The Simpsons - Edgar Allan Poe: The Raven

Summary

The segment parodies Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven.” Homer, as the grieving narrator, broods over the lost Lenore on a dark December night. A mysterious tapping leads him to an empty door, prompting the joke: “You know what would have been scarier than nothing? Anything.”

The tapping returns at the window. A raven flutters in and settles on a bust above Homer’s chamber door. Homer tries to question it, but the bird’s only answer is “Nevermore.” The gloomy poem is punctured by Simpsons-style silliness: the raven blurts out “Eat my shorts” and makes a fart joke before returning to its one-word refrain.

Homer pleads for comfort, then angrily orders the bird to leave. It stays put, looming over him as its shadow falls across the floor. The ending returns to Poe’s ominous mood: Homer’s soul, trapped in that shadow, “shall be lifted nevermore.”

Characters

• Homer: The narrator
• Bart: The raven
• Marge: Lenore