The conflict in Edgar Allan Poe’s poem The Raven is primarily internal, centering around the narrator’s struggle with grief and loss. The poem tells the story of a man who is mourning the death of his beloved, Lenore. One night, he is visited by a mysterious raven that only speaks the word “Nevermore.” This encounter intensifies the narrator’s emotional turmoil.
The conflict arises from the narrator’s desperate hope that he might be reunited with Lenore in the afterlife, contrasted with the raven’s repeated and ominous refrain of “Nevermore.” This word serves as a stark reminder that his hopes are futile and that he will never see Lenore again. The narrator’s internal struggle is further exacerbated by his inability to accept this harsh reality, leading to a deepening sense of despair and madness.
In essence, the conflict in The Raven is the narrator’s battle between hope and despair, and his ultimate realization that he must confront the permanence of death and the impossibility of reversing his loss.