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Quizzes > Books & Literature

The Raven quiz: How well do you know Poe's poem?

Quick, free Edgar Allan Poe quiz on The Raven. Instant results.

Editorial: Review CompletedCreated By: Historic Paradise FoundationUpdated Aug 28, 2025
Difficulty: Moderate
2-5mins
Learning OutcomesCheat Sheet
Paper art illustration for Raven poem quiz, testing knowledge on Edgar Allan Poe verses, stanzas, themes on coral background

This The Raven quiz helps you check lines, speakers, symbols, and themes in Poe's classic poem. Answer quick questions, see what you know, and spot stanzas to review for class or a test. Want more Poe practice? Try Poe Usher quiz, the black cat quiz, or The Bells quiz.

Which bird famously appears in Edgar Allan Poe's poem?
Parrot
Raven
Owl
Nightingale
The poem centers around a mysterious talking bird that repeatedly utters the word "Nevermore," which is explicitly identified as a raven in the first stanza. The raven's presence symbolizes unrelenting grief and doom. Poe chose the raven for its dark connotations and its ability to mimic human speech.
In what year was "The Raven" first published?
1845
1843
1846
1844
"The Raven" was first published on January 29, 1845, in the New York Evening Mirror. This publication marked Poe's most famous success during his lifetime. Its immediate acclaim helped cement Poe's reputation as a master of macabre poetry.
On what does the raven perch when it enters the narrator's room?
A bookshelf
A fireplace mantel
A bust of Pallas
A window ledge
When the bird enters, it perches atop a bust of Pallas Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom, symbolizing a tension between rational thought and irrational dread. This choice adds classical resonance to the poem's themes. Poe uses this imagery to contrast wisdom with the irrational grief of the narrator.
What single word does the raven repeat throughout the poem?
Neverland
Forever
Evermore
Nevermore
The raven utters the refrain "Nevermore" at the close of twelve of the poem's eighteen stanzas. Each utterance deepens the narrator's despair and shapes the poem's haunting rhythm. Poe's repetition creates a musical and psychological effect that underscores finality.
What is the primary meter used in "The Raven"?
Dactylic hexameter
Trochaic octameter
Iambic pentameter
Anapestic tetrameter
Poe wrote "The Raven" predominantly in trochaic octameter, meaning each line has eight trochaic feet (stressed syllable followed by an unstressed). This unusual meter contributes to the poem's hypnotic, chant-like quality. The rhythm accentuates the haunting atmosphere and the narrator's obsessive state.
In the poem, who is Lenore?
The narrator's sister
The narrator's mother
The narrator's lost love
The narrator's daughter
Lenore is referenced as the narrator's deceased beloved, whose death has plunged him into sorrow. Poe never specifies her exact relationship, but she is widely interpreted as the narrator's lost love. Her memory fuels the poem's themes of mourning and eternal loss.
How many stanzas does "The Raven" contain?
16
20
18
15
"The Raven" is composed of eighteen six-line stanzas, creating a strict formal structure. Poe's regular stanza count underscores the obsessive repetition and building intensity of the poem. This structure also mirrors classical poetic forms while sustaining a modern psychological drama.
Which literary device is most prominent in the phrase "While I nodded, nearly napping"?
Alliteration
Metaphor
Personification
Onomatopoeia
The repeated initial consonant sound in "nodded" and "napping" is a classic example of alliteration, which Poe uses to create a musical and hypnotic effect. Alliteration enhances the poem's rhythm and the narrator's drowsy state. This device contributes to the overall mood of eerie suspense.
The bust of Pallas referenced in the poem is an allusion to which Greek goddess?
Demeter
Athena
Aphrodite
Hera
Pallas is another name for Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom. By perching the raven on Pallas's bust, Poe contrasts human reason with the irrational terror that grips the narrator. This mythological reference deepens the poem's themes of knowledge versus ignorance.
The raven's repeated utterance of "Nevermore" is an example of what poetic device?
Anaphora
Assonance
Onomatopoeia
Refrain
A refrain is a repeated line or phrase at regular intervals in a poem or song. "Nevermore" serves as the central refrain in Poe's poem, reinforcing the narrator's despair and the theme of inescapable fate. This repetition also structures the poem's emotional arc.
Which of the following is NOT a central theme in "The Raven"?
Despair and madness
Temptations of sin
Grief over lost love
Fear of death
While the poem explores grief, fear of death, and a descent into madness, it does not focus on moral temptation or the seduction of sin. Poe's work is psychological and symbolic rather than a moral allegory of sin. The other listed themes are all clearly present in the poem's narrative.
In the context of the poem, what does the word "ebony" most strongly symbolize?
Joy
Darkness and gloom
Knowledge
Purity
Ebony, a deep black wood, symbolizes darkness, sorrow, and the unknown. Poe's choice of "ebony" to describe the raven's plumage and the bust evokes the gloom enveloping the narrator. The color imagery reinforces the poem's somber mood.
Which of the following allusions is NOT present in "The Raven"?
Aidenn
Pallas
Plutonian Shore
River Styx
Poe alludes to the Plutonian Shore (Hades), uses "Aidenn" as an archaic form of Eden, and references Pallas (Athena). There is no mention of the River Styx in the poem. This demonstrates Poe's selective use of classical and biblical allusions.
How many lines are there in Edgar Allan Poe's poem "The Raven"?
108
60
120
56
"The Raven" is structured in eighteen six-line stanzas, totaling 108 lines. Poe's careful structuring contributes to the poem's formal intensity and pacing. Each line follows its strict meter, reinforcing the narrator's mounting obsession.
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Study Outcomes

  1. Analyze Poetic Structure -

    Examine the meter, rhyme scheme, and stanza organization in "The Raven" to appreciate how Poe crafts his haunting rhythm.

  2. Recall Key Quotations -

    Identify and recite pivotal lines and phrases from the poem, reinforcing your memory of Poe's most memorable verses.

  3. Identify Central Themes -

    Recognize the major themes of loss, grief, and the supernatural, and understand how they drive the emotional impact of "The Raven."p>

  4. Interpret Symbolism -

    Decipher the symbolic significance of the raven, the bust of Pallas, and other imagery to uncover deeper layers of meaning.

  5. Examine Tone and Atmosphere -

    Assess how language, repetition, and context create a chilling and melancholic mood throughout the poem.

  6. Evaluate Literary Devices -

    Identify Poe's use of alliteration, internal rhyme, and suspense techniques to see how each device enhances the reader's experience.

Cheat Sheet

  1. Meter and Structure -

    Poe composed The Raven in trochaic octameter, which uses eight trochees per line (stressed-unstressed pattern). For example, "Once upon a midnight dreary" scans as / - / - / - / - / - / - /, making rhythm questions in the raven quiz straightforward once you practice scanning. A simple mnemonic - "TIMber TIMber…" for each trochee - helps lock in the pattern.

  2. Refrain and Repetition -

    The single word "Nevermore" appears 18 times, each repetition deepening the poem's sense of despair (Edgar Allan Poe Society). To ace the raven questions, note how each stanza's tone shifts when the narrator hears the refrain, and try the "Count-and-Compare" trick: tally "Nevermore" per section to spot thematic changes. This technique will boost confidence when you test the raven knowledge on refrains.

  3. Symbolism of the Raven -

    In Gothic tradition, ravens symbolize death, prophecy, and the narrator's unresolved grief (University of Virginia's Poe studies). Remember the "Three-R" mnemonic: Raven = Reminder of Regret, to recall its thematic weight in quizzes. This tip makes any quiz on the raven theme easier by linking the bird's role to the poem's emotional core.

  4. Sound Devices and Imagery -

    Poe's use of alliteration ("weak and weary"), internal rhyme ("ore"/"o'er"), and assonance shapes the eerie atmosphere (Journal of Literary Imagination). For the raven poem quiz, identify at least two examples per stanza - write them out to reinforce recognition. Practicing aloud helps you hear these devices when you face the advanced quiz on the raven.

  5. Historical Context & Impact -

    First published in 1845 in The Evening Mirror, The Raven cemented Poe's fame and fueled the American Gothic movement (Library of Congress archives). When you test the raven's historical facts, remember the catchy date mnemonic "Eighty-Five Alive" for 1845. Knowing this context will give you an edge on any quiz on the raven's first appearance.

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