COVE

This bird, named Grip, is thought to have inspired Poe's "The Raven."

Grip was Charles Dickens' beloved pet raven. He was a mischevious creature with an impressive vocabulary for a bird. Dickens was very fond of Grip to the point where he made the bird a character in the novel "Barnaby Rudge." Unfortunately, Grip suddenly died one night in 1841. This is possibly due to his odd habit of eating paint. Dickens mourned him, fondly writing to a friend about how he spent his last moments saying his favorite phrase (Halloa, old girl.) and how he'd bother his children by biting them. Rather than bury or cremate his pet, Charles Dickens had him taxidermied and kept him mounted in his home until his own death. Grip currently lives at Philidelphia Free Library. The picture featured here is the real taxidermied body.

Here's where Poe comes in. Poe was a literary critic when "Barnaby Rudge" was published, and he was one of many people who reviewed the novel. One complaint of his was that the pet raven in the story wasn't featured often enough. This critique, the fact that Poe and Dickens formed a friendship, and the similarities between some lines of "The Raven" and "Barnaby Rudge" are reasons why scholars believe Grip was Poe's inspiration for his poem.

Sources

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/grip-raven

http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20150820-the-mysterious-tale-of-charles-dickenss-raven