The Raven, and The Philosophy of Composition (Annotated)

Enriched Edition. A Gothic Mourning Poem and Essay on Unity of Effect, Grief, and Methodical Creative CraftBy Edgar Allan Poe
Listen with Sir Michael Caine™ and 1,000+ voices
Length2h

About this audiobook

The Raven, and The Philosophy of Composition pairs Edgar Allan Poe's most famous lyric poem with his provocative account of its making. "The Raven" stages a nocturnal encounter between a grieving scholar and a mysterious bird whose repeated "Nevermore" becomes an emblem of irrecoverable loss. Its musical refrain, trochaic rhythm, Gothic atmosphere, and disciplined symbolism place it at the center of American Romanticism while anticipating modern ideas of psychological interiority and aesthetic form. In the accompanying essay, Poe presents composition as deliberate craft rather than spontaneous inspiration. Poe's own life—marked by bereavement, financial instability, editorial labor, and an exacting concern for literary effect—deeply informs this volume. Born in 1809, orphaned young, and repeatedly acquainted with death, he transformed personal anxiety into highly controlled art. As a critic and magazine writer, Poe also developed strong theories about unity, brevity, and emotional intensity, all of which shape his explanation of how "The Raven" was designed to produce a singular impression. This book is recommended for readers interested in poetry, Gothic literature, literary criticism, and the mechanics of artistic creation. It offers both a haunting masterpiece and a rare theoretical key to Poe's method, making it invaluable for students, scholars, and attentive general readers alike. This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience. - A comprehensive Introduction outlines these selected works' unifying features, themes, or stylistic evolutions. - The Author Biography highlights personal milestones and literary influences that shape the entire body of writing. - A Historical Context section situates the works in their broader era—social currents, cultural trends, and key events that underpin their creation. - A concise Synopsis (Selection) offers an accessible overview of the included texts, helping readers navigate plotlines and main ideas without revealing critical twists. - A unified Analysis examines recurring motifs and stylistic hallmarks across the collection, tying the stories together while spotlighting the different work's strengths. - Reflection questions inspire deeper contemplation of the author's overarching message, inviting readers to draw connections among different texts and relate them to modern contexts. - Lastly, our hand‐picked Memorable Quotes distill pivotal lines and turning points, serving as touchstones for the collection's central themes.

Audiobook details

Rating★★★★ 4.2 (1.1K)
Includes Goodreads
GenreLiterary Classics
Length2 hrs
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateNov 20, 2023
LanguageEnglish

Table of contents

1Introduction
7The Philosophy of Composition
2Introduction
8The Raven
3Author Biography
9Analysis
4Historical Context
10Reflection
5Synopsis (Selection)
11Memorable Quotes
Mostrar todos os capítulos
6Foreword
The Greatest Short Stories of Edgar Allan PoeEdgar Allan Poe5h 26m4.3 (3K)$1.99 · $0.00
Die denkwürdigen Erlebnisse des Artur Gordon PymEdgar Allan Poe7h 8m3.6 (73.5K)$1 · $0.00
LIGEIAEdgar Allan Poe2h 12m4.0 (9K)$1 · $0.00
The Complete Short Stories of Edgar Allan Poe (Illustrated Edition)Edgar Allan Poe55h 6m4.5 (18.2K)$1.99 · $0.00
The Journal of Julius RodmanEdgar Allan Poe2h 55m3.0 (224)$7 · $0.00
Six Creepy StoriesEdgar Allan Poe1h 59m4.0 (930)$10 · $0.00
Del Brivido e di Altri RaccontiEdgar Allan Poe2h 10m$3 · $0.00
Eureka: A Prose PoemEdgar Allan Poe4h 32m4.0 (3.3K)$10 · $0.00
The Murders in the Rue MorgueEdgar Allan Poe1h 33m4.0 (58.3K)$6 · $0.00
Aventuras de Arturo Gordon PymEdgar Allan Poe8h 4m3.7 (56.7K)$12 · $0.00
Cuentos Clásicos del Norte, Primera SerieEdgar Allan Poe8h 25m$10 · $0.00
Edgar Allan PoeEdgar Allan Poe1h 18m4.5 (323.9K)$12 · $0.00
Unheimliches für die dunkle Jahreszeit:Edgar Allan Poe, Edward Lytton-Bulwer, Alexander Puschkin, Fjodor Dostojewski, Gustave Flaubert, H. G. Wells, E. T. A. Hoffmann, Nikolai Gogol, Theodor Storm, Stefan Zweig17h 17m4.3 (29)$24 · $0.00
Unheimliche GeschichtenEdgar Allan Poe6h 19m4.4 (3.8K)$10 · $0.00
Masterpieces of Mystery (Vol. 1-4)Edgar Allan Poe, Arthur Conan Doyle, Algernon Blackwood, Montague Rhodes James, Guy de Maupassant, William F. Harvey, Ralph Adams Cram, Robert Louis Stevenson, Wilbur Daniel Steele, Pliny the Younger, Arthur B. Reeve, Wilkie Collins, Anna Katherine Green, Anton Chekhov, Théopile Gautier, Mark Twain, Lafcadio Hearn, E. F. Benson, Arthur Machen, Brander Matthews, Cleveland Moffett, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Villiers de l'Isle Adam, William Archer, Fitz-James O'Brien, Florence Marryat, Chester Bailey Fernando, Mary E. Hanshew, Thomas W. Hanshew27h 44m$1.99 · $0.00
Phantastische Erzählungen: Ein SammelbandEdgar Allan Poe, E. T. A. Hoffmann, Franz Kafka, Nikolai Gogol, Fjodor M. Dostojewski, A. K. Tolstoi, Washington Irving, Robert Louis Stevenson, Oscar Wilde, Iwan Sergejewitsch Turgenew, Prosper Mérimée, Octave Mirbeau, Rudyard Kipling, Jodocus Temme, Jakob Elias Poritzky154h 45m$1 · $0.00
El escarabajo de oroEdgar Allan Poe1h 45m3.9 (10.8K)$1.99 · $0.00
El gato negroEdgar Allan Poe39m4.3 (96.1K)$1.99 · $0.00
The Mysteries for Holiday FeelsEdgar Allan Poe, Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle, Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins, Robert Barr, E. W. Hornung, John Kendrick Bangs, Melville Davisson Post, Edgar Wallace, Victor L. Whitechurch, Anna Katharine Green, G. K. Chesterton, Ellis Parker Butler, Maurice Leblanc, R. Austin Freeman, A. E. W. Mason, Mary Roberts Rinehart346h 43m$1.99 · $0.00
Famous Detectives On Christmas Duty - Ultimate Murder Mysteries for HolidaysEdgar Allan Poe, Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle, Charles Dickens, Grace Livingston Hill, E. W. Hornung, John Kendrick Bangs, Melville Davisson Post, Edgar Wallace, Victor L. Whitechurch383h 16m$1.99 · $0.00
To Kill a MockingbirdHarper Lee12h 18m4.5 (7.4M)$29 · $0.00
These Precious DaysAnn Patchett11h 14m4.5 (45.2K)$29 · $0.00
Pride & Prejudice (Annotated)Jane Austen15h 10m4.7 (13.3K)$2 · $0.00
The Jeeves and Wooster Stories: The Complete Collection (33 Books)P. G. Wodehouse21h 57m4.7 (2.8K)$15 · $0.00
The Gulag Archipelago Volume 3Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn21h 56m4.7 (8.9K)$46 · $0.00
This Side of Paradise - The Original 1920 Edition (Annotated)F. Scott Fitzgerald11h 30m4.6 (1.6K)$2 · $0.00
The Great Gatsby: Original 1925 Edition (An F. Scott Fitzgerald Classic NovelFrancis Scott Fitzgerald4h 45m4.6 (9.3K)$18 · $0.00
The Complete Histories / History Plays of William Shakespeare (Annotated)William Shakespeare29h 42m4.6 (2.3K)$1.99 · $0.00
Braving the TruthRachel Held Evans11h 31m4.7 (359)$29 · $0.00
The Old Man and the Sea (Annotated)Ernest Hemingway4h 27m4.6 (1.4K)$2 · $0.00
Twelfth Night (The Unabridged Play) + The Classic Biography (Annotated)William Shakespeare, Sidney Lee16h 38m4.6 (1.4K)$2 · $0.00
Henry V (The Play, Historical Background and Analysis of the Character in the Play)William Shakespeare, William Hazlitt8h 50m4.6 (1.3K)$1.99 · $0.00
H. P. LOVECRAFT Ultimate Collection: Novellas, Short Stories, Poetry & Essays (Annotated)H. P. Lovecraft12h 28m4.6 (2.3K)$2 · $0.00
Time RegainedMarcel Proust16h 8m4.5 (10.6K)$1.99 · $0.00
Lessons in TruthH. Emilie3h 50m4.6 (1.4K)$4.70 · $0.00
TORAH - Bilingual Edition: English/Hebrew (Annotated)Max Margolis, JPS28h 26m4.6 (1K)$2 · $0.00
Betty Crocker picture cooky bookBetty Crocker, Inc. General Mills2h 13m4.5 (6.5K)$1 · $0.00
The Complete Tales of Beatrix PotterBeatrix Potter3h 36m4.5 (75K)$3 · $0.00
Anne of Green GablesL. M. Montgomery11h 1m4.5 (1.2M)$2.30 · $0.00
Crime and Punishment (The Unabridged Garnett Translation) (Annotated)Fyodor Dostoevsky24h 25m4.5 (15.4K)$1.99 · $0.00

You may also like

The Flowers of EvilCharles Baudelaire, Frank Pearce Sturm2h 19m4.2 (54.4K)$15
The Raven (Golden Deer Classics)Edgar Allen Poe32m4.5 (1.1K)$4 · $0.00
The RavenEdgar Allan Poe10m4.4 (317K)$1 · $0.00
Edgar Allan Poe - Ultimate Collection: 160+ Short Stories, Novels & Poems (Including Essays & Letters) (Annotated)Edgar Allan Poe108h 45m4.4 (2.9K)$1.99 · $0.00
The Complete Poetical Works of Edgar Allan Poe Including Essays on PoetryEdgar Allan Poe - Edited by John H. Ingram5h 22m4.3 (17.1K)Free
Edgar Allan PoeEdgar Allan Poe44h 46m4.5 (329.2K)$30
The Waste LandT. S. Eliot18m4.2 (64.9K)$2.30
The Temptation of Saint AnthonyGustave Flaubert5h 7m4.0 (4.9K)$1.20 · $0.00
Dark Tales (With Original Illustrations)Nathaniel Hawthorne25h 26m4.2 (1.6K)$2 · $0.00
DearlyMargaret Atwood1h 47m4.0 (20K)$16 · $0.00
LigeiaEdgar Allan Poe45m4.1 (9.6K)$1
The RavenEdgar Allan Poe9m4.4 (348.3K)$1.20 · $0.00
The Poems Of Edgar Allan PoeEdgar Allan Poe5h 9m4.4 (2K)$2.40
The Complete PoetryEdgar Allan Poe18h 35m4.4 (17.2K)$1.99 · $0.00
The King in YellowRobert W. Chambers3h 53m3.8 (54.2K)$18 · $0.00
The Complete Poetry of Emily BrontëEmily Brontë7h 11m4.3 (4.2K)$1 · $0.00
The Door in the Wall, and Other StoriesH. G. Wells4h 40m4.0 (1.4K)$2.30
Two Worlds and In BetweenCaitlín R. Kiernan24h 9m4.3 (456)$30
Faces in the CrowdValeria Luiselli5h 3m3.7 (9.1K)$14 · $0.00
The Raven and Selected Short StoriesEdgar Allan Poe8h 26m4.0 (791)$14