Question

Paraphrase the eighth stanza of “The Raven” in your own words. How did paraphrasing it help you better understand the events that the narrator is describing?

Then the ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling, By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore, "Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou," I said, "art sure no craven, Ghastly grim and ancient Raven wandering from the Nightly shore— Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!" Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

Answer 1

Then the ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,

The black bird amused me into smiling

By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore,

By its dark, serious appearance

"Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou," I said, "art sure no craven,

The raven seems domesticated, but it isn't a coward (craven)

Ghastly grim and ancient Raven wandering from the Nightly shore—

Wondering around at this time of night

Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!"

"Tell me who sent you, was it the underworld? (Plutonian refers to Pluto, the Roman god of the underworld)

Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

The raven replied, "Nevermore"

Paraphrasing helps by summarizing or simplifying the author's ideas. This allows the text to be more approachable and easier to understand without losing the original expressions.