The Raven: A Close ReadingThe entire poem, including the first stanza, as scanned here, measures an octameter with mostly trochaic feet and a few iams. The use of a longer verse allows the poem to be more of a narration of the events of the evening. Additionally, this allows Poe to use internal rhymes as shown in bold. Internal rhyme appears in the first and third lines of each stanza. As you read the poem, you begin to expect the next rhyme to push you. The external rhyme of the "or" sound in Lenore and Nevermore at the end of each stanza mimics the haunting nature of the narrator's thoughts. Internal rhyme as well as the same external rhyme repeated at the end of each stanza and other literary devices such as alliteration and assonance give the poem a song-like sound. The musicality of the rhyme also helps memorize the poem. This helps keep the poem in your head after you've finished reading it, lingering in your thoughts even as the narrator's thoughts haunt him. Rhyme also helps produce a buzz in the reader's mind, keeping them moving steadily forward. In the first line, the alliteration of the letter w in the words weak and tired adds to the sense of fatigue the narrator feels. The sound w travels between your lips effortlessly, almost as easily as a vowel. The second line repeats the phonetic sound k in a picturesque and curious way, which helps to give a particular look to the elements it reads. The harsh aspiration draws attention to the words that let us know what the narrator is reading should not be overlooked. In the third line, the nnn nodded, the almost napping sound seems ominous. The repetition of the n sound seems long and tired but with some force. Not as difficult as the commercial, it feels like someone is trying to stay awake. The poem begins with the words Once upon a time like a fairy tale beginning with Once upon a time. However, we have rather dreary midnight. An opening that is more reminiscent of a ghost story. He reads a picturesque and curious forgotten volume. Picturesque and curious alludes to the fact that the tradition is strange and mysterious. The fact that it is forgotten alludes to the fact that it is secret and unknown. Lore hints that it's fake.