The Raven, and The Philosophy of Composition

I pretend to no originality in either the rhythm or meter of “The Raven.” The former is trochaic—the latter is octameter acatalectic, alternating with heptameter catalectic repeated in the refrain of the fifth verse, and terminating with tetrameter catalectic

for centuries, no man, in verse, has ever done, or ever seemed to think of doing, an original thing

My first object (as usual) was originality.

the death, then, of a beautiful woman is, unquestionably, the most poetical topic in the world

Beauty of whatever kind, in its supreme development, invariably excites the sensitive soul to tears. Melancholy is thus the most legitimate of all the poetical tones.

Truth, in fact, demands a precision

If any literary work is too long to be read at one sitting, we must be content to dispense with the immensely important effect derivable from unity of impression—for, if two sittings be required, the affairs of the world interfere, and everything like totality is at once destroyed.

Most writers—poets in especial—prefer having it understood that they compose by a species of fine phrenzy—an ecstatic intuition—and would positively shudder at letting the public take a peep behind the scenes

every plot, worth the name, must be elaborated to its dénouement before anything be attempted with the pen