Here's what we know about her:
* She is dead: The poem's opening lines reveal that Lenore is gone, leaving the speaker heartbroken and consumed by grief.
* She was deeply loved: The speaker's intense sorrow and repeated calls for Lenore show the depth of his love for her.
* She may have died young: While the poem doesn't explicitly state Lenore's age, the speaker's references to her as his "lost Lenore" and his dwelling on the "night's Plutonian shore" (a reference to the underworld) suggest she died prematurely.
* Her name is a symbol: "Lenore" is a name that sounds like "Le Noir," meaning "the black" in French, a fitting association given the dark and mournful tone of the poem.
What has happened to her in the poem:
While the poem never explicitly explains Lenore's death, it focuses on the speaker's agonizing grief and his obsession with her memory. The raven's constant repetition of "Nevermore" amplifies the speaker's despair and reinforces the finality of Lenore's absence.
It's important to note:
* The poem leaves much open to interpretation, and the exact circumstances of Lenore's death are left unclear.
* Some critics speculate that Lenore represents a lost love, while others see her as a symbol of the speaker's own inner darkness and despair.
Ultimately, "The Raven" leaves the reader with a profound sense of loss and a lingering question about the nature of love, memory, and grief.