Skip to main content


Access and Info for Institutional Subscribers

Home
Toggle menu

  • Home
  • Editions
  • Images
    • Exhibits
    • Images
  • Teaching
    • Articles
    • Teacher Resources
  • How To
  • About COVE
    • Constitution
    • Board
    • Supporting Institutions
    • Talks / Articles
    • FAQ
    • Testimonials


Grip the Raven


Type: Gallery Image | Not Vetted



This bird, named Grip, is thought to have inspired Poe's "The Raven."

Grip was Charles Dickens' beloved pet raven. He was a mischevious creature with an impressive vocabulary for a bird. Dickens was very fond of Grip to the point where he made the bird a character in the novel "Barnaby Rudge." Unfortunately, Grip suddenly died one night in 1841. This is possibly due to his odd habit of eating paint. Dickens mourned him, fondly writing to a friend about how he spent his last moments saying his favorite phrase (Halloa, old girl.) and how he'd bother his children by biting them. Rather than bury or cremate his pet, Charles Dickens had him taxidermied and kept him mounted in his home until his own death. Grip currently lives at Philidelphia Free Library. The picture featured here is the real taxidermied body.

Here's where Poe comes in. Poe was a literary critic when "Barnaby Rudge" was published, and he was one of many people who reviewed the novel. One complaint of his was that the pet raven in the story wasn't featured often enough. This critique, the fact that Poe and Dickens formed a friendship, and the similarities between some lines of "The Raven" and "Barnaby Rudge" are reasons why scholars believe Grip was Poe's inspiration for his poem.

Sources

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/grip-raven

http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20150820-the-mysterious-tale-of-charles-dickenss-raven

Featured in Exhibit


Romanticism: A Class Gallery

Date


2019

Associated events


Associated Places



Copyright
©

Vetted?
No
Submitted by Emily Ray on Tue, 09/24/2019 - 21:10

Webform: Contact

About COVE

  • Constitution
  • Board
  • What's New
  • Talks / Articles
  • Testimonials

What is COVE?

COVE is Collaborative Organization for Virtual Education, a scholar-driven open-access platform that publishes both peer-reviewed material and "flipped classroom" student projects built with our online tools.

Visit our 'How To' page

sfy39587stp18