"The Raven" is a narrative poem by American writer Edgar Allan Poe. First published in January 1845, the poem is often noted for its musicality, stylized language, and supernatural atmosphere. It tells of a talking raven's mysterious visit to a distraught lover, tracing the man's slow descent into madness. The lover, often identified as being a student, is lamenting the loss of his love, Lenore. Sitting on a bust of Pallas, the raven seems to further instigate his distress with its constant repetition of the word "Nevermore". The poem makes use of a number of folk and classical references.
To read the poem in a PDF file, go to the link below:
http://www.ibiblio.org/ebooks/Poe/Raven.pdf
If you want to do some interpretation of it with your students, here are some exercises:
http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson411/RavenWorksheet.pdf
To listen to it, go to:
http://librivox.org/the-raven-by-edgar-allan-poe/