The word "Whore" is the only one not used as a for Lenore or "Nevermore" in the famous poem by Edgar Allen Poe (1819-1849) also famous for his "Tales of Mysteery and Imagination".

The poem was first published in 1845 and has divided opinions ever since. Although the distinctive rhythm and rhyme scheme are now associated almost universally with this poem, they were, in fact, borrowed from an earlier poem by Elizabeth Barrett (a fact Poe openly acknowledged). The poem is 108 lines long and It describes the descent into madness of a young man devastated by the loss of his beloved Lenore (as Poe was by the death of his own love, Annabelle Lee).

Ravens have been equated with death and the spirit world since time immemorial - in Nordic mythology, they were Wotan's birds. A contemporary of Poe's, Charles Dickens, used the device of a talking raven in "Barnaby Rudge".

More Info: www.poetryfoundation.org