The Raven; Two Interpretations.
Poe's The Raven has become easy to overlook as a piece of horror writing, 'cause it's been so parodied, and so overdone, but I've re-listened and re-read it over the past year, and talked with my Dear Husband about it (one of the reasons he is my Dear Husband is that I can talk with him about this sort of thing).
First Interpretation: Fairly standard. Lenore was virtuous, and is dead, and the raven shows up to inform the man in no uncertain terms that he's damned. Scary enough, especially if you start wondering the following: What exactly IS that volume of quaint and curious lore he's reading, and just how did Lenore die? The poem never says, and the man is now being haunted. Says guilty conscience to me.
Second Interpretation: What if the man is mistaken in his vision of Lenore? What if she wasn't saintly at all? What if that's HER book of "quaint and curious" lore he's reading, and the raven is a) her former familiar, or b) her curse on him and in fact the reason he won't meet her in Heaven is that _she's_ the one whose not there?
Just some Halloween thoughts. Enjoy the night.
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