THE RAVEN

A masterpiece in creepy rhymes / for Halloween or darker times.

Sitting in a tenebrous, candlelit chamber mourning for a lost love whose specter periodically glides, disregarded, into view, a narrator bearing a mild resemblance to the author exchanges sentiments with a feathered visitor, dark and enigmatic. Probably still the best exemplar ever of what relentless assaults of dense, pounding rhyme can do, the old poem still works on sonic and metaphorical as well as literal levels to lower the spirits of any reader or listener, and to induce reactions ranging from mild unease to profound existential despair. Good stuff! Bristol’s atmospheric illustrations helpfully add visual weight to the gloom, though the solid-looking ghost of Lenore floating past sometimes makes the room look a bit crowded. Other versions with more macabre pictures from illustrators ranging from Gustave Doré to Gahan Wilson are available, but this one may be preferable for younger or more sensitive audiences. Accompanied by a few extra “nevermores,” anonymous notes at the end explain the author’s contributions to literature as well as the poem’s publication history and (superfluously) plotline.

Quoth the critic, “Worth a try!”