In the poem "The Raven," what does the speaker mean by asking "is there balm in Gilead?"

's poem
"" is written in the first person and narrated by a young man mourning the death of
his "lost ." He appears melancholic by temperament as well as greatly saddened by the
loss of his beloved. In the lines cited, he is asking the raven whether there is some cure for
the sorrow he is feeling or whether he is condemned to mourn for the rest of his life.

The specific excerpt "Is thereis there balm in Gilead?tell metell me, I implore!
is a reference to this passage from the Old Testament:

Is
there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter
of my people recovered (Jeremiah 8:22)?

A balm in this
context means a curative medicine. The town of Gilead was famous in the period of Jeremiah for
offering such medicines. Thus, the significance of the reference is that the student is
desperately seeking some form of cure for his sorrow and asking, in an allusive manner, whether
there is any medicine or cure that might help him.