Question

Read this passage from “The Raven.” What is puzzling the speaker in this stanza?

But the Raven still beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,
Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird, and bust and door;
Then, upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking
Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore—
What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt and ominous bird of yore
Meant in croaking “Nevermore.”


Where the raven came from


How the raven got into his room


What the raven’s message is


Why the raven came to visit

Answer 1

Answer: It's what the ravens message is.

Explanation: in the last line it says "what this grim...bird of yore meant in croaking nevermore"

Answer 2

What is puzzling the speaker in this stanza is:

C. What the raven’s message is.

Step-by-step explanation:

Let's focus on the final two lines of the stanza:

What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt, and ominous bird of yore

Meant in croaking “Nevermore.”

The speaker does not understand what the raven means, what its message is. The raven keeps on croaking "nevermore" throughout the poem but, up until now, the speaker hasn't been able to figure out its message. There is an ominous aura surrounding this poem, something somber about this raven and its possible message. Is it related to the afterlife? Does it mean there is nothing else? The speaker will never meet his loved one again? There is no way to know. But the raven keeps on croaking.