Explain at least two allusions from the poem "The Raven."

Let's
begin with a definition of an "."  An allusion is a a reference in a literary work
that references something else without saying so directly.  Often (but not always), allusions
are cultural or political references. (It can sometimes be difficult to "get" these
types of allusions when they are no longer culturally relevant.)  

However,
allusions in Western literature will often be to mythology, the Bible, and other well-known
works of literature. This is the case in Poe's classic poem "."

The
first allusion in the poem is a nod to mythology. In line 41, the speaker notices the raven,
"Perched upon a bust of Pallas."  "Pallas" is "Pallas Athena," the
Greek goddess of wisdom.  The fact that the raven chooses to sit there, upon her head, rather
than anywhere else in the room, might be interpreted in a couple of ways. First, it might be
taken ironically.  The bird only seems to know one word.  The speaker may be attributing, in his
idolatry of, more wisdom...

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