![\"The](\"https:\/\/th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com\/ZB1ICupi2O-GcBLoyIkgVWvVJQs=\/1000x750\/filters:no_upscale():focal(1940x1053:1941x1054)\/https:\/\/tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com\/filer_public\/57\/f9\/57f91cde-8672-4198-b0e8-2327fe0f4741\/raven.jpg\")
Despite gaining national renown after \u201cThe Raven\u201d was published in 1845, Edgar Allan Poe never enjoyed great financial success. When the New York Evening Mirror<\/a> <\/em>published Edgar Allan Poe\u2019s poem \u201cThe Raven<\/a>\u201d on January 29, 1845, it catapulted both the work and its author to instant fame.<\/p>\n Poe, known for his macabre and Gothic style<\/a>, was no stranger to audiences. He\u2019d already penned and published short stories like \u201cThe Murders in the Rue Morgue<\/a>\u201d (1841) and \u201cThe Black Cat<\/a>\u201d (1843). Still, it was this stylized and rhythmic ballad of 18 six-line stanzas that most resonated with readers, making Poe a household name.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Raven\u201d tells the tale of a grieving narrator mourning the death of his lover, Lenore. On a particularly dreary December night, he hears a raven tapping at his window. When the narrator opens the window, in steps the raven, perching itself on his bust of Pallas Athena<\/a>, the Greek goddess of wisdom. There it stands, constantly repeating the word \u201cNevermore,\u201d while driving the narrator into madness.<\/p>\n The Raven | Animation | Edgar Allan Poe<\/p>\n
\n Public domain via Wikimedia Commons<\/a><\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n![](\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:The_Flying_Raven,_Ex_Libris_for_The_Raven_by_Edgar_Allan_Poe_MET_DP815457.jpg\")
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