Often called the most famous poem ever written, early reviews of “The Raven” were ecstatic. We have to remember these are the days before press agents roamed the land and cyberspace.
“Everybody reads the Poem and praises it . . .”“A BEAUTIFUL POEM.”
“wild and shivery,”
“A Stanza unknown before to gods, men, and booksellers”
Isn't it a wonder and something to think about that poetry was once reviewed regularly in the press? How and why has poetry and poets gone out of our lives? What have we lost?
It should be added, however, that “The Raven” was not destined to remain without critics. One example: William Butler Yeats thought the poem “insincere and vulgar.” Do you see this in the poem?
Kenneth Silverman, one Poe's finest biographers, concludes: “Poe [with “The Raven”] succeeded all too well in suiting the popular taste, a work fatally destined to be Beloved, a poem for people who don’t like poetry.”
Is this harsh? Too sweeping? What do you think?
Here are some outstanding readings of the poem (and, inevitably, one spoof).
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