The Raven and Other Selected Poems

Edgar Allan Poe

• Publisher: William Collins
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN: 9780008699413
• eBook ISBN: 9780008180522
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Classics
• Index: Literature

HarperCollins is proud to present our range of timeless literary classics

' "…Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore." '

This selection of Edgar Allan Poe's poetical works includes some of his best-known pieces, including the triumphant, gleeful 'The Bells', the tragic ode 'Annabel Lee' and his famous gothic tour de force, 'The Raven'. Some present powerful, nightmarish images of the macabre and bizarre, while others have at their heart a profound sense of love, beauty and loss. All are linguistic masterpieces that demonstrate Poe's gift for marrying rhythm, form and meaning.

An American writer of primarily prose and literary criticism, Edgar Allen Poe never ceased writing poetry throughout his turbulent life, and is today regarded as a central figure of American literary romanticism. He died in 1849.

CLASSIC LITERATURE: WORDS AND PHRASES
adapted from the Collins English Dictionary

Accoucheur NOUN a male midwife or doctor

I think my sister must have had some general idea that I was a young offender whom an Accoucheur Policemen had taken up (on my birthday) and delivered over to her (Great Expectations by Charles Dickens)

addled ADJ confused and unable to think properly

But she counted and counted till she got that addled (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain)

admiration NOUN amazement or wonder

lifting up his hands and eyes by way of admiration (Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift)

afeard ADJ afeard means afraid

shake it–and don’t be afeard (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain)

affected VERB affected means to assume the appearance of

Hadst thou affected sweet divinity (Doctor Faustus 5.2 by Christopher Marlowe)

aground ADV when a boat runs aground, it touches the ground in a shallow part of the water and gets stuck

what kep’ you?–boat get aground? (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain)

ague NOUN a fever in which the patient has alternate hot and cold shivering fits

his exposure to the wet and cold had brought on fever and ague (Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens)

alchemy ADJ false or worthless

all wealth alchemy (The Sun Rising by John Donne)

all alike PHRASE the same all the time

Love, all alike (The Sun Rising by John Donne)

alow and aloft PHRASE alow means in the lower part or bottom, and aloft means on the top, so alow and aloft means on the top and in the bottom or throughout

Someone’s turned the chest out alow and aloft (Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson)

ambuscade NOUN ambuscade is not a proper word. Tom means an ambush, which is when a group of people attack their enemies, after hiding and waiting for them

and so we would lie in ambuscade, as he called it (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain)

amiable ADJ likeable or pleasant

Such amiable qualities must speak for themselves (Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen)

amulet NOUN an amulet is a charm thought to drive away evil spirits.

uttered phrases at once occult and familiar, like the amulet worn on the heart (Silas Marner by George Eliot)

amusement NOUN here amusement means a strange and disturbing puzzle

this was an amusement the other way (Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe)

ancient NOUN an ancient was the flag displayed on a ship to show which country it belongs to. It is also called the ensign

her ancient and pendants out (Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe)

antic ADJ here antic means horrible or grotesque

armed and dressed after a very antic manner (Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift)

antics NOUN antics is an old word meaning clowns, or people who do silly things to make other people laugh

And point like antics at his triple crown (Doctor Fau...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• History of William Collins
• Life & Times
• The Raven
• Selected Poems 1827–1849
• Classic Literature: Words and Phrases
• About the Publisher