The Raven
BY EDGAR ALLAN POE
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore— While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door. “’Tis some visitor,” I muttered, “tapping at my chamber door— Only this and nothing more.”
Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December; And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor. Eagerly I wished the morrow;—vainly I had sought to borrow From my books surcease of sorrow—sorrow for the lost Lenore— For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore— Nameless here for evermore.
And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain Thrilled me—filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before; So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating “’Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door— Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door;— This it is and nothing more.”
Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer, “Sir,” said I, “or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore; But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping, And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door, That I scarce was sure I heard you”—here I opened wide the door;— Darkness there and nothing more.
Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing, Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before; But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token, And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, “Lenore?” This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, “Lenore!”— Merely this and nothing more.
Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning, Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before. “Surely,” said I, “surely that is something at my window lattice; Let me see, then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore— Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore;— ’Tis the wind and nothing more!”
Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter, In there stepped a stately Raven of the saintly days of yore; Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he; But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door— Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door— Perched, and sat, and nothing more.
Then this 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.”Much I marvelled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly, Though its answer little meaning—little relevancy bore; For we cannot help agreeing that no living human being Ever yet was blessed with seeing bird above his chamber door— Bird or beast upon the sculptured bust above his chamber door, With such name as “Nevermore.”
But the Raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour. Nothing farther then he uttered—not a feather then he fluttered— Till I scarcely more than muttered “Other friends have flown before— On the morrow he will leave me, as my Hopes have flown before.” Then the bird said “Nevermore.”
Startled at the stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken, “Doubtless,” said I, “what it utters is its only stock and store Caught from some unhappy master whom unmerciful Disaster Followed fast and followed faster till his songs one burden bore— Till the dirges of his Hope that melancholy burden bore Of ‘Never—nevermore’.”
But the Raven still beguiling all my 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.”
This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosom’s core; This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining On the cushion’s velvet lining that the lamp-light gloated o’er, But whose velvet-violet lining with the lamp-light gloating o’er, She shall press, ah, nevermore!
Then, methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer Swung by Seraphim whose foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor. “Wretch,” I cried, “thy God hath lent thee—by these angels he hath sent thee Respite—respite and nepenthe from thy memories of Lenore; Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore!” Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”
“Prophet!” said I, “thing of evil!—prophet still, if bird or devil!— Whether Tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore, Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted— On this home by Horror haunted—tell me truly, I implore— Is there—is there balm in Gilead?—tell me—tell me, I implore!” Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”
“Prophet!” said I, “thing of evil!—prophet still, if bird or devil! By that Heaven that bends above us—by that God we both adore— Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn, It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore— Clasp a rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore.” Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”
“Be that word our sign of parting, bird or fiend!” I shrieked, upstarting— “Get thee back into the tempest and the Night’s Plutonian shore! Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken! Leave my loneliness unbroken!—quit the bust above my door! Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!” Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”
And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door; And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon’s that is dreaming, And the lamp-light o’er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor; And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor Shall be lifted—nevermore!
Soft Kitty 2 Tee Design Review.
Soft Kitty 2 Tee Design By Cattoc_C.
Is available on T-shirts, Hoodies, Long Sleeves, Sweatshirts and Dog T-shirts. WOOF WHAT?? Then why am I reviewing a human tee? There are many fabric color choices available as well. The review breakdown is as follows:Natural Instinct Tee Design Review.
This Shirt is Temporarily Unavailable Sorry, we're not printing this one at the moment. Check back tomorrow when the catalog re-opens.
Natural Instinct Tee Design by radiomode.
Royal Blue is the only fabric color available. The review breakdown is as follows:Endless Starry Night Tee Design Review.
This Shirt is Temporarily Unavailable Sorry, we're not printing this one at the moment. Check back tomorrow when the catalog re-opens.
Endless Starry Night Tee Design by Spiritgreen.
Navy is the only fabric color available. The review breakdown is as follows:Runnin Rhino Tee Design Review.
Runnin Rhino Tee Design Allan Faustino.
Is available on: Tees, Phone Cases, Wall Art and Hoodies. Navy colored fabric for Men's and Kids' apparel (Royal Blue for Babies) and Midnight colored fabric for Women's is mandatory and it works well with this artwork. The review breakdown is as follows:Abraham Tee Design Review.
The Abraham tee is for anyone that likes dinosaurs, Abe Lincoln, fighting, or the silly non-sense. As seen in television show Impractical Jokers
If President Lincoln can time travel with Bill and Ted who is to say that he couldn't fight dinosaurs? We've already seen him hunt vampires and taken on slavery. It is no wonder Tyler Durden wanted to fight him.
This artwork is funny for it's sheer stupidity. It is a well drawn monochromatic piece. There are no major shadows or coloring as this is just a fun illustration and it shouldn't be taken too seriously. It works because it takes two iconic symbols from different time periods and pits them together.
The Abraham design is ideal for casual events and elections. Wear it to museums or history class. Then watch everyone's reaction to the shirt.
Abraham Tee Design by Alex Solis.
Is available on: Tees and Phone Cases. Heather Charcoal colored fabric is mandatory. The review breakdown is as follows:
Satan’s Little Helper Tee Design Review.
The Satan's Little Helper tee is for the fans of Greek Mythology and cute things. Even if Cerberus the hound of Hades is an adorable 3-headed puppy sans the serpent tail, this tee gets classified as \m/ METAL \m/. Even if it is culturally inaccurate as it mixes up the Antichrist mythology with that of the Hades mythology such as the 666 reference and the title of the tee.
Suddenly, the underworld doesn't seem so bad. Sure the puppy is a freak of nature and badass. But just look at it. It's just an innocent little creature. Worthy of hours of playing Frisbee and being spoiled. How can anything with much pet power be all bad? It can't! But just remember that 3 mouths equals 3 times the amount that will come out the other end.
This artwork is a great collaboration between Olly Moss and Ross Zietz. They gave each head its own expression and therefore unique personality. They kept the design clean and simple with no shading except for the drop shadows. It has a nice fur effect using the less is more approach. From a design perspective, this is everything that a great tee should be in terms of design elements and layout. It looks good up close and from far away.
The Satan's Little Helper design is ideal for any casual event or get together. There will always be some oddball out there that will take offense to the tee as it features the guardian of the gates to Hades but to Hell with them overzealous prudes.
Satan's Little Helper Tee Design by Olly Moss and Russ Zietz.
Is available on: Tees and Phone Cases. Maroon fabric for Men's and Scarlet Red fabric for Women's is mandatory and it works well with this artwork. A Black version would had worked well if not better. The review breakdown is as follows:
THE ULTIMATE BATTLE Tee Design Review.
THE ULTIMATE BATTLE tee is for dinosaur enthusiasts and anyone that has fond memories of the board game Twister. It is a great conversation starter and is bound to get countless laughs as well as get plenty of strange looks and "WTF's?" from onlookers.
It is easy to imagine how this scenario would play out. "Right Hand Red" is called then the small armed Tyrannosaurus Rex and the four legged Triceratops just stand there confused and pissed off. Finally, they would just fight to the death.
The artwork is self explanatory. A nicely detailed pencil illustration of the two dinosaurs on a simple and somewhat crude rendering of a Twister mat which contains the only color in the design. Making it the focal point of the tee. This just goes to show that sometimes the weirdest and stupidest things as concepts make for the coolest tees. Even if for nothing else but to see the people's reactions to the absurd.
DinoMike didn't add any cast shadows in order to keep the work simple. It would had looked a bit cluttered and it would had increased the ink color count.
The ULTIMATE BATTLE design makes for a great casual shirt to be worn at museums, parks and Dinosaur themed movies.
THE ULTIMATE BATTLE Tee Design by DinoMike.
Is available on: Tees, Phone Cases and Wall Art. White fabric is mandatory and is the only color that works for this pencil on white design. The review breakdown is as follows:
Boss’ Cat Tee Design Review.
The Boss' Cat tee is for fans of The Godfather and the Garfield comic strip. This design is a mashup parody and will only be truly appreciated by fans of both franchises and of Garfield specifically. People that only like The Godfather might see this parody as an insult to the masterpiece.
After seeing this, it is no freaking wonder Garfield loves Italian food. Being the prized kitty of a mob boss has its advantages. Jon Arbuckle was just some cartoonist schmuck that tried to hold the fat cat for a fat ransom. It is just too bad that this concept has been done before, more than a few times by many people.
This artwork finds that fine line between realism and cartoon and blurs it nicely. Although, half of Garfield's head should technically be covered in more shadow as to be consistent with the Godfather's head.
Ben Chen drew Garfield in the original comic style and altered the Godfather to match the Garfield comic style. This version is better than others of the same concept.
The Boss' Cat design makes for a fun tee to wear to any casual event. Movie and Pizza nights will never be the same.
Boss' Cat Tee Design by Ben Chen.
Is available on: Tees, Phone Cases and Sweatshirts. Black fabric is mandatory and it works well with this artwork. The original cover art of The Godfather was on a Black background so it is a no brainer. The review breakdown is as follows:
Goldfish of Doom Tee Design Review.
This Shirt is Temporarily Unavailable Sorry, we're not printing this one at the moment. Check back tomorrow when the catalog re-opens.