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 forevermore.
He makes careful note to describe the dreary mood that remains present throughout the poem. He points out how each dying ember of a burning out fire sets its own eerie light out onto the floor, not into the room, but the floor. It also tells of how the man wishes that his day will end, and how he is trying to read books to keep his mind off of the sorrow felt for the lost Lenore, which he describes as "rare," and named by angels. The description of Lenore there is made to sound godlike to make her loss seem all the more great to the man. When the man hears the rapping at his door, he opens it to find nothing there. Poe tells of the man dreaming dreams that should never be dreamed by any mortal. This could be derived from Poe's own demons that were created from the loss of his loved ones and from his depressions and fits of alcoholism. In the lines:
"Other friends have flown before;
On the morrow he will leave me, as my hopes have flown