The Raven' what does the raven represent is he real?

Question

I'm in 8th grade and I have one of theseteachers that like teaching and enjoys giving out these crazy homework from old english words...I need the answer to these two question...I will need to make 3 pages worth of itby friday thanks a buch
The poem from Edgar Allan Poe....I was reading the story but I can't tell if the raven is real or not?
what is he suppost to mean or represent? an angel or something

Answer 1

Classically, ravens' represent death. They are carrion birds, and feed off the flesh of dead things.

Lenore is dead, and to every query the narrator directs at the raven about her, even regarding whether Lenore is in Heaven, the Raven simply answers. "Never more".

It's pretty creepy and gothic nowadays, but it is a classic.

Google "The Raven" and you will get lots of material.

Answer 2

Take a look at this analysis. I think it does a pretty good job of explaining what The Raven represents:

http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/Guides2/Raven.html#The%20Raven

In the Summary from that site, they say the Raven represents death:

Summary of The Raven:
It is midnight on a cold evening in December in the 1840s. In a dark and shadowy bedroom, wood burns in the fireplace as a man laments the death of Lenore, a woman he deeply loved. To occupy his mind, he reads a book of ancient stories. But a tapping noise disturbs him. When he opens the door to the bedroom, he sees nothing–only darkness. When the tapping persists, he opens the shutter of the window and discovers a raven, which flies into the room and lands above the door on a bust of Athena (Pallas in the poem), the goddess of wisdom and war in Greek mythology. It says “Nevermore” to all his thoughts and longings. The raven, a symbol of death, tells the man he will never again ("nevermore") see his beloved, never again hold her–even in heaven.

Here's my take....
Poetry is up for interpretation. There should be no "right" or "wrong" here. Some people have said the Raven represents the gods...some say he represents evil....some say he represents death. Whatever you choose, just explain to your teacher (in the 3 pages you write) why you think what you think, and show examples from the poem.