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Texts and Variant Texts Reading copy: “The Raven” — reading copy (copy-text is based on Text 00) Manuscripts and Authorized Printings: “The Raven” — late 1844, no original manuscript or fragments are known to exist (but this version is presumably recorded in Text 02) — Text 01  (Having completed the poem, Poe travelled from New York to Philadelphia, probably at the end of 1844 or within the first two weeks of 1845. He originally attempted to sell the poem to his friend George Rex Graham for publication in Graham's Magazine. Graham, however, not only declined the poem but condemned it, a decision he would come to regret. Graham did collect $15 for Poe, but as charity rather than the purchase price for the poem. In part to correct this mistake in turning down what became an immediate sensation, Graham published Poe's essay “The Philosophy of Composition” in 1846, in which Poe describes, somewhat imaginatively, the method by which he created the poem. When Poe returned to New York, “The Raven” was then taken to George Hooker Colton, editor and founder of the newly established American Review, who printed it in the second issue, having apparently bought the poem for another $15.) “The Raven” — February 1845 — American Review — Text 02  (Mabbott text A) About the time of publication in the American Review, Poe apparently sent copies of the proof sheets, with a number of modications, to N. P. Willis (of the Evening Mirror), J. A. Shea (of the New-York Daily Tribune), B. B. Minor (of the Southern Literary Messenger), and C. F. Briggs (of the Broadway Journal) — see items below. “The Raven” — January 29, 1845 — Evening Mirror — Text 03  (Mabbott text B) “The Raven” — March 1845 — Southern Literary Messenger — Text 04  (Mabbott text C) “The Raven” — February 3, 1845 — manuscript revision of lines 60-66 (in a letter to J. Augustus Shea) — Text 05  (Mabbott text D) “The Raven” — February 4, 1845 — New-York Daily Tribune — Text 06  (Mabbott text E) (Noted as “From the American Review for February,“ although Poe is given as the author, first acknowledged in the Evening Mirror. This version incorporates the changes Poe requested in his letter to J. A. Shea.) “The Raven” — February 8, 1845 — Broadway Journal — Text 07  (Mabbott text F) “The Raven” — May 24, 1845 — lines 3-4 only (in a review of the poems of William Lord), Broadway Journal — Text 08  (Mabbott text G) “The Raven” — 1845 — RAOP — Text 09  (Mabbott text J) “The Raven” — late 1845 or 1846 — manuscript revision of lines 103-108 — Text 10  (Mabbott text K) “The Raven” — December 1845 — Literary Emporium — Text 11  (Mabbott text L) (The subtitle of this journal is “A Compendium of Religious Literary and Philosophical Knowledge”) “The Raven” — April 1846 — several stanzas, and a few isolated lines, quoted in “The Philosophy of Composition,” Graham's — Text 12  (Mabbott text M) “The Raven” — July 25, 1846 — Saturday Courier (Philadelphia) — Text 13  (Mabbott text N) “The Raven” — May 29, 1847 — Poets and Poetry of America (8th edition) — Text 14  (Mabbott text P) (The poem continued to appear in later editions) “The Raven” — January 1848 — Southern Literary Messenger (numerous lines quoted in an article by P. P. Cooke, originally requested by Poe for his book on Literary America, which was not completed) — Text 15  (Mabbott text Q) “The Raven” — September 1848 — “Whittaker” manuscript  — Text 16  (Mabbott text R) (Poe sent the MS to Eli Bowen about the end of September 1848, apparently in reply to a request from Bown for his friend, Dr. Whittaker. Bowen transmitted it to Dr. S. A. Whittaker on September 25, 1848.) “The Raven” — 1846-1849 — RAOP-JLG (manuscript revisions in J. Lorimer Graham copy of RAOP) — Text 17  (Mabbott text S)  (For Griswold's printing of this text, see WORKS, under reprints, below) “The Raven” — September 25, 1849 — Semi-Weekly Examiner  — Text 18  (Mabbott text T)  (This is Mabbott's copytext)  (This is generally accepted as the final authorized version of the text. It beings with an introductory note by John M. Daniel.) Reprints: “The Raven” — February 3, 1845 — New York  Morning News  (First documented by Tanselle and noted in Poe Newsletter, October 1968, p. 30) “The Raven” — February 8, 1845 — Weekly Mirror “The Raven” — February 8, 1845 — New-York Weekly Tribune “The Raven” — February 15, 1845 — Howard District Press (Maryland) “The Raven” — February 15, 1845 — Pennsylvania Inquirer and National Gazette (Philadelphia) (not in H&C. Noted in 1992 “The Poe Catalogue,” of the 19th Century Bookshop, p. 75. The poem appears there under the heading “A Beautiful Poem.”) “The Raven” — February 21, 1845  — The Liberator (p. 32) “The Raven” — February 22, 1845  — New World  (acknowledged as "From the American Review for Feburary," with the attribution as "By Quarels."   (In the February 15, 1845 issue [p. 108], the New World favorably noticed the American Review, commenting: "Edgar A. Poe, we believe under the 'nom de plume' of Quarles, gives a wild and shivery poem, which he calls the Raven. It is written in a Stanza unknown before to gods, men, and booksellers, but it fills and delights the ear strangely with its wild and clashing music. Everybody reads the Poem and praises it -- justly we think, for it seems to us full of originality and power.") “The Raven” — February 23, 1845  — Western Literary Messenger, Buffalo, NY “The Raven” — 1845 (published by April 19, 1845) — A Plain System of Elocution, by G. Vandenhoff  (second edition, New York) (Although this was an unauthorized reprint, it is the first appearance of the poem in a book. Later editions do not include the poem. It may have been removed by legal pressure.) “The Raven” — June 6, 1845 — Massachusetts Temperance Standard  (not in H&C. Noted for sale by a dealer on Nov. 8, 2000.) “The Raven” — June 14, 1845 — Critic — This is essentially a reprint of Text 08  (Mabbott text H) “The Raven” — June 1849 — Lawrence Messenger (MA) (noted by Ljungquist. No copies of this item have been located, but the reprint is noted in the Lawrence Courier for June 16, 1849.) “The Raven” — July 26, 1845 — Littel's Living Age “The Raven” — December 1846 — Ladies Wreath and Literary Gatherer (Boston) “The Raven”— 1848 — Literary Annual (This item is listed by H&C, p. 116. The subtitle of this journal is “A Compendium of Religious Literary and Philosophical Knowledge.“ It may be a reprint of the Literary Emporium of 1845 noted above.) “The Raven”  — November 1, 1848 — Dollar Newspaper “The Raven” — about November 1848 — Hartford Weekly Gazette (This paper was edited by Rufus White Griswold — not to be confused with Rufus Wilmot Griswold, the person who edited Poe's works in 1850 and wrote the malicious memoir of Poe. Poe mentions the reprint of the poem in a November 26, 1848 letter to Sarah Helen Whitman.) “The Raven” — September 12, 1849 — Oquawka Spectator (Printed with the introductory note: “We publish on our first page, this week, one of the most remarkable poems ever written. Mr. Poe has long held the rank of one of our very best poets, and The Raven is in his best style. We bespeak for it a careful perusal. There will be found running through it, clothed in a robe of euphonious rhymes and remarkably appropriate language, an Idea well worthy of the pen of its author -- the never-dying existence of the memory.“) “The Raven” — October 9, 1849 — Evening Patriot (Baltimore, MD) (part of an obituary to Poe) “The Raven” — October 9, 1849 — Daily Advertiser (Newark, NJ) “The Raven” — October 10, 1849 — Gazette (Alexandria, VA) “The Raven” — October 12, 1849 — Enquirer (Richmond, VA) “The Raven” — October 12, 1849 — Richmond Whig and Public Examiner (Richmond, VA) (reprinting the obituary from the Evening Patriot) “The Raven” — October 15, 1849 — Daily Republican (Richmond, VA) “The Raven” — October 17, 1849 — Scioto Journal (Chillicothe, OH)  (reprinted from some unspecified Eastern paper) “The Raven” — October 17, 1849 — Louisville Daily Journal (Louisville, KY)  (only a few stanzas) “The Raven” — October 21, 1849 — Mobile Daily Advertiser (Mobile, AL) “The Raven” — October 23, 1849 — Daily Chronicle and Sentinel (Augusta, GA) “The Raven” — October 24, 1849 — Pennsylvania Telegraph (Harrisburg, PA) “The Raven” — November 2, 1849 — True Whig (Mount Vernon, OH) “The Raven” — November 3, 1849 — M'Makin's Model American Courier (formerly called the Saturday Courier) — (Mabbott text U) (Short introductory notice titled “Poe's Great Poem,” followed by “The Raven, by the Late Edgar Allan Poe.”)  (This is a reprint of version “N“.) “The Raven” — November 4, 1849 — Literary American (NY) (only 3 stanzas) “The Raven” — November 14, 1849 — Corning Journal (Corning, NY) “The Raven” — November 22, 1849 — Vincennes Gazette (Vincennes, IN) “The Raven” — November 1849 — Southern Baptist (Charleston, SC) “The Raven” — December 9, 1849 — Weekly Register (Mobile, AL) “The Raven” — December 15, 1849 — Boston Weekly Museum and Literary Portfolio “The Raven” — 1850 — WORKS — Griswold prints the poem from RAOP, with most of Poe's corrections from RAOP-JLG (Mabbott text W)  (Griswold's typesetter retains some punctuation, ignoring Poe's changes, and adds two new errors) “The Raven” — 1850 — Thomas Powell, The Living Writers of America, New York: Stringer and Townsend, 1850, pp. 128-131, omitting several stanzas) “The Raven” — 1851 — Parker's Fourth Reader (The poem is lesson CLXXIV) “The Raven” — 1852 — The String of Diamonds, Gathered from Many Mines, by “A Gem Fancier”  (copyright is 1851. It also includes “The Bells,” and many poems by other poets.) “The Raven” — 1852 — Tales and Sketches: to which is added The Raven: A Poem, London, George Routledge & Co. “The Raven” — 1856 — Cyclopedia of American Literature, New York: Charles Scribner “The Raven” — September 1857 — The Orator “The Raven” — 1858 — Achievements of Americans, Cincinnati: Henry Howe (along with “Annabel Lee“) “The Raven” — 1858 — Poets of the Nineteenth Century (an anthology edited by Poe's friend Evert A. Duyckinck. “The Raven“ is one of Poe's most-collected poems, appearing in hundreds of anthologies.) “The Raven” — 1859 — Lovell's Progressive Readers, No. 5, New Haven: Peck, White and Peck  (The subtitle reads: “A Class Book for the use of Advanced Pupils in Public and Private Schools.” It is edited by John E. Lovell. The copyright date is also 1859, suggesting that this was the first edition.) “The Raven” — 1865 — Golden Leaves from the American Poets, collected by John W. S. Hows, New York: Bunce and Huntington (This a common collection of popular poems includes works by Poe, Emerson, Longfellow, J. R. Lowell, F. S. Key, Whittier, and others.) “The Raven” — 1865 — a new year's greeting in the form of a 7 page booklet, on heavy card stock (printed for the Philadelphia Inquirer. It includes the illustration used in several of the Widdleton editions of the Poems, although the illustration appears slightly different and may be reversed.) “The Raven” — May 1870 — Deforest's Monthly Magazine (This printing features 10 pleasant but unremarkable vignette illustrations. Not surprisingly, the narrator looks a great deal like Poe.) and many others Included in many collections, of which a few examples will suffice: “The Raven” — 1875 — The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, vol 3: Poems and Essays, ed. J. H. Ingram, Edinburgh: Adam and Charles Black (3:1-5)  (Ingram appears to follow Griswold's text, but drops the "s" from "mortals." It does not appear that Ingram was aware of the J. L. Graham copy of The Raven and Other Poems with Poe's corrections.) “The Raven” — 1895 —  The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, vol. 10: Poems, ed. G. E. Woodberry and E. C. Stedman, Chicago: Stone and Kimball (10:5-11, and pp. 154-159) “The Raven” — 1902 — The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe, vol. 7: Poems, ed. J. A. Harrison, New York: T. Y. Crowell (10:94-100, and 10:208-212) “The Raven” — 1911 — The Complete Poems of Edgar Allan Poe, ed. J. H. Whitty, Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Co. (pp. 7-13, and pp. 192-199) “The Raven” — 1917 —  The Poems of Edgar Allan Poe, ed. Killis Campbell, Boston: Ginn and Company (pp. 109-114, and pp. 246-259) “The Raven” — 1965 — The Poems of Edgar Allan Poe, ed. Floyd Stovall, Charlottesville: The University Press of Virginia (pp. 95-99, and pp. 259-266) “The Raven” — 1969 — The Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe, vol. 1: Poems, ed. T. O. Mabbott, Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press (1:350-374) Associated Material and Special versions: “Le Corbeau” — (French translation by Charles Baudelaire.) “Der Rabe” — November 6, 1853 — “Literarische Symptome in den Vereiniften Staaten,” Magazine für die Literatur des Auslandes)  (German translation in an article by Elise von Hohenhausen, 70:278-280) “[The Raven]” — 1857 — “Edgar Allan Poe,” Magazin für die Literatur des Auslandes, 129:513-514  (German translation by Luise von Ploennis.) “Der Rabe” — 1859 — Amerikanische Gedichte [American Poems] (German translation by Friederich Spielhagen) “De Raaf” — 1861 — Holland  (Dutch translation by Jacob van Lennep)  (This information was provided by René van Slooten, who also notes that a thorough search of the Royal Library at the Hague produced no other translations of Poe's works before 1900. Apparently, French was widely spoken in the Netherlands and Baudelaire's translations were easily available.) “Le Corbeau” — 1862 — Contes inédits d'Edgard Poe (French translation by William Hughes, with a few stanzas reprinted by Ingram, The Raven, with Literary and Historical Commentary, London: George Redway, 1885, pp. 41-42.) “Der Rabe” — 1862 — Lieder und Balladenbuch Americanischer und Englischer Dichter, Hamburg (translation by Adolf Strodtmann, a few verses are reprinted by Ingram, The Raven, with Literary and Historical Commentary, London: George Redway, 1885, pp. 72-73.) [“The Raven, in Latin”] — 1866 — Oxford and London  (Latin translation by  Ludovicus Gidley and Robinson Thornton, from a volume of translations called Fasciculus. The translation of “The Raven“ is reprinted by Ingram, The Raven, with Literary and Historical Commentary, London: George Redway, 1885, pp. 79-83.) “Der Rabe” — 1869 — Philadelphia (German translation by Carl Theodor Eben, reprinted by Ingram, The Raven, with Literary and Historical Commentary, London: George Redway, 1885, pp. 60-65) “A Hollo” — 1870 — Budapest (Hungarian Translation by Endrody, from Nagy Szellemek [Great Men], edited by Thomas Szana, reprinted by Ingram, The Raven, with Literary and Historical Commentary, London: George Redway, 1885, pp. 74-78.) “Le Corbeau” — 1875 — French translation by Stèphane Mallarmé, reprinted by Ingram, The Raven, with Literary and Historical Commentary, London: George Redway, 1885, pp. 42-48.) “[The Raven”] — 1878 — Vestnik Evropy, III) (Russian translation by Konstantin Balmont) “Der Rabe” — February 28, 1880 — Magazine für die Literatur des Auslandes)  (German translation by Betty Jacobson, reprinted by Ingram, The Raven, with Literary and Historical Commentary, London: George Redway, 1885, pp. 66-71.) “El Cuervo” — 1887 — New York: “La America” Publishing Co)  (translation by J. A. Perez Bonalde, with many illustrations) “Poe's Raven” — July 7, 1891 — Pennsylvania Dutch translation by H. L. Fischer, 7 pages, printed in Mapleshade, York, PA)  (copy sold by 19th Century Bookshop, 1992, item 510) "The Raven" — September 1963 — Movie Classics (a comic-book tie-in, published by Dell, to the API movie) and many others Forgeries: T. O. Mabbott notes that “A 'complete manuscript' reproduced in Muse Anthology of Modern Poetry (New York, 1939) is generally regarded as a recent concoction“ (Poems, 1969, p. 364). This manuscript is different from the one in the Gimbel collection (Text 16 above), which is considered authentic.

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Bibliography: Anonymous, “The Croak of the Raven,” Times Literary Supplement, January 23, 1964, no. 3230, p. 6 Adams, John F., “Classical Raven Lore and Poe's Raven,” Poe Newsletter, December 1972, 5:53 Baker, Harry T., “Coleridge's Influence on Poe's Poetry,” Modern Language Notes, March 1910, 25:94-99 Baudelaire, Charles, Baudelaire on Poe, translated and edited by Lois and Francis E. Hyslop, Pennsylvania: Bald Eagle Press, 1952 (includes Baudelaire's preface to “The Raven”) Bayless, Joy, “Another Rufus W. Griswold as a Critic of Poe,” American Literature, March 1934, 6:69-72 Beidy, H. Alois, Mysterie of Poe's “The Raven,” New York: H. A. Beidy, 1956 Burch, Francis F., “Clement Mansfield Ingleby on Poe's 'The Raven': An Unpublished British Criticism,” American  Literature, March 1963, 35:81-83 Caputi, Anthony, “The Refrain in Poe's Poetry,” American Literature, May 1953, 25:169-178 Cargill, Oscar, “A New Source for Poe's 'The Raven',” American Literature, November 1936, 8:291-294 Comeau, Robert C., “Reading Poe on Salary: Mark Twain's Use of 'The Raven,' 'Hop-Frog,' and 'William Wilson' in 'The Facts concerning the Recent Carnival of Crime in Connecticut,” Southern Literary Journal, Fall 1996, 29:26-34 Cowell, James L. and Gary Spitzer, “ 'Bartelby' and 'The Raven': Parallels of the Irrational,” Georgia Review, 1969, 23:37-43 Courson, Della, “Poe and the Raven,” Education, May 1900, 20:566-570 Dameron, J. Lasley, “Another 'Raven' for Edgar Allan Poe,” Notes & Queries, January 1963, 208:21-22 Forsythe, Robert S., “Poe's 'Nevermore': A Note,” American Literature, January 1936, 7:439-452 Fussell, Edwin, “Poe's 'Raven'; or How to Concoct a Popular Poem from Almost Nothing at All,” English Language Notes, September 1964, 2:36-39 Granger, Byrd Howell, “Devil Lore in 'The Raven',” Poe Newsletter, December 1972, 5:25-26 Gravely, William H., Jr., “Christopher North and the Genesis of 'The Raven',” Publications of the Modern Language Association, March 1951, 66:149-161 Green, Andrew, “Essays in Miniature: 'The Raven',” College English, December 1942, 4:194 Green, George, “The Composition of 'The Raven',” Aberystwyth Studies (Wales), 1932, 12:1-20 Griffis, William Elliot, “Behind the Mystery of Poe's 'Raven',” New York Times Book Review, January 20, 1924, p. 2 Heartman, Charles F. and James R. Canny, A Bibliography of First Printings of the Writings of Edgar Allan Poe, Hattiesburg, MS: The Book Farm, 1943. Jackson, Joseph, “Poe's Signature to 'The Raven',” Sewanee Review, July 1918, 26:272-275 Jones, Joseph, “ 'The Raven' and 'The Raven': Another Source of Poe's Poem,” American Literature, May 1958, 30:185-193 Kerlin, R. T., “Weiland and 'The Raven',” Modern Language Notes, December 1916, 31:503-505 King, Clement, “Poe's 'The Raven',” Mentor, September 1922, 10:9 Lees, Daniel E., “An Early Model for Poe's 'Raven',” Papers on Language and Literature, 1970, 6:92-95 Legler, Henry Edward, Poe's “The Raven”: Its Origins and Genesis: A Compilation and Survey, Wausau, WI: Philosopher Press, 1907 Mabbott, Thomas Ollive, “First Publication of Poe's 'Raven',” Bulletin of the New York Public Library, August 1943, 47:581-584 Mabbott, Thomas Ollive, “Poe's 'The Raven': First Inclusion in a Book,” Notes & Queries, October 9, 1943, 185:225 Mabbott, Thomas Ollive, ed., The Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe (Vol 1 Poems), Cambridge, Mass.: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1969. McCarthy, Kevin, “Another Source for 'The Raven': Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding,” Poe Newsletter, October 1968, 1:29 McVicker, Cecil Don, “Poe and 'Anacreon': A Classical Influence on 'The Raven',” Poe Newsletter, October 1968, 1:29 Merivale, Patricia, "The Raven and the Bust of Pallas: Classical Artifacts and the Gothic Tale," PMLA, 1974, 89:960-990 Moore, John Robert, “Poe's Readings of Anne of Geirstein,” American Literature, January 1951, 22:493-496 Morgan, Mrs. Edmund Nash, “The Poe Revival,” Book-Lover, March-April 1903, 4:53-56 Norstedt, George, “Prototype of 'The Raven',” North American Review, December 1927, 224:692-701 Orvell, Miles D., “ 'The Raven' and the Chair,” Poe Newsletter, December 1972, 5:54 Person, Leland S., Jr., "Poe's Composition of Philosophy: Reading and Writing The Raven'," Arizona Quarterly, 1990, 46:1-15 Richard, Claude, “Another Unknown Early Appearance of 'The Raven',” Poe Newsletter, October 1968, 1:30 Routh, James, “Notes on the Sources of Poe's Poetry: Coleridge, Keats, Shelley,” Modern Language Notes, March 1914, 29:72-75 Stein, Allen F., “Another Source for 'The Raven',” American Notes & Queries, 1971, 9:85-87 Steward, Charles D., “A Pilfering by Poe,” Atlantic Monthly, December 1958, 202:67-68 Tanselle, G. Thomas, “Two More Appearances of 'The Raven',” Papers of the Bibliography Society of America, 2nd Quarter of 1963, 57:229-230 Tanselle, G. Thomas, “An Unknown Early Appearance of 'The Raven',” Studies in Bibliography: Papers of the Bibliographical Society of the University of Virginia, 1963, 16:220-223 Triplett, E. B., “A Note on Poe's 'The Raven',” American Literature, November 1938, 10:339-341 Varnado, S. L., “Poe's Raven Lore: A Source Note,” American Notes & Queries, 1968, 7:35-37 Weber, Jean-Paul, “Edgar Poe on the Theme of the Clock,” La Nouvelle Revue Francais (August-September 1958), 68:301-311 and 69:498-508. Whitty, James Howard, “The First and Last Publication of Poe's 'The Raven',” Publishers Weekly, October 17, 1936, 130:1635

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