79-84 Then, methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer Swung by Seraphim whose foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor. "Wretch," I cried, "thy God hath lent thee – by these angels he hath sent thee Respite – respite and nepenthe, from thy memories of Lenore; Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore!" Quoth the Raven "Nevermore." Now things to get a little weird. In his grief, our speaker imagines the air filling with perfume from an invisible censer (a globe that holds burning incense). To top that off, he imagines angels ("seraphim") swinging that censer. He even their footsteps on the carpet (80). Now that he's gone around the bend, he starts to yell at himself, calling himself a "wretch." He tells himself that this imaginary perfume thickening the air was sent from God to help him forget Lenore. He compares this perfume to nepenthe, a mythological drink that was supposed to comfort grieving people. He tells himself to "quaff" (that just means drink) this potion and forget Lenore. Just as we start to really wonder what he's raving about, the raven cuts him off by saying "Nevermore" (84). Lines 85-90 – – "Prophet!" said I, "thing of evil! prophet still, if bird or devil! Whether Tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore, – Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted On this home by Horror haunted – tell me truly, I implore – Is there – is there balm in Gilead? – tell me – tell me, I implore!" Quoth the Raven "Nevermore." Now the speaker starts to get seriously worked up and starts full-out yelling at the bird, calling him a "Prophet" and a "thing of evil" (85).
79-84 Then, methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer Swung by Seraphim whose foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor. "Wretch," I cried, "thy God hath lent thee – by these angels he hath sent thee Respite – respite and nepenthe, from thy memories of Lenore; Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore!" Quoth the Raven "Nevermore." Now things to get a little weird. In his grief, our speaker imagines the air filling with perfume from an invisible censer (a globe that holds burning incense). To top that off, he imagines angels ("seraphim") swinging that censer. He even their footsteps on the carpet (80). Now that he's gone around the bend, he starts to yell at himself, calling himself a "wretch." He tells himself that this imaginary perfume thickening the air was sent from God to help him forget Lenore. He compares this perfume to nepenthe, a mythological drink that was supposed to comfort grieving people. He tells himself to "quaff" (that just means drink) this potion and forget Lenore. Just as we start to really wonder what he's raving about, the raven cuts him off by saying "Nevermore" (84). Lines 85-90 "Prophet!" said I, "thing of evil! – prophet still, if bird or devil! – Whether Tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore, Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted – On this home by Horror haunted – tell me truly, I implore – Is there – is there balm in Gilead? – tell me – tell me, I implore!" Quoth the Raven "Nevermore." Now the speaker starts to get seriously worked up and starts full-out yelling at the bird, calling him a "Prophet" and a "thing of evil" (85).
the_raven_analysis_and_questions_2.docx