That is an interesting question. I've never imagined questioning whether or not the bird was actually a real bird. I have always thought it was a real bird that actually flew into the speaker's room and sat on the bust. I think it was a real bird, because I have no reason to doubt that a raven could have flown into his house. Just this year, I have had two different birds fly into my classroom and land on my upper cabinets. All learning pretty much ceases as a classroom of 25 seventh graders try to shoo a bird out that has no intention of leaving. If a bird can enter my classroom, I have no reason to doubt a raven could enter the speaker's chamber.
As for the raven "speaking," I think the speaker was hearing what he wanted to hear from the raven. I have pets at home. I'm not going to lie, the dog and I have conversations depending on the type of bark that comes out of her mouth. I know I'm not the only person to have ever done such a thing, so I don't feel overly odd. I have no reason to doubt that in the speaker's tired state (after all, he was "nearly napping"), he imagined the bird's caw as a human word. From there, the speaker is simply having a conversation with the bird, but the speaker is filling in all of the meaningful dialogue of the raven. It's no different than listening to my four year old carry on conversations with his Lego guys. He is mentally performing both sides of the conversation, but I only hear his version. The speaker in the poem is hearing all sorts of meanings and implications from the raven's caw, and he is carrying on a conversation that coincides with it. It is sad that the one sided conversation does drive the speaker into a deeper depression over the lost Lenore though.
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