 2013 15:20:02 GMT -5
Joseph Roperti
Mr. Thomas
English 11
A. I kind of related to the attitude of the Raven. His constant attitude and responses of "nevermore" are very pushy off. I sometimes do that when I have something bothering me or annoying me. I belevie its Just human behavior to sometimes act in that manner. Not Everyone has a perfect life all the time where they can always be happy. When certain implements in life are changed it can cause the human mind to shut its self off to certain things because its natural for us to protect our self's.
D. When I think of a Raven i usually think of death. A Raven is a bird that we awe and fear as it flies throughout the sky because it sometimes means a dead corpse. The sight of a Raven can change the outlook of an area because of the overall perception of that animal. It could take away your thoughts of joy and just like it did, The Raven Took his spirit and soul and views of happiness.
I'd like to add something to my Peer George Baroudus comments because we have some what similar ideas but I feel that with the argument part when someone says " You're RIght" its just to shun the other person away to protect that person from what they don't want to hear.
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Post by connor on Nov 23, 2013 22:43:26 GMT -5
Connor Ryan
Mr. Thomas
English 11
11/25/13
C. There were a couple of things that confused me while I was reading "The Raven". I am confused on if if they are actually referring to a bird when they mention a raven. It says "thing of evil!- prophet still, if bird or devil" which makes me think that it is not an actual raven. but it is referring to the devil(5). Also they refer to an angle named Lenore a couple of times which confused me because I do not see why she is important. It talks about memories of Lenore which made me think she is dead.
D. A line that I really enjoyed is "once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore" set up a good tone for the rest of the play(3). I like how he starts off by making a dark setting which really sets up what the tone of the poem is going to be about. It tells us that he is weak and weary which after reading a little more made me realize that he was not prepared for what going to happen next.
I. I would like to add to what George said about the narrator. In all of Poe's writings we are never told who the narrator is. I think he does this because he believes that if he tells us who the narrator is it will take away from the poem. He wants the poem to be about the deeper meaning not the different characters.
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Post by johnmarano on Nov 24, 2013 13:53:41 GMT -5
John Marano
Mr. Thomas
English 11
24 November 2013
C. I was somewhat confused on the whole poem itself. What is the actual significance of the poem? I felt like the poem had me solving a puzzle. I was questioning Lenore, who she is, how she died, why she is so important? I did feel that I gradually was grasping the poem, or at least I think I was, because I know that she is so important. Why can the raven only say one word? I don’t get it. What is this trying to say? It kind of makes me feel bad for Poe because he was never getting answers.
D. This poem was definitely my favorite piece that we have studied. I liked how Edgar Allan Poe can use such great symbolism in his dark stories. A specific quote that jumped out to me was, “From my books surcease of sorrow – sorrow for the lost Lenore – For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore” (LINES 9-10). I really love how this quote goes back to how Poe is reminiscing his past. I feel that this quote is so important because it displays love, and we very RARELY see love in Poe’s poems. He finally jumps off the dark side a little and looks back on how much he actually appreciated and loved something. Although we do not know who this woman is, we know that Poe felt that she was such an impact on his past. This quote reveals a different side to Poe that can possibly be the reason he writes so dark.
I. I specifically love how George questioned Poe. He wants to know why the narrator is never being mentioned and he makes assumptions to this. I would like to agree with George on this matter because it isn’t a big deal knowing the narrator. Poe uses his great symbolism to get across endless messages that we must figure out. He makes the reader dig deeper in his stories, which replaces having a narrator guide us through the story.
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Post by frankclarke on Nov 24, 2013 15:26:08 GMT -5
Frank Clarke
Mr. Thomas
English 11
24 November 2013
C. As you know by now, I’m not much of a poem guy. I have no idea what’s going on here. What’s the Raven doing? What’s his purpose? Is some sort of a symbolic message for Edgar Allan Poe? What does “Quoth the Raven, ‘Nevermore.’” mean? The raven seems lonely… is EAP lonely? So many questions… Why I really dislike such deep poetry, even though it stimulates the mind!
D. This poem is clearly very deep. He’s on an entirely new level of deep. Yet, a line that I enjoyed, yet probably don’t even understand, is “And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting/ On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door.
“ This is especially interesting because it points out that the Raven never left his side. Maybe the Raven is his wife? This undying loyalty is something that is clearly very important to Edgar, yet who is it? An actual raven, a friend, his wife? These two lines kind of encompass the mystery behind who or what this raven is or what it represents!
I.I really enjoyed Joe Roperti’s response to question “A”. I too feel this way, and also realize that this is human nature. Yet, a very peculiar nature since all we long for in our life is love and friendship. Maybe this poem is a symbol of our humankind longing for love, but once we achieve it, we push it away? Very interesting point brought up by Mr. Roperti!!
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Post by 1adams12 on Nov 24, 2013 15:48:46 GMT -5
11/24/13
D. While I was reading the Raven by Edgar Allen Poe, I like the lines "And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting/ On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;/ And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming,/ And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;/ And my soul from out that shadow that lies on the floor/ Shall be lifted--nevermore!" (Page 6). The reason why I liked these lines so much is because of the fact on how detailed it is. I can picture in my mind a raven that has the eyes of the demon, sitting on a tree just above my window, and my lamp light is casting a shadow on the floor. The shadow on the floor is my soul. The blackness of the shadow means that I am dead.
E. I like the fact that the Raven was the one who took the life of the person, simply because of the fact that ravens are usually known for something bad being present in the atmosphere or something bad just happened. Whenever I see a raven, I think to myself what happened? I hope that person is okay. I also think that the raven are like vultures and they eat things that no one or any other animal wants to eat. I sometimes see this, and I think that ravens are dirty animals and that they are dirty because their color resembles death.
F. The relationship between the Raven and the person is that they both eventually resemble death. The person at the end dies, and death is the color of the raven which is black. I also thought that the Raven was part of the person because of the fact that the Raven might have been sent from the Devil, and the Devil wanted the person on their side and since the person refused, the person then died because of the refusal to the Devil. I feel the description of the Devil relating to the Raven has a big part in this story.
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Post by eointunney on Nov 24, 2013 17:37:41 GMT -5
Eoin Tunney
Mr. Thomas
English 11
24 November 2013
E. I felt his poem was extremely gothic compared to the other stories we read by Poe. His other stories, especially the fall of the house of Usher, seemed more like a horror story than a gothic style story. In The Raven, Poe uses imagery to show how this is gothic. In the first two stanzas Poe uses imagery by telling us that it is midnight, dreary outside, and that it is also December. These three words perfectly describe a dark gothic theme.
C. I was sort of confused in the poem when Poe mentioned Lenore. In the story Poe or whoever the narrator is was weeping for the loss of Lenore. I was confused by this because I wasn’t sure if she was dead and it never states how she died.
A. I feel like all of Edgar Allen Poe’s stories and poems relate back to his life. I think this story relates back to his life by showing that he lost his wife (Not actually sure if he did) and that he is depressed. In the story the fall of the house of Usher, I feel like he is using Roderick to portray that he is lonely in life and just wants someone to talk to. He doesn’t directly show us these relate to him by using different names or not showing the name of the narrator at all.
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Post by danokeefe15 on Nov 24, 2013 18:20:34 GMT -5
Danny O’Keefe
Mr. Thomas
English 11
24 November 2013
C. After doing the reading I had a difficult time trying to understand the point of the story. I understood what was going on during the story, but I couldn’t find the deeper meaning or the message that the reading was trying to convey. I also had trouble with some of the words that he used, I either didn’t know what they meant or never seen them before.
D. “Tis the wind and nothing more!” I liked this quote because it can be relatable because I feel like whenever something uncomfortable and frightening happens to someone they try to convince themselves that everything around them is alright and good when at most times it isn’t. We try to avoid the problems and tough situations that are thrown at us by acting oblivious to our surroundings.
E. I didn’t enjoy this reading as much as I enjoyed Edgar Allen Poe’s other stories because I found it to be a bit confusing at times and not as interesting as the others. I found this to be a bit more normal than the other readings, despite the talking raven. I thought it wasn’t as gruesome and scary as the others, but at times it would get a little creepy.
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Post by matthewchan on Nov 24, 2013 20:40:52 GMT -5
Matthew Chan
Mr. Thomas
English 11
24 November 2013
C. I was extremely confused about who or what Lenore was. I didn’t know if Lenore was a thing or a person. But after reading it again a few more times, I finally realized Lenore was a woman. However, Poe doesn’t go into details with her. It doesn’t say much about her except that she has died and this “unnamed” narrator misses her.
D. I really enjoyed the quote “Thrilled me- filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before”. This quote is truly gothic because of its deep and terrorizing theme the quote is setting. This is also where the poem starts to “kick in” and gets a bit creepy.
E. I really thought this poem was just ok. This poem is truly gothic like Poe’s previous stories. The Raven has gothic features such as midnight dreary, bleak December, and himself in a lonely apartment. All of them have a dark setting and theme. Something I also noticed is that all three stories/ poems have something to do with people that have died. In The Masque of the Red Death, The Fall of the House of Usher, and The Raven they all have to do with a death of someone. The death of people is dark and truly gothic as well.
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Post by fotia15 on Nov 24, 2013 21:12:46 GMT -5
a. I feel like he is sleeping when this happens that this isnt actually reality. Its not the fact that the bird is talking but the way the room is described with the shadows, the dark corrode when he opens his door. " and the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain thrilled me- filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;" a "fantastic terror" is most commonly seen in a dream. something so strange and so personal. for him it was the darkness and the death of his lover " lenore".
i. I dont under stand the "evermore" constantly repeated after the first page. it dont make sense because there is something more every time no matter what situation. i mean we dont know about after death but in this age there was alot of thought on the after life being sacred and never ending.
d. This raven symbolizes alot. not only death but the one who finds death. This man is hurting so much that he is close to death. Thats why the raven found him. He is close to "nothingmore". The raven also blends with the darkness aspect. Something soo strange and secretive.
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Post by seandelossantos on Nov 24, 2013 21:17:01 GMT -5
Sean de los Santos
Mr. Thomas
English 11: American Lit
24 November 2013
The Raven
A. This story reminds me of people in general today who go completely insane because of their loss of a family member or loved one. In the raven, the narrator has lost his wife named Lenore. He suffers a very serious case of depression where he does nothing all day but reads these forgotten and dreary stories. When this random raven comes, he randomly questions this random bird of death. This is the same for anyone who lost a loved one. They can’t really cope with it and they go insane in trying to live life with out them. It also reminds me of sudden baby death syndrome. The mother who experiences the death of her baby goes crazy in many different ways.
C. There are many questions that arise from my mind when reading this very strange poem. First off, is the narrator really alive? It is a question that comes about because of the fact that
the man only saw darkness looking out his front door. Is the narrator actually asleep dreaming? He might be dreaming this because a raven doesn’t come into your house in the middle of the night just because of strange circumstances.
E. One idea I came upon while reading this text is the idea of insanity. The narrator here is slowly going insane in which he cannot cope with the sudden loss of Lenore. He is going insane with the fact that this raven comes to his house out of the blue. This is something true because he randomly questions the raven. The questions go from general to personal in very little time. The narrator is simply going insane from the fact his wife is not there to help him anymore.
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djmat
New Member
Posts: 39 
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Post by djmat on Nov 24, 2013 22:50:58 GMT -5
Dj Mat
Mr. Thomas
English 11
24 November 2013
I. To answer Tunney's question yes Lenore was dead and I think it is the mans wife or someone that he loved very much. The poem doe not go into much detail about Lenore dying, how she died or even when but we know that she does die because he does weep over her loss but the Raven also repeats the word "nevermore" as he talks about her meaning he will never come back.
E. I think we can kind of look at this from a different point because if you think about it the raven does not actually have to be there it could just be a symbol of this mans depressed psychological state. This a poem by Edgar Allan Poe after all. It would make sense because most people see ravens as dark or even evil and this man is in a deep depressed state. The raven repeating the word "nevermore" is like the voice inside his head telling him he will never see Lenore again, and you will never get on with your life. Its pretty strange though if you think about it because i do not think anyone has ever actually seen a talking raven and Poe is usually using the strange this to represent something bigger.
A. I would say this reading is very relatable a large amount of people now a days. A lot of people go through deep depressions such as the main character in this poem because they have lost someone or something precious to them and are unable to get out of that depression because they close everyone else out.
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Post by bourdonm15 on Nov 24, 2013 23:06:04 GMT -5
Matthew Bourdon
Mr. Thomas
English 11
11/24/13
C. I was confused as to why the Raven always simply replied with “nevermore”. Does this have any type of significance? “And the lamp-light o’er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor; And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor shall be lifted – nevermore!” (Page 6) There has to be some sort of reasoning behind why the Raven always replies with “nevermore” but the reasoning wasn’t present in the story. There is a symbolism but I am confused on what it is. All the one word answers are ultimately why the man lost his sanity.
B. Poe once again makes even a poem into a story that is so attentive to detail that it paints a visual in a person’s head. “Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore – While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.” (Page 3) He creates important visuals in the poem such as a dreary night and that the man is weak and weary. Poe’s detail and symbolism behind every line is awesome and I enjoy reading his work.
I. I agree with John’s question as to what was the significance of this poem. I really am asking the same question. It definitely wasn’t Poe’s best work but there is significance and I feel like the way the story is presented it is like a puzzle to find the significance.
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Post by scanley73 on Nov 25, 2013 2:08:18 GMT -5
C. Something that confused me on page two “Then the bird said ‘Nevermore.’. Does Poe mean that the bird was literally talking to him? If so is there any sort of significance to this. Is there any meaning or is it another one of Poe’s symbolisms. Also, in the beginning of the poem Poe mentions this woman Lenore. Is she a real person who was a part of Poe’s life? Was she like how Shakespeare had the Dark Lady? Was Poe trying to imitate Shakespeare in this sense? It brings up a lot of questions and it doesn’t answer them.
A. This poem reminds me of the short piece we read at the beginning of the year about the mother who lost her child. This reminds me of that because I get the sense that the narrator lost someone precious to them, probably Lenore. In both pieces the narrator is in a deep depression. Despite the stories’ writing style differences the stories are very much alike. In both the main character is in a state of depression and are having emotional reactions. One breaks down on the lawn and the other is losing his mind talking to a bird.
D. I enjoyed reading this despite having to go back and reread a few lines because the language was difficult. The rhyming in it helped the reading to be more enjoyable and it helped the story flow better for me. Although a mysterious reading it was good and I would definitely recommend this to other people
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