"The Raven" is a narrative poem by American writer Edgar Allan Poe. First published in January 1845, the poem is noted for its musicality, stylized language, supernatural atmosphere, it tells of a talking raven's mysterious visit to a distraught lover, tracing the man's slow fall into madness. The lover identified as a student, is lamenting the loss of his love, Lenore. Sitting on a bust of Pallas, the raven seems to further distress the protagonist with its constant repetition of the word "Nevermore"; the poem makes use of folk, mythological and classical references. Poe claimed to have written the poem logically and methodically, with the intention to create a poem that would appeal to both critical and popular tastes, as he explained in his 1846 follow-up essay, "The Philosophy of Composition"; the poem was inspired in part by a talking raven in the novel Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of Eighty by Charles Dickens. Poe borrows the complex rhythm and meter of Elizabeth Barrett's poem "Lady Geraldine's Courtship", makes use of internal rhyme as well as alliteration throughout.

"The Raven" was first attributed to Poe in print in the New York Evening Mirror on January 29, 1845. Its publication made Poe popular in his lifetime, although it did not bring him much financial success; the poem was soon reprinted and illustrated. Critical opinion is divided as to the poem's literary status, but it remains one of the most famous poems written. "The Raven" follows an unnamed narrator on a dreary night in December who sits reading "forgotten lore" by a dying fire as a way to forget the death of his beloved Lenore. A "tapping at chamber door" reveals nothing, but excites his soul to "burning"; the tapping is repeated louder, he realizes it is coming from his window. When he goes to investigate, a raven flutters into his chamber. Paying no attention to the man, the raven perches on a bust of Pallas above the door. Amused by the raven's comically serious disposition, the man asks; the raven's only answer is "Nevermore". The narrator is surprised that the raven can talk; the narrator remarks to himself that his "friend" the raven will soon fly out of his life, just as "other friends have flown before" along with his previous hopes.

As if answering, the raven responds again with "Nevermore". The narrator reasons that the bird learned the word "Nevermore" from some "unhappy master" and that it is the only word it knows. So, the narrator pulls his chair directly in front of the raven, determined to learn more about it, he thinks for a moment in silence, his mind wanders back to his lost Lenore. He thinks the air grows denser and feels the presence of angels, wonders if God is sending him a sign that he is to forget Lenore; the bird again replies in the negative. The narrator becomes angry, calling the raven a "thing of evil" and a "prophet", he asks the raven whether he will be reunited with Lenore in Heaven. When the raven responds with its typical "Nevermore", he is enraged, calling it a liar, commands the bird to return to the "Plutonian shore"—but it does not move. At the time of the poem's recitation by the narrator, the raven "still is sitting" on the bust of Pallas; the narrator's final admission is that his soul is trapped beneath the raven's shadow and shall be lifted "Nevermore".

Poe wrote the poem without intentional allegory or didacticism. The main theme of the poem is one of undying devotion; the narrator desire to remember. He seems to get some pleasure from focusing on loss; the narrator assumes that the word "Nevermore" is the raven's "only stock and store", yet, he continues to ask it questions, knowing what the answer will be. His questions are purposely self-deprecating and further incite his feelings of loss. Poe leaves it unclear if the raven knows what it is saying or if it intends to cause a reaction in the poem's narrator; the narrator begins as "weak and weary," becomes regretful and grief-stricken, before passing into a frenzy and madness. Christopher F. S. Maligec suggests the poem is a type of elegiac paraclausithyron, an ancient Greek and Roman poetic form consisting of the lament of an excluded, locked-out lover at the sealed door of his beloved. Poe says. Though this is not explicitly stated in the poem, it is mentioned in "The Philosophy of Composition".

It is suggested by the narrator reading books of "lore" as well as by the bust of Pallas Athena, Greek goddess of wisdom. He is reading in the late night hours from "many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore". Similar to the studies suggested in Poe's short story "Ligeia", this lore may be about the occult or black magic; this is emphasized in the author's choice to set the poem in December, a month, traditionally associated with the forces of darkness. The use of the raven—the "devil bird"—also suggests this; this devil image is emphasized by the narrator's belief that the raven is "from the Night's Plutonian shore", or a messenger from the afterlife, referring to Pluto, the Roman god of the underworld. A direct allusion to Satan appears: "Whether Tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore..." Poe chose a raven as the central symbol in the story because he wanted a "non-reasoning" creature capable of speech. He decided on a raven, which he considered "equally capable of speech" as a parrot, because it matched the intended tone of the poem.

Poe said the raven is meant to symbolize "Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance". He was

The Mexican Service Medal is an award of the United States military for service in Mexico from 1911 to 1919. The Mexican Service Medal awarded by the Army was established by General Orders of the United States War Department on December 12, 1917; the Navy's Mexican Service Medal was established by Navy Department General Orders Number 365 on February 11, 1918, as amended by Navy Department General Orders No. 464 of April 27, 1919. The Mexican Service Medal recognizes those service members who performed military service against Mexican forces between the dates of April 12, 1911 and June 16, 1919. To be awarded the Mexican Service Medal, a service member was required to perform military duty during the time period of eligibility and in one of the following military engagements. Veracruz Expedition: April 21 to November 23, 1914 Punitive Expedition into Mexico: March 14, 1916 to February 7, 1917 Buena Vista, Mexico: December 1, 1917 The punitive expedition in the aftermath of the Brite Ranch raid on San Bernardino Canyon, Mexico: December 26, 1917 La Grulla, Texas: January 8 – January 9, 1918 The aftermath of the Neville Ranch raid that resulted in a small action in the village of Pilares, Chihuahua: March 28, 1918 For actions in Nogales, Arizona during the Battle of Nogales or Battle of Ambos Nogales: November 1–26, 1915, or August 27, 1918 El Paso and Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua for the Battle of Ciudad Juárez: June 15 – June 16, 1919The United States Navy issued the Mexican Service Medal to members of the Navy and Marines who participated in any of the above actions, as well as to service members who served aboard U.

S. naval vessels patrolling Mexican waters between April 21 and November 26, 1914, or between March 14, 1916, February 7, 1917. The Mexican Service Medal was awarded to any service member, wounded or killed while participating in action any against hostile Mexican forces between April 12, 1911 and February 7, 1917. Although a single decoration, both the Army and Navy issued two different versions of the Mexican Service Medal; the Army Mexican Service Medal displayed an engraving of a yucca plant, while the Navy version depicts the San Juan de Ulúa fortress in Veracruz harbor. Both medals displayed the annotation "1911 - 1917" on the bottom of the medal; the Mexican Service Medal was a one-time decoration and there were no service stars authorized for those who had participated in multiple engagements. For those Army members, cited for gallantry in combat, the Citation Star was authorized as a device to the Mexican Service Medal. There were no devices authorized for the Navy's version of the decoration.

A similar decoration, known as the Mexican Border Service Medal existed for those who had performed support duty to Mexican combat expeditions from within the United States. General of the Armies John J. Pershing General of the Army Douglas MacArthur Fleet Admiral William Halsey Jr. USN General George S. Patton Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd, USN Major General John H. Russell Jr. USMC Awards and decorations of the United States military Border War

Claude Céberet du Boullay was a 17th-century French diplomat who participated in the La Loubère-Céberet embassy as "envoy extraordinary" to the kingdom of Siam in 1687. He was co-representative of the mission with the diplomat Simon de la Loubère. In 1685, Céberet became one of the 12 Directors of the French East India Company. During the 1687 embassy to Siam, Céberet was put in charge of the commercial interests of France, those of the French East India Company. Céberet left from Brest with the embassy for Siam on 1 March 1687; the embassy sailed on board the warships L'oiseau, Le Gaillard, La Loire, La Normande and Le Dromadaire. The embassy arrived in Thailand in September and October 1687. An interview with the Siamese king Narai occurred on 2 November 1687; the mission achieved little more than the confirmation of the 1685 commercial treaty obtained by the Chevalier de Chaumont. It seems that Père Tachard interfered with the mission so as to render it useless. There were some important results on the military plane however, as the troops which had arrived with the mission occupied the cities of Bangkok and Mergui.

In December 1687, Céberet left again for France first by going overland from Ayutthaya to the harbour of Mergui. He left on 4 January 1688 on the ship President for Pondicherry. While in Pondicherry, Céberet ordered the Governor of Pondicherry François Martin to send his son-in-law André Deslandes to found Company trade counters in the Bengal region. Deslandes left Pondicherry on 30 August 1688 and would found the counters of Balassor and Cassimbazar in 1689. Back in France, after being intendant in Lorient, Céberet became intendant of Dunkirk. Claude Céberet was buried in Dunkirk. France-Thailand relations Céberet, Claude Journal du Voyage de Siam Smithies, Michael Three military accounts of the 1688 revolution in Siam, Orchid Press, Bangkok, 2002, ISBN 974-524-005-2