The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe can be pretty creepy. Or it can
just be a bit odd. I guess it depends on what type of person you are. I like it
and think it has some pretty good imagery. It was once featured one a Simpsons
Treehouse of Horrors Halloween episode. Bart was the Raven. Homer was Poe. That
is about all I remember.
The basic premise is a man sitting in his study pondering
his lost love Lenore, when a raven flies into his study and perches on the
doorframe. The rest is pretty much just Poe waxing Poe-etic (oh ha ha ha – I am
such a loser). If you have to write a paper on it for high school English class
or something, I would recommend just picking a new poem and moving on. Like
Kubla Khan by Samuel Coleridge or something. Maybe you should just watch Simpsons
instead.
You could also read a different Poe story – he’s actually a
very good author (as I am sure everyone has already told you). I like A Cask of
Amontillado, The Tell-Tale Heart, and The Pit and The Pendulum. I have read The
Raven many times and I used to like it a lot but then I guess I just got burnt
out on it (or matured past it? if that is possible, I don’t know). I don’t even
know if they are still teaching it in schools or not these days. I don’t think
I would bother. Kids these days just do not understand early American
literature. They are too obsessed with their Rock Em Sock Em Robots and their
Moby Grape and hip hop music and baggy jeans and heavy bass and alcohol.
Final verdict: just skip it. Don’t bother. Screw early
American literature.