What is the purpose of the stanza?

Question

example: The purpose of this stanza is to develop a general time and place - setting - for 'The Raven'. In this stanza, the month is identified as a cold one and an unsavory one. Additionally, a fire is dying as a person seeks to grieve through reading a book. He is grieving over the loss of his love, Lenore. At this point, because it's so early in the narrative poem, no real tension - stress - has been developed, but we can begin to wonder over how the character will cope with the loss of his love. After all, he does refer to her as a "rare and radiant" maiden.

This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing
To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosom’s core;
This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining
On the cushion’s velvet lining that the lamp-light gloated o’er,
But whose velvet-violet lining with the lamp-light gloating o’er,
She shall press, ah, nevermore!

Answer 1

The purpose of this stanza is to show the speaker's fascination and obsession with the raven. The speaker is engaged in guessing and trying to understand the meaning behind the raven's presence, but he does not voice his thoughts or questions to the bird. The repetition of the phrase "nevermore" indicates that the speaker has a sense of foreboding or unease about the raven and what it represents.