"The Raven" Vocabulary
Lore: ___________________________________________________
Rapping: ________________________________________________
Tis: _____________________________________________________
Ember: __________________________________________________
Vainly: __________________________________________________
Surcease: _______________________________________________
Maiden: _________________________________________________
Entreat: _________________________________________________
Implore: _________________________________________________
Mortal: __________________________________________________
Raven: __________________________________________________
Yore: ___________________________________________________
Obeisance: ______________________________________________
Mein: ___________________________________________________
Beguile: _________________________________________________
Crest: ___________________________________________________
Quoth: __________________________________________________
Ungainly: ________________________________________________
Fowl: ___________________________________________________
Discourse: _______________________________________________
Utter: ___________________________________________________
Melancholy: ______________________________________________
Censer: _________________________________________________
Seraphim: _______________________________________________
Respite: _________________________________________________
Nepenthe: _______________________________________________
Tempest: ________________________________________________
Balm: ___________________________________________________
Upstart: _________________________________________________
Plume: __________________________________________________
Plutonian Shore: __________________________________________
Pallas: __________________________________________________
"The Raven" Questions
1. What is the narrator doing? ______________________________________________________
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2. Who does the narrator think is knocking on his door? __________________________________
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3. What is the man hoping the book will do? ____________________________________________
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4. Who is Lenore and what happened to her? __________________________________________
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5. Describe the setting. ____________________________________________________________
6. How is the narrator feeling about the unknown visitor? _________________________________
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7. Who or what was at the door? ____________________________________________________
8. Who does the narrator assume is at the door? ________________________________________
9. How does the narrator react to the tapping this time? __________________________________
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10. How does the narrator describe the actions of the raven? ______________________________
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11. What is the raven’s response to the narrator? _______________________________________
12. How does the raven’s response affect the mood of the poem? __________________________
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13. What does the narrator think about the raven’s response to his questions? ________________
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14. What does the narrator assume the raven will do? ____________________________________
15. What does the raven actually do? _________________________________________________
16. Why does the narrator think that the raven only knows one word? _______________________
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17. The narrator uses the following adjectives to describe the raven: grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt,
and ominous. What does this description tell you about the narrator’s attitude towards the raven?
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18. What is a more rational explanation as to why the narrator smells something? ______________
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19. Why are his emotions becoming more active? (his reaction to the raven is growing stronger)
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20. Why does the narrator call the bird evil and suggest that he is the devil? __________________
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21. This time, what does the narrator ask the raven in regards to Lenore? ____________________
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22. Look at the verbs in this stanza. How have the narrator’s reactions to the raven changed?
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23. The narrator asks the raven to leave him alone. What does he NOT want the raven to leave
behind? Why do you think the narrator asks this of the raven?
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24. What does the raven symbolize as he is sitting on the bust of Pallas? _____________________
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25. The word “chamber” is associated with the heart. What does the connection suggest about the
narrator and his overall happiness?
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