The was a reaction paper for the poem the Raven. I submitted this for an American Lit class and recieved 10/10 points.

This is a magnificent piece of poetry. The hypnotic monotony of rhythm reflected the speaker's frame of mind. The poem is clearly about the sorrow he experienced over the death of his wife and her ideal, spiritual love. The raven, being a symbol of death, and the lines, "Other friends have flown before-On the morrow he will leave me as my hopes have flown before," meant that he was afraid death might abandon him, leaving him comfortless. Then he sits in front of the bird wondering why the raven croaked "Nevermore". The raven is trying to tell him "she shall press, ah, nevermore", but…