One of the greatest horror writers of all time wasn’t Stephen King, but rather Edgar Allen Poe. Poe didn’t write long novels but rather short stories that were so chilling that we remember the haunting lines years after we read the tale. Poe’s released his inner demons on paper, and the results are tales like The Tell-Tale Heart, The Pit and the Pendulum, and The Cask of Amontillado.
Most people also know that Poe was an acclaimed poet, not only do poems appear in some of his short stories. His most famous poem, the one the makes Poe a house hold name is a poem titled quite simply The Raven.
Final Sale
We will never know if Poe knew he had written a masterpiece when he finished writing The Raven. What we do know is that he sold it for approximately $15.00 to The American Review. The irony is that most of the books of poetry containing the famous poem can’t be purchased for less then that amount.
Inspiration
According to the author, the inspiration for the poem came from the talking raven in a Dickens novel. He said that he mimicked the style of fellow poet, Elizabeth Barrett. That is about all we know of the thought process behind The Raven. We do not even know who the Lenore was someone important to him, or if it was just a name that rhymed with nevermore, although, he did use it in an earlier poem. One of the things that are interesting is that ravens are often thought to be symbols of change, a theme that runs through Poe’s masterpiece.
Cognac and Roses
One of the lines from the poem, was used as the epitaph on Poe’s headstone. The line is “Quoth the raven, Nevermore.” Every year a shadowed figure leaves a bottle of French Cognac, and some blood red roses on the poet’s grave, many of these bottles are on display at the Poe House and Museum.
