Edgar Allan Poe

In this piece, the narrator tells the story of his actions and attempts to convince the reader that he is not mad despite the overwhelming evidence on the contrary. He spends the opening of the story talking about how much he loved having pets around all of his life. Because of this, he and his wife had many pets. His favorite was a black cat named Pluto. However, the narrator became violent and took to drinking and abusing his pets and wife. At this point in the story, he had not done anything to harm Pluto, but after a night of drinking, he used a knife to cut out one of the cat’s eyes. After that, the cat started avoiding him. This caused him to feel guilty, and so he decided to hang the cat. After hanging Pluto, the narrator finds another cat that looks like Pluto except for the white patch on its chest. He feels a sense of dread about the cat, and eventually starts seeing the gallows in the white patch of fur. The narrator tries to kill the cat, and when his wife stops him, he kills her instead. He decides to bury her in the wall in the cellar. After doing this, he does not see the cat for a while. While the police are in his house, they hear the cat. He had inadvertently put the cat in the wall with his wife.

In this piece, the narrator tells the story of his actions and attempts to convince the reader that he is not mad despite the overwhelming evidence on the contrary. He spends the opening of the story talking about how much he loved having pets around all of his life. Because of this, he and his wife had many pets. His favorite was a black cat named Pluto. However, the narrator became violent and took to drinking and abusing his pets and wife. At this point in the story, he had not done anything to harm Pluto, but after a night of drinking, he used a knife to cut out one of the cat’s eyes. After that, the cat started avoiding him. This caused him to feel guilty, and so he decided to hang the cat. After hanging Pluto, the narrator finds another cat that looks like Pluto except for the white patch on its chest. He feels a sense of dread about the cat, and eventually starts seeing the gallows in the white patch of fur. The narrator tries to kill the cat, and when his wife stops him, he kills her instead. He decides to bury her in the wall in the cellar. After doing this, he does not see the cat for a while. While the police are in his house, they hear the cat. He had inadvertently put the cat in the wall with his wife.

The narrator spends the first part of the story talking about all of the things that he loves about her. He says things like, ”Those eyes! those large, those shining, those divine orbs! they became to me twin stars of Leda, and I to them devoutest of astrologers.” As time went on, Ligeia becomes ill and dies. He remarries a woman named Rowena whose features are notably different from Ligeia’s. She has blonde hair and blue eyes instead of Ligea’s dark hair and eyes. He abuses opium and becomes hostile towards Rowena out of resentment towards her. Two months into their marriage, Rowena becomes ill. She fights the illness for a while before becoming worse again. One night, while the narrator is with her, she gets much worse and he goes to get her a decanter of wine. He then sees something as he is giving her the wine - “three or four large drops of a brilliant and ruby colored fluid” drop into her glass. A few days later, she dies. While in the tomb with Rowena’s body, the narrator sees her stirring, and wonders if she is coming back to life. However, it is not Rowena that he sees return, but Ligeia.

The narrator spends the first part of the story talking about all of the things that he loves about her. He says things like, ”Those eyes! those large, those shining, those divine orbs! they became to me twin stars of Leda, and I to them devoutest of astrologers.” As time went on, Ligeia becomes ill and dies. He remarries a woman named Rowena whose features are notably different from Ligeia’s. She has blonde hair and blue eyes instead of Ligea’s dark hair and eyes. He abuses opium and becomes hostile towards Rowena out of resentment towards her. Two months into their marriage, Rowena becomes ill. She fights the illness for a while before becoming worse again. One night, while the narrator is with her, she gets much worse and he goes to get her a decanter of wine. He then sees something as he is giving her the wine - “three or four large drops of a brilliant and ruby colored fluid” drop into her glass. A few days later, she dies. While in the tomb with Rowena’s body, the narrator sees her stirring, and wonders if she is coming back to life. However, it is not Rowena that he sees return, but Ligeia.


The narrator in this story deals with the death of his wife, and is characterized by this loss. He constantly compares Rowena against Ligeia. He puts Ligeia on a pedestal, and demonizes Rowena primarily because she is not Ligeia. There is also the implication that the narrator may have killed Rowena. He sees something in the room before he gives her the wine, but he had taken an “immoderate dose of opium.” It is more likely that he had been poisoning her because of his dislike for her, and his guilt for Ligeia’s death.


The narrator in this story deals with the death of his wife, and is characterized by this loss. He constantly compares Rowena against Ligeia. He puts Ligeia on a pedestal, and demonizes Rowena primarily because she is not Ligeia. There is also the implication that the narrator may have killed Rowena. He sees something in the room before he gives her the wine, but he had taken an “immoderate dose of opium.” It is more likely that he had been poisoning her because of his dislike for her, and his guilt for Ligeia’s death.

The narrator of “The Raven” is sitting and looking over old books in a dark and gloomy setting when a raven shows up and repeats the phrase, “nevermore.” This causes him to think that the raven is referring to his dead wife, Lenore. Throughout the work, the raven does not say anything else, and the narrator becomes increasingly agitated. Like other narrators in Poe’s work, the one in “The Raven” seems to be going mad, and like the narrator in Ligeia, is defined by the loss of his wife.

The narrator of “The Raven” is sitting and looking over old books in a dark and gloomy setting when a raven shows up and repeats the phrase, “nevermore.” This causes him to think that the raven is referring to his dead wife, Lenore. Throughout the work, the raven does not say anything else, and the narrator becomes increasingly agitated. Like other narrators in Poe’s work, the one in “The Raven” seems to be going mad, and like the narrator in Ligeia, is defined by the loss of his wife.