The Raven Poem Which of the following best explains the relationship between the speaker and Lenore? Question 1 options: A) Lenore and the speaker are enemies; the speaker believes she has cursed him B) Lenore was the speaker's girlfriend who broke up with him. C) Lenore was the speaker's lover but she has recently died. D) Lenore is the speaker's friend whom the speaker is currently in love with.

Lenore was the speaker's lover but she has recently died.

Answer: Option C.

Explanation:

The main message of "The Raven" is that we are all haunted by the knowledge of death and, especially, of our own mortality. When the poem begins, we learn that the narrator is reading in an attempt to distract himself from his "sorrow for the lost Lenore," his lover who has died.

The major conflict in this poem is within the narrator's mind. He is so distraught by the loss of his love that it leads him to the brink of insanity. He appears throughout the poem to be fighting with the raven, but in actuality, he is struggling within himself.