An Analysis of the Third and Fourth Stanzas in Poe's Poem The Raven

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An Analysis of the Third and Fourth Stanzas in Poe's Poem The Raven

These two stanzas start at line 25 of the poem, they are the third and fourth stanzas. The persona has heard a knocking at his door, but no one was there. At this point in the poem, his fear and excitement are increasing as some voice keeps repeating the word "Lenore." It is not clear whether he actually hears some other voice speak the word, or if he just interprets the echo after he himself says it as belonging to someone else. Most likely they are his own words, but in his imagination he is engaging in a verbal exchange with another person. After this exchange, his soul is burning, and though the footnote in the book interprets this as meaning he is embarrassed about his false assumptions about where the knocking came from, I think it more likely means that his soul is burning in anticipation of something more, something greater that is about to happen to him than he initially thought. Again he hears a tapping, and this time he goes to the window instead of the door. He is eager to find out what is out there, because the noise is so mysterious to him that he feels like he must investigate it. At the same time, though, he seems a bit reluctant because the last line of the second stanza says, 'Tis the wind and nothing more!" It seems as though he is hoping that it is only the wind, because he is afraid of what else it might be, but he already senses that it is not just the wind.

The whole passage seems to be a preparation of what is to happen in the next stanza - in which the raven appears. His whole self is focused on that event in anticipation, which is reflected in his language. He first enters into a dreamy state, in which his emotions of fear, yet also hope, take over. This is revealed in the verbs, "wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming." His mind is obviously in a very active state, as can be seen by the list of verbs. They are a mixture of positive and negative feelings.

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