what is the theme of the raven

The main theme of Edgar Allan Poes poem "The Raven" is grief and loss. The narrator is mourning the death of his beloved Lenore, and the raven serves as a constant reminder of his grief. The poem explores the effects of death on the living, such as grief, mourning, and memories. The narrators grief causes him to become increasingly isolated and irrational, and he is unable to escape his obsessive memories of Lenore. The ravens refrain of "nevermore" emphasizes the hopelessness of the narrators situation and his inability to reunite with Lenore, both physically and spiritually. The poem also contains elements of the supernatural, as the ravens presence and behavior seem too coincidental to be explained by natural means.