Who the Raven is
The Raven arrives at the window of a lonely chamber on a December midnight. The speaker opens the shutter, and the bird enters without hesitation before settling above the door.
Its grave appearance briefly amuses the speaker, who asks its name partly as a joke. When the bird speaks, his amusement gives way to surprise at this unexpected visitor.
The Raven and the others in the story
The Raven's place above the bust of Pallas connects the visitor with the poem's tension between grief and reason. Pallas is the Greek goddess of wisdom, while the black bird carries the suggestion of an omen.
The speaker thinks the bird may have learned its single answer from an unhappy master. Yet he begins to treat that repeated sound as something more personal, shaped by his longing for Lenore.
How the Raven changes
The Raven keeps repeating itself, but the speaker's understanding of the bird begins to change. What first seems curious becomes bound up with his search for comfort and his questions about loss.
The bird does not argue or threaten, and the poem leaves its nature uncertain. It may be a real visitor, a sign from beyond, or a voice from the speaker's own mind.
Questions
Who is the Raven in Poe's poem?
The Raven is a black bird that enters the grieving speaker's room and answers his questions with one repeated word.
What does the Raven symbolize?
The Raven can suggest loss and grief that will not let go.
Is the Raven evil?
The poem does not establish that the bird is evil. The speaker wonders about its origins, but its repeated answer takes on meaning through his grief.