The Raven (Edgar Allan Poe) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "Trivia
The basic meter of the poem is 'trochaic octameter', that is, lines of 8 trochees (pairs of syllables, the first with strong stress, the second with weak).
Ravens can be taught to speak. Poe's raven is thought to have been inspired by the raven Grip in Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens. Dickens' bird has many words and comic turns, including the popping of a champagne cork, but Poe felt that Dickens did not make enough of the bird's dramatic qualities.
Baltimore's professional football team, the Baltimore_Ravens, is named after the poem. The name was selected after a telephone poll of Baltimore residents.
The Raven Society (http://www.student.virginia.edu/~ravens/), founded 1904, is the University of Virginia's most important honor society, combining requirements of high-level scholarship, service, leadership, and - for the student members - 'promise of further advancement in the intellectual field.' New members have to supply a parody of the poem for initiation, which takes place in Poe's room where he lived when studying at the University, which is now under the curatorship of the Society. The Society also owns and takes care of several other Poe sites, including the grave of his mother in Richmond, Va."
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