In "The Raven," the structure of the stanza, particularly the repetition of the raven's actions and the refrain "Perched, and sat, and nothing more," greatly contributes to the poem's overall meaning and aesthetic impact. The first option is the most fitting: The repetition emphasizes the narrator’s growing frustration and helplessness as he faces the raven’s inscrutable nature, creating an eerie, unsettling atmosphere.
The repetition of the raven’s actions—“perched,” “sat,”—reinforces its constant presence, which becomes increasingly oppressive as the poem progresses. This piling up of repetitive phrases mirrors the narrator’s escalating emotional turmoil and his inability to gain any insight or solace from the raven. The raven's indifference and silence contrast sharply with the narrator's desperate longing for answers, emphasizing his isolation and despair. The refrain serves as a haunting reminder of the raven’s enigmatic nature and the futility of the narrator’s hope for understanding, thereby enhancing the poem’s mood of despair and poignancy. Overall, this structural choice deepens the sense of inevitability and dread that pervades the work, establishing the raven as a symbol of unending sorrow rather than solace.